GAPS Therapy

Health Matters London

MAKE YOU BODY SMILE!

At Health Matters London, we’re pleased to offer advice and consultation on the GAPS diet — a nutritional approach that has helped many individuals address chronic health concerns in a natural and structured way.

Our resident medical herbalist, Paul Michael, is a fully trained GAPS Practitioner, having studied directly with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, the creator of the GAPS protocol.

What Is the GAPS Diet?

GAPS stands for Gut And Psychology Syndrome. It is a therapeutic diet focused on healing the gut lining and restoring healthy gut flora, with the goal of improving both physical and mental health.

This diet has been used successfully to support a range of health issues, including:

Inflammatory bowel diseases (e.g., Crohn’s, Colitis)
Leaky gut syndrome
Autoimmune conditions
Autism, ADHD
Depression, anxiety, and mood disorders

Dr. Campbell-McBride developed the GAPS system based on her clinical experience and research into the connection between the gut, brain, and immune system.

The Three Core Elements of the GAPS Protocol

1. Nutrition

The GAPS nutritional protocol consists of two main stages:

The Introduction Diet (6 Stages)

This phase initiates the healing process and is especially beneficial for those with severe digestive or neurological issues such as IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis, depression, or bipolar disorder. It usually lasts 3–6 weeks, preparing the body for the full diet.

The Full GAPS Diet

Typically followed for 18–24 months, this stage offers detailed guidance on foods to eat and avoid. Key principles include:

Vegetables + protein: Combine alkalising vegetables with acid-forming meats/fish to maintain gut pH balance.
Fruit: (Except avocado) should be eaten between meals — not with protein — to avoid digestive interference.
Organic, whole foods: Prioritise natural, chemical-free options.
Healthy fats: Include butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard, olive oil, and goose fat.
Broths & stocks: Homemade bone broths are foundational to both stages of the diet.
Fermented foods: Yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, and fermented vegetables are strongly encouraged.
Avoid: Processed, tinned, and packaged foods, and anything containing preservatives, colourings, or artificial ingredients.

2. Supplementation

Supplementation supports the body’s healing and is personalised to each patient. GAPS emphasizes natural, high-quality supplements with minimal additives. These may include:

High-strength probiotics
Essential fatty acids
Digestive enzymes
Vitamins and minerals tailored to individual needs

3. Detoxification

The GAPS approach also focuses on gentle, natural detoxification to help the body eliminate toxins and support organ function.

Effective methods include:

Fresh vegetable and fruit juices
Detoxifying supplements like seaweed, spirulina, chlorella, or diatomaceous earth
Natural bathing in lakes, rivers, or the sea; moderate sun exposure
Detox baths using Epsom salts, clays, seaweed, or bicarbonate of soda

Reducing Toxic Load

Important lifestyle measures include:

Minimising exposure to artificial chemicals in the home (e.g., paints, flooring)
Using natural personal care products
Keeping indoor plants to purify air

The Final Ingredient: Guidance & Support

The GAPS diet can be challenging to start — especially the Introduction Phase. Working with a qualified GAPS practitioner like Paul ensures the diet is safely and effectively tailored to your unique health needs, including adjustments for food allergies or sensitivities.

Book a GAPS Consultation

To learn more or book a consultation:

📞 Call us: 020 8441 8335
📧 Email: health@healthmatterslondon.co.uk

2. The Full GAPS diet: This is usually followed for 18-24 months, has an extensive list of both recommended foods and those to avoid. It focuses on certain key principles:

Vegetables, which are alkalising, should be combined with meats and fish that are more acidic at each meal. This balances gut pH and avoids creating and environment too acidic or alkali, which is not ideal.
Fruit (except avocado) should be eaten on its own in between meals to avoid interfering with with the digestion of meat protein.
Organic foods are best in order to avoid toxins.
Natural fats, particularly animal based, are recommended including butter, ghee, cold pressed olive oil, lard, coconut and goose fat.
Broths made from homemade stock are a key staple of both the introductory and full diet.
Fermented foods form an important part of the diet. This includes fermented vegetables, yoghurt, kefir and kombucha.
Processed, packaged and tinned food should be avoided as well as anything containing artificial preservatives, colours or chemicals.

Supplementation

The second GAPS diet protocol involves certain key supplements, which form an important part of the diet. It is recommended to use the best quality natural supplements available with the minimum amount of added or artificial ingredients.

Depending on the needs of individual patients, the following may be recommended by the practitioner:

Good quality, high strength probiotics.
Essential fatty acids.
Digestive enzymes.
Vitamin and mineral supplements.

Detoxification

The third protocol of the GAPS approach focuses on gentle methods of detox that enhance the body’s own cleansing and repair systems. For example:

Fresh vegetable and fruit juices
Toxin removing supplements such as seaweed, chlorella, spirulina and diatomaceous earth
Swimming in natural unpolluted water; lakes, rivers or the sea. Moderate sunbathing is also beneficial since in enhances the skin’s health and helps it perform its detoxification functions.
Bathing using Epsom salts, seaweed, clays or bicarbonate of soda.

An important aspect of the detoxification protocol is reducing the body’s toxic load. There are a number of things that can help this:

Reduce exposure to artificial chemicals in the home environment – e.g. from paint or flooring.
Ensure that anything you put on your skin is as natural as possible.
Keep plenty of household plants, which are great for detoxifying the air we breathe.

The final ingredient…

The diet can be quite difficult to manage and get used to, particularly in the introductory stage.

Hence, it is important to seek help from a qualified GAPS practitioner who can guide you and tailor the diet to your individual requirements, allowing for things like food allergies.

If you are interested in finding out more about the GAPS diet please call Health Matters London on 020 8441 8335, or email us at health@healthmatterslondon.co.uk