The Relationship between the Gut and Neurological Problems in Children: Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAP) by Elizabeth Gay.
As a neurologist and nutritionist, Dr. Campbell-McBride describes in her book ‘Gut and Psychology Syndrome’, why she believes that many of the complaints from which today’s children suffer stem from problems in the digestive system. She observed that in a clinical setting she had yet to meet a child with autism, ADHD/ADD (Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity), asthma, eczema, allergies, dyspraxia (clumsiness) or dyslexia that did not have digestive abnormalities. She is convinced that a child’s digestive system holds the key to the child’s mental development. Many other conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, manic depression, bi-polar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder all stem from digestive problems which affect the brain.
The underlying disorder in the gut can manifest itself in different children with different combinations of symptoms. These children do not fit into any particular diagnostic box, so Dr. Campbell-McBride or Dr. Natasha as she likes to be called, coined a name for the condition calling it the Gut and Psychology Syndrome, or GAP syndrome for short. Children with the GAP syndrome often fall into the area which she calls the gap in our medical knowledge and as a result they do not receive appropriate treatment.
When the digestive system of a GAPS person is not working properly it can become a major source of toxicity in the body. An unknown number of various neurotoxins are produced by the abnormal flora in the gut of these people, both children and adults, and these toxins are absorbed through the damaged gut wall into the bloodstream and transported to the brain. In some cases this can result in mental illness.
Autism, one of the GAPS disorders, used to be a rare condition. According to Dr. Natasha, about 20 years ago the incidence of autism in western countries used to be about 1 child in 10,000. Now, the UK Department of Health reports that in Great Britain, 1 child in 150 is diagnosed with autism and 1 child in 68 in the USA. These figures and the sudden dramatic increase in autism rule out any suggestion of the disorder being genetic in origin. Dr. Natasha’s own son was diagnosed as autistic but has now recovered, thanks to her determination to find out the cause and then to painstakingly work out a treatment for this distressing condition for which many doctors believe there is no cure.
Dr. Natasha is convinced that autistic children are in fact born with perfectly normal brains and sensory organs, but because the digestive system is damaged, instead of being a source of nourishment, it becomes a source of toxicity. The pathogenic microbes inside the digestive tract damage the integrity of the gut wall, so that toxins and microbes flood into the bloodstream of the child and get into the brain. This clogs the brain and becomes just a noise in the child’s head, preventing the brain from performing its normal function of processing sensory information, thus the child cannot learn.
Despite the ravages done to the digestive system of those who suffer from GAPs, Dr. Natasha offers a beacon of light to anyone prepared to change their diet and scrupulously follow the regime that she has formulated, first to heal the damaged gut lining and then to re-establish normal gut flora. After all, if she could successfully treat her autistic son, then she has proved that her method really is effective.
Depending on the severity of the illness and the amount of damage already sustained in the gut, an improvement can sometimes be quite dramatic whereas with other victims especially in the case of autism, progress can be painfully slow. Details of changes in the diet and lists of traditional foods, especially animal fats, that should be included, and those to be avoided are described fully in her book, as well as recipes, simple and easy to prepare designed especially for those who suffer from the GAP syndrome.
Depending on the severity of the illness and the amount of damage already sustained in the gut, an improvement can sometimes be quite dramatic whereas with other victims especially in the case of autism, progress can be painfully slow. Changes in the diet include reversing the ‘Diet-heart disease hypothesis’ which began some 50 years ago when traditional saturated fats were quite wrongly condemned. Unfortunately, the hypothesis was endorsed by the medical, political and scientific establishments but has now been named the greatest scientific deception of the century. The food industry seized the opportunity to create and sell to the public their lucrative highly processed vegetable oils. Now we are paying the price with the explosion of neurological problems, especially among children, for the simple reason that the brain cannot function properly without animal fats such as those found in fresh meat, butter, whole milk and eggs.
References:
Gut and Psychology Syndrome –
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, MMedSci (Neurology), MMedSci (Nutrition)
ISBN 0-9548520-2-8
For further information see: www.gaps.me
Read more at: www.healthscams.org.uk/that-gut-feeling.html
Author information
Elizabeth Gay is a journalist specialising in health and its connection with food and the medicines which are often prescribed. She was Editor for the McCarrison Society for Nutrition & Health (Scottish Group), for nine years and has absolutely no commercial connection. Elizabeth reports on her research into the true effects on health caused by manufactured foods, exposing the myths often perpetrated by food manufactures in order to sell their highly profitable products.
Elizabeth also reveals the actual effects of some of the medicines being regularly prescribed to patients, drawing on evidence from highly respected members of the Medical profession who, themselves, have no connection with the pharmaceutical companies producing these medicines.
Elizabeth wrote her own weekly column for eleven years in a well-known West Country newspaper where she encouraged readers to follow a more healthy way of eating and demonstrate how easy it was to cook their own food at home.
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