Has anyone else heard about this thing? It’s some theory that, if I get it, the gut is the source of health and that what we eat is causing our illness.
The Wikipedia entry gives a bit of info. on where it came from, but not a ton.
Does anyone know any pseudo-science alert sites that analyze this thing? A number of my friends on Facebook are posting about it. They are all also anti-GMO crusaders and a few other weird things.
All disease most certainly does not begin in the gut. That is nonsense. I do not have to look any further to know that this is total woo.
Looks pretty woowoo to me.
The original theory seems to be that the symptoms of some specific conditions associated with the digestive system could be alleviated by a special restricted diet. This work pointed to a specific physical connection between the condition and certain foods; only argued that avoiding certain foods would avoid the symptoms not cure the underlying condition; did not argue that the diet conferred any benefits for people who did not have these specific conditions; and did not claim the diet restrictions would have any wider benefits. So while it’s not completely proven, I think there’s a reasonable theory at work here.
But the new movement has gone far beyond the original work. Advocates are now claiming that this restricted diet will benefit everyone and will treat conditions that have nothing to do with the digestive system. I have a hard time believing that intestinal bacteria cause anxiety, insomnia, autism, depression, and schizophrenia.
I’ll bet this has something to do with the quackery of leaky gut syndrome. Look at the list of ailments that are claimed curable:
That diseases come from the gut is a never-ending trope on the net. Here’s a fun trashing of the idea with the usual comment as a response.
Thanks, I know it is woo and knew when I asked. My questions were(clarified since I apparently wasn’t clear):
Where did this thing come from and how has it caught on?
Does anyone know of a good scientific analysis that details the flaws with this GAPS thingy?
I mean, we have countless anti-vaccination sites that debunk it and rail against it; I’m wondering if anyone knows a good science site that has dealt with this one.
It’s caught on for the same reason behind all the other Grand Unifying Concepts Of Disease That They Don’t Want You To Know About.
It’s extraordinarily tempting to think that most or all diseases stem from a single source which is relatively simple to understand and treat. If it isn’t “the gut”, it’s “acid pH”, “Candida overgrowth”, “parasites”, “chi imbalance” or what have you. It’s just the nature of woo to zero in on a simple answer (which is grossly exaggerated or dead wrong) to multiple complex problems.
Interestingly, we’re only beginning to catalog all the bacteria in our stomach/gut and only beginning to catch on to a bunch of symbiotic relationships going on between those bacteria and what’s really ours (our cells with our own DNA). [Hear that, Obama? Don’t map the brain. Map the gut!]
We know about the bacteria that causes severe harm. And we know about dysfunctional gut fauna that’s the cause of some Irritable Bowel Syndromes, though we don’t understand it completely. We know a fecal transplant from a healthy bowel can be curative.
But to jump from these bleeding edge discoveries to saying all disease originates in the gut? Total BS. Or should I say HS?
Here are some interesting articles on the microbiome. The second talks about standardizing protocols for what is becoming known as the human microbiome project (ala, human genome project). The last one may require a subscription.
Microbiological Frenemies
Human Microbiome Project
The hologenome: a new view of evolution
“Leaky gut” is indeed real and certainly could play a role in autoimmunity:
Is it really hard to believe that intact foreign proteins entering the peripheral circulation and eliciting an immune response could contribute to autoimmunity?
Leaky gut can happen. The Internet use of it as a cause of all diseases that they care to include is quackery. So is the notion that the immune system resides in the gut. You cannot get around Internet stupidity by noting the grain of truth they they build their sand castles around.
But part of the answer to the op is contained in Surreal’s and deltasigma’s posts: there is a huge amount of emerging understanding and new questions about the microbiome and its role in inflammation in particular and other health and disease states in general. Riffing off of that creatively is where the GAPS woo originates.
I am not aware of much devoted specifically to combat this particular woo. Anti-vax nutters are a different beast: they are causing actual harm to children, both their own and others. Most of what the leaky gut devotees do is not bad stuff in any case, even if it won’t cure all that ails you. Little harm being done, if anything compared to the typical diet of most Americans following that plan would still be a huge step up.
Their theory is groundless, obviously. Eating a healthy diet will stave off certain illnesses like diabetes and obesity. But no matter what you eat, you’re still going to be just as susceptible to sexually-transmitted diseases, upper respiratory infections, cancer, brain tumors, ear infections, etc.
I was diagnosed with an extensive type of ulcerative colitis, which as you may have figured from the name, involves having ulcers in my colon… so I’m a pretty good guinea pig for this type of stuff (intestines don’t get much “leakier” than open sores, I imagine). Many of the symptoms of leaky gut are supposedly pretty similar to the ones I have, including seemingly unrelated problems like arthritis. I think it makes sense that you might have some peripheral health problems when you have easy entryways into your bloodstream for bacteria and large particles that shouldn’t be making it through. I don’t know whether that’s actually happening in supposed leaky gut cases, but the rest of the story makes sense to me.
Anyway, I can’t really vouch for the GAPS diet, except for the probiotic aspect, for my issues. Twice a day I drink yogurts I made out of a probiotic mixture that’s supposedly for UC patients, and it’s extremely effective in managing my condition. And no, it’s not a placebo effect – unless you can think of a way a placebo can stop intestinal bleeding, heal sores, and stop severe diarrhea… And whenever I’ve missed taking the stuff for a day, it becomes abundantly clear to me that the probiotics really are making a big difference. I stopped taking medication (which had become ineffective) when I started this routine last year, and I’m much better off for it.
That being said, although in my experience there’s a significant link between my intestinal health and my overall health, the idea that “all disease begins in the gut” is a gigantic, ridiculous overstatement.
Not so fast on the cancer part – there are plenty of proven dietary carcinogens, and a ton of potential ones, along with plenty of potential cancer-preventing chemicals.
Another possible source of this bollox is the fact that many, diverse receptors are expressed in the gut that aren’t obv connected with digestion - e.g. the gut as ‘second brain’ has been written up quite a bit in the popular scientific press, describing the range of neuronal function active in the alimentary canal.
Add some misunderstanding and general ignorance and you’ll get theories like the one referenced in the OP where the gut is the central player in all disease states.
You have a serious condition and my condolences, but a leaky gut is something completely different.
Ulcers are sores on the inside lining of the colon. They do not leak into the body. If they did you would be dead by now, or at least you’d have gone to hospital for emergency surgery. Feces leaking into the body is what kills you from a wound to the intestines.
If you check the link I gave for leaky gut and scroll to the top of the page, you’ll see this:
Leaky gut works at the molecular level. Normally all food is broken down to simple sugars, fatty acids or amino acids before it can be absorbed by the villi lining the inside of the intestines. Occasionally a larger or more complex molecule can make it through and these are known to trigger reactions. Leaky gut syndrome postulates that all sorts of larger molecules get into the bloodstream regularly. Why they think doctors can’t detect this obvious pathology remains a mystery to me. In any case, an actual hole through the intestines is something you’d notice, probably by screaming.
Doesn’t appear to be one.
The problem is there’s a lot of woo out there and people have better things to do than fight against the vast majority of it. Keeping track of even a small portion is resource intensive and cost ineffective.
Also, this sort of woo really only affects the people buying into it. They won’t make other people sick with their delusions, which isn’t the case with anti-vaxxers, where my kids can still be affected if your kids aren’t vaccinated.
And most woo is fairly innocuous. It’ll affect a few people but most will move on to the next fad or go right back to their doctors for proper advice when they get sick in spite of the woo. And the faddishness if a big problem. If a particular woo fad fades away after a few years, is it really worth devoting resources to fighting it?
It would appear that the GAPS diet originated with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, who wrote a book on the subject in 2004.
If you read through her FAQs you’ll see that she makes some fairly outlandish claims:
How is that a good resource for GAPS, since I can’t find any information at all about GAPS on it by searching or browsing.
Which shouldn’t be surprising, as GAPS is a diet plan, and not a medicine.