Update on GAPS: The Enema and More

I believe I am now on day 16 of doing the GAPS diet. I have been doing very well. I would like to mention one thing that threw me for a loop. Last week I began taking a probiotic with a strength of 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units) with strains of: lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacillus bulgaricus. I started off slowly and noticed little change. However once I upped my dose to 2 capsules I got a nice experience with cramping and diarrhea. After that I continued to take about 120 billion or more CFU per day for several days.

What I noticed was that even though I didn't have diarrhea things moved quite quickly through me. I thought this was positive but then I started having signs of problems. I was more hungry, I had a few cramps in my foot, my eye began twitching and I woke up with a nightmare. Having hypothyroidism I believe that it is easy for me to show symptoms of a calcium imbalance quite easily and I believe that is what was happening. So I discontinued taking the probiotics and within one day the symptoms were gone!

I'm mentioning this because I think it is important to note that probiotics should be taken with care. If your body does not have time to absorb your food you will not be getting the nutrients you need. I also want to emphasize that if I hadn't been paying attention I could have missed these subtle signs. It is always important to observe our bodies.

Besides that I've been doing very well. I was missing popcorn terribly because I felt like I was being deprived. I like my evening snacks and this is a favorite snack for me. So I struggled to find an alternative. First it was nuts, but I don't think nuts are an ideal food for me. Then I made a yogurt shake with banana and berries. That was good but somehow it wasn't hitting the spot. And then I tried a recipe from the GAPS book. I have made some modifications:

"Apple Crumble"
1-2 chopped apples
leftover pulp from juicing veggies
3 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. honey
ground nuts (optional)
raw whipped cream (not for GAPS people, but perhaps cultured cream would work)

Mix veggie pulp with eggs, butter, vanilla, honey and nuts. Spread apples on the bottom of a pie dish. Cover apples with the veggie mix. Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with plenty of cream.

It is quite tasty and satisfying to me. So I'm not missing the popcorn as much anymore. And it is so nice to be able to put all of that veggie pulp to good use. I always feel bad about throwing it away.

And now on to the important business of reporting on the enema! I hate to let anyone down with this but.....it was quite uneventful. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I felt quite relaxed and calm afterward, as if I had gotten a really nice massage! Imagine that! So, for anyone curious about doing a coffee high enema, don't be afraid. Here is a link to a page that explains the coffee enema: http://www.drkelley.com/CANLIVER55.html#_Toc434239890