I've officially been blown away.

Earlier today when I first woke up, I was unsure whether I should attend the GAPS presentation or the sessions concerning Food Preparations. All my indecisiveness was eliminated when i sat in Dr. Natasha's room and she opened her mouth to begin the presentation. Though I've never considered myself to be a GAPS patient, I've always respected the program and it's results. Today has made me certain that even those who don't display the symptoms need to go on the program, just to verify that coming generations aren't effected by the horrible health of gut flora we are experiencing.

The symptoms of GAPS patients can vary to enormous amounts, because we are all different people. Leaky gut can affect us in many ways including: digestive problems, allergies, immune and autoimmune problems/diseases, asthma, autism, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, psychological problems, substance abuse, arthritis, eating disorders, endocrine disorders, neuropathy, neurological conditions, and so many more that I can't understand enough to list.

Dr. Natasha went into fabulous detail concerning so many fascinating subjects that to explain them all I would have to type up all 16 pages of notes I took during the lecture. Yes, 16 pages. Good thing I learned from last year and brought an entire notebook to take notes in. One thing that stuck with me from the beginning of the talk helps explain how the gut is the body's main detoxification system.
An experiment was done on rats, with one group having healthy gut flora, and another that had 2 month previous been placed on extreme antibiotics that sterilized the gut flora. The rats were then fed food containing organic mercury, and killed to examine the findings. The experiment found that in the rats with sterilized gut flora, 90% of the mercury had been released into the blood stream, whereas in the healthy rats only 1% of the mercury had been released.

Detoxification is only one reason a healthy gut is essential to human health and well-being. The gut flora protects from invaders, helps digestion to take place normally, produce enzymes, neurotrasmitters, and vitamins, as well as in immune system modulation. This is why it is GAPS: Gut & Psychology/Physiology Syndrome. A damaged gut manifests into problems all over the body, from the brain to physical disorders, diseases, and chronic conditions.

I can say for sure that once I get home, I'm putting myself on the GAPS diet, starting from the Intro diet just to verify complete healing of my gut. Though I don't show many of the symptoms, a healthy gut equals a biologically healthy brain, and that can help on the search for happiness! Properly working neurotransmitters = happy feelings!