An Intro to the Intro Diet (2024)

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An Intro to the Intro Diet. Don’t let the Intro Diet scare you off from trying GAPS. Let me break it down for you so that it’s not quite so intimidating…. The healing is worth it!

Contents hide

1 The GAPS Diet.

2 What is the Intro Diet?

3 An Intro to The Intro Diet.

4 How to Introduce New Foods.

5 The Intro Diet Break Down…

6 Realistically Speaking.

The GAPS Diet.

The GAPS Diet is split into two parts: the Intro Diet, and the Full Diet. If you have no clue what the GAPS Diet is, let alone why anyone would want to go on it, head on over here and check it out. Though the Intro generally comes first, there’s no hard, fast rule that you have to do the GAPS Diet that way. I’ve read plenty of stories of people who started on the Full Diet and slowly weaned themselves onto the Intro. It’s a personal thing, based on what you can handle, and how quickly you want your body to heal.

What is the Intro Diet?

While the GAPS Full Diet is pretty much a paleo diet with the addition of navy beans and fermented dairy (think yogurt and sour cream), the Intro Diet comes in 6 stages. Its basic purpose is to starve out the bad bacteria that have been residing in your gut and then build up the good. For most people this can really only happen one way: fast from anything that contains hard-to-digest starches. Starches feed the bad bacteria and yeast it’s pretty hard (dare I say, impossible?) to heal your gut while consuming them.

If you’re not quite sure what food has starchin it, let me tell you…

Everything.

Kidding! But it sure feels that way when you’renixing all your easy, family favorite dinners, and your kids’ favorite snacks! For the first bit of the Intro Diet, all you can eat is boiled meat, bone broth, and non-fibrous veggies. Exciting, eh?

An Intro to The Intro Diet.

The Intro Diet comes in 6 stages, the first of which is the fast/detox period. Depending on how your body handles this, you can stay on stage 1 for anywhere from a couple days to a month. During our first go with the GAPS Intro it took my family about a week to be free and clear of any detox symptoms (such as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, etc… it’s not always that bad, but it ain’t pretty either!). When I did it again by myself I stayed on the Intro for a month.

After stage 1 of the Intro you begin adding in the foods recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, waiting in between additions to see how you react.Each stage is stayed on until all your negative reactions alleviate. The most common reactions to newly introduced foods are diarrhea, constipation, tummy ache, ear ache, rashes, and headaches.

How to Introduce New Foods.

The general rule for introducing new foods to your system is each night before bed, take a 1/2 teaspoon or so of whatever food you are wanting to introduce the next day, mash it up, and rub it into your wrist. Sleep on it, and if there’s no reaction in the morning, you’re free to try eating 1-2 teaspoons of said food. If you still don’t react, you can up your consumption daily until you’re eating normal portions.

(Tip: This little rule isn’t just for GAPS, it’s helpful for any time you think you might be reacting to a food.)

Since everyone progresses through the diet at their own personal rate, getting through the Intro can take up to 6 months. It took my family about a month for all of us to get through it safely when we did the diet together, and on my own later it took me a few months to get through the Intro.

The Intro Diet Break Down…

If you’re still reading and ready to get on to some healing, I’m outlining what you eat during each stage of the Intro. Remember that this is a general list. What you eat on each stage is up to how you react during each new introduction of food.

STAGE 1

breakfast:
room-temp water
chicken, meat, or fish stock w/ salt & pepper (save meat the boiled meat for later)

lunch & dinner:

boiled meat & veggie soup (no fibrous or starchy veggies, i.e. pretty much only carrots, squash, peas, and onions)

w/ 1-2 t. probiotic juice (read, juice from the sauerkraut jar)

ginger tea w/ honey

STAGE 2

continue with stage 1

add in:

raw egg yolks to soups

homemade yogurt

homemade ghee

STAGE 3

continue with stages 1 & 2

add in:

mashed avocado into soups

nut butter pancakes

scrambled eggs with ghee, avocado & cooked veggies

sauerkraut

STAGE 4

continue with stages 1-3

add in:

roasted & grilled meats (not fried) with boiled veggies & kraut

olive oil

freshly pressed juice before breakfast (start w/ 2 T. carrot juice, increase to 1 c. add celery, lettuce & mint)

almond flour bread

STAGE 5

continue with stages 1-4

add in:

applesauce

lettuce and cucumber (then carrot, tomato, onion, cabbage, etc.)

apple, pineapple, and mango to carrot juice

STAGE 6

continue with stages 1-5

Realistically Speaking.

My husband and I thought long and hard about it before plunging our family of six into the this Diet. We were already eating gluten and sugar-free, and I was dairy and egg-free as well. After months of prayer and research, finally jumped in. To say it was a shock for our systems is putting it mildly. By the end of the Intro, you’re eating enough variety to actually make a few regular meals, but the beginning can be very exhausting – especially when you’ve got kids you’re trying to convince to eat broth for the 300th time that week! Since progression through the Intro stages is personal – based on what each person can handle without reacting – making meals can be very frustrating!

All in all, the healing experienced during the Intro Diet is totally worth all the work. I can now eat foods I never thought I’d eat again! For a more detailed list of foods you can eat on the Intro Diet you can check out my post titled “What In the World Do I Eat Now?” It’s full of helpful tips and recipes for each stage of the Intro Diet.

This all might seem a little overwhelming, even discouraging. Don’t be dissuaded though, it can be done – and the results are worth it! If you want all the gory details on how my family survived the Intro Diet, head on over to my next post…

Did you find an intro to the intro diet helpful?

You might be interested in these informational GAPS Diet posts, too…

Hello, I’m GAPS
Our Story On the GAPS Intro Diet
Why I Did the GAPS Diet. . . again.
The GAPS Intro Diet – What in the World Do I Eat?

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28 Comments

Naomi Huzovicova on May 24, 2014 at 6:36 pm
I'm thinking of starting GAPS for our family of six as well…gulp. I think I'm gong to start on the full diet until the end of school, as I have two in school and I can't control what they might eat there, and then go back to intro. It's rather overwhelming to even think of!

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Raia on May 25, 2014 at 3:32 pm
I understand how overwhelming it is, Naomi! It's quite a jump! I think you are making a wise decision in waiting until school is over. We waiting until after the holidays, so that our kids wouldn't be tortured. 😉
I encourage you to take the time you have before you start and fill your freezer with bone broth – you go through so much of it on the intro diet, and depending on your detox symptoms, you might not feel like cooking that much!

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Andrea Fabry on May 27, 2014 at 4:48 pm
We have been on GAPS since August 1, 2010. Best decision we've ever made. Some of us made it through intro quite quickly, others did not. It's all such a journey!

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PioneerMomma on May 27, 2014 at 5:06 pm
Thank you for such an informative post! The wrist trick really is useful. Aside from the ginger tea, that first stage sounds like a doozy! For the probiotic juice, do you really mean juice from the sauerkraut jar? Looking forward to find out how y'all did on the Intro diet and the recipes. Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend. Pinned! 🙂
Ashley @ PioneerMomma.com

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Mandy Lee on May 27, 2014 at 5:10 pm
So good. We have done this and need to go back a bit. The broths give amazing healing. Now I'll use your simplified page to get us through the first couple of weeks. Thanks.

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Raia on May 27, 2014 at 5:19 pm
It is definitely a journey, Andrea. I'm encouraged to see that y'all have lasted almost four years! I don't know how much longer we can afford to have our whole family on it, but I do know that I'll be on it for as long as I can be. It's helped me immensely!

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Raia on May 27, 2014 at 5:23 pm
The first stage is quite a doozy, you're right! And yes, the probiotic juice is just the juice from the bottom of the sauerkraut jar! It's quite interesting, especially if you don't really like sauerkraut, which I don't. :p I keep telling myself it's medicine. Haha. Thanks for stopping by and pinning!

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Raia on May 27, 2014 at 5:26 pm
I'm glad you found my post helpful, Mandy! I agree, the broths help immensely! I will probably need to go back to the Intro diet in a bit, too. I cheat too much… :p

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Sonya K on May 27, 2014 at 6:56 pm
Can't wait to read more updates. Currently, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and grain-free. Sugar is my weakness I'm about to cut out my honey and fruits for a couple of weeks and then try to reintroduce grains into my diet.

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Raia on May 27, 2014 at 9:20 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Sonya! I understand how hard it is to give up sweets! I still crave them sometimes. I'm sure you can do it! I would encourage you to not forget the probiotics and bone broth though – your gut won't heal properly without them!

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Anna (Green Talk) on May 27, 2014 at 9:46 pm
Wow. After reading week 1 and 2, that looks so hard to do. It is bad enough that I am already limited in my food consumption.

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Raia on May 28, 2014 at 9:56 am
I understand your trepidation, Anna. Before I did the Intro Diet I was in the same place you are – I could eat around 10 things without reacting. But the combo of cutting out starchy carbs feeding the yeast and harmful bacteria, plus the probiotics and bone broth, helped to seal my gut. After only a month on the diet I was able to eat thing I hadn't been able to for YEARS!!!
The Intro Diet IS hard to do. But the key is to think of it as a regeneration – like a seed that has to die and be buried to bring a plant to life, everything in your gut has to die in order for you to heal. If you keep feeding the bad guys (and believe me, I had no idea I really was feeding them) they won't die and you'll be stuck with your allergies/intolerances. Starving them out, and then replenishing your intestines with good bacteria, will heal you!
I would encourage you to think/pray about doing the diet. When you're already basically eating nothing anyway, what have you got to lose?

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Tiffany {A Touch of Grace} on May 29, 2014 at 1:05 pm
One of my best friend's daughters has Kabuki Syndrome, and she has her on the GAPS diet. It's helped so much! I know it can be a lot of work, but I think it's super beneficial for some. A total lifestyle change. Good for you for sticking with it!

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Raia on May 29, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Thanks, Tiffany! You're right, it is a total lifestyle change. I'm so glad to hear it's helping your friend's daughter – what a blessing!

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Jennifer - The Deliberate Mom on May 30, 2014 at 12:29 pm
I have never heard of the GAPS diet. Sounds interesting. Seems like a huge change in lifestyle but I hope you all reap the benefits of healthy eating.
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the SHINE Blog Hop).
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo

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Raia on May 30, 2014 at 1:12 pm
We have been doing so much better since the diet, Jennifer! Thanks for stopping by!

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NewMrsAdventures on May 30, 2014 at 11:11 pm
Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

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Raia on May 31, 2014 at 8:20 am
Thanks! 🙂

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Michelle Moms Are Frugal on June 1, 2014 at 8:22 pm
I have never heard of this diet, and it seems very interesting to learn how and what to eat. I am not much on dieting and that is because I tried a heart patient diet when I had my son.
i prefer to eat more veggies and fruit during the day.

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Raia on June 1, 2014 at 8:35 pm
I understand, Michelle! I never dieted either until I started developing such serious health problems (I was down to about 10 foods I could eat without a reaction before going on the GAPS Diet). It's helped me immensely! We love fruits and veggies, too, and most of our meals consist of them now that we're off the Intro Diet part. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

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Kelli @ The Sustainable Couple on June 3, 2014 at 8:41 am
You've broken GAPS down pretty clearly here! I had a few misunderstandings, apparently 🙂 Thanks for sharing on Mostly Homemade Mondays!

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Raia on June 3, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Thanks, Kelli! Glad to share. 🙂

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Joy McCulloch on February 17, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Planning on starting Gaps. Trying to get all the info I can. Thanks.

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- Raia on February 17, 2016 at 2:46 pm
  Sure, thing, Joy. Feel free to ask questions if you need and I’ll be glad to try and help!
  
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Chaitanya on March 9, 2018 at 1:25 pm
Could you help suggest me on the food including vegetables fruits non-dairy,gluten free to be given to my 3 year old who is having lot of yeast and affected by antibiotics. We are totally vegan we do not eat eggs even so please suggest that would be of great help to me
I really liked and understood the details you are providing in site

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- Raia on March 9, 2018 at 2:07 pm
  Hey Chaitanya, sorry to hear about your little one. I would suggest finding a kid-friendly probiotic, specifically one that is sweetener-free, and also feeding your child loads of veggie broth and fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, coconut yogurt (sweetener-free), etc. Make sure you do not feed your child any sugar, even fruits should be stayed away from until the yeast infection is cleared up. If you can’t get away from fruit, then use only green apples and cranberries or blueberries, since they have a lower sugar content. It would also be a good to try and keep him/her off grains and starches (even gluten-free ones) until the yeast is cleared. Hope that helps!
  
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J r on March 1, 2024 at 3:12 pm
Hi this photo can I ask what the meat is? The cut of meat- it’s obviously beef carrots and Brussels but I want to make this!

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- Raia on March 3, 2024 at 11:14 am
  It’s a chuck roast! I seared it and then pressure cooked it for about 90 minutes with the veggies. Pressure cooking the brussels sprouts kinda makes them mush, just fyi. Haha.
  
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