iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll o tclhdfliThei mdcdaeThe third phase starts introducing more solid foods and may utilize di-
gestive enzymes with proteins.
General Recommendations for Gut-Healing Diet
Start with well-cooked foods that are the easiest to digest: soups; boiled,
cooked, and puréed vegetables; and meats. Once those are tolerated, you
can add some raw puréed vegetables (I like to use the Vitamix). Then
add foods with easy-to-digest textures such as avocados. Continue in this
fashion, moving forward with peeled raw fruits and vegetables and even-
tually advancing to eating raw vegetables with the peel.
All foods should be well-cooked and ideally rotated every few days. Wait
until diarrhea and flatulence stop before moving to the next level. One sug-
gestion is to move up each level weekly, with the understanding that some-
times progression may take more or less time, depending on your needs.
While eating raw foods is beneficial for most people, those with leaky
gut may need to avoid eating whole raw foods until the gut is well-
healed. Cooking vegetables makes them easier to digest, as does purée-
ing them.
While fiber is touted as a health food, it is difficult to digest. Humans do
not produce cellulase, the enzyme used to break down fiber, and depend
on good bacteria to break down the fiber in our foods. This can be prob-
lematic in those with dysbiosis or SIBO as the fiber may end up getting
fermented by the pathogenic or overgrown bacteria, causing side effects
and immune imbalances.
Transitioning off the Diets
With the exception of the Body Ecology, GAPS, Paleo, and SCD, most
of the diets discussed in this section are healing diets and not meant to
be continued long-term. Once you stay on the diet for three months to
two years, you may be able to make the transition to a less-restrictive diet.
From an evolutionary perspective, I am a big believer in diets based on
traditionally prepared fermented foods such as the one promoted by the
Weston A. Price Foundation and the Body Ecology Diet. Monosaccharide
diets like GAPS, Paleo, and SCD are also helpful as long as they are
balanced with enough veggies. My great-grandmother Bacia Kasia, who
lived on a farm in Poland and traditionally prepared all of her own foods
for most of her life, was vibrant and fully capable until she died peace-
fully in her late nineties. A good rule of thumb may be if your great-
grandmother wouldn’t eat it, you probably shouldn’t eat it, either. For