What the GAPS Intro diet is
The Gut and Psychology Syndrome introduction diet is a diet focused on intensive rest and healing for the gut lining, as well as slow introduction of fermented foods to repopulate it with friendly microorganisms.
Different ways to use the Intro
Some, as we did, start the ‘intro diet’ right as we are starting GAPS, others go on ‘full GAPS’ for a while and then go down to the introduction diet. If you are overwhelmed, this may be the better choice as doing full GAPS will help you see improvements without being so restrictive.
Now, after my daughter has been on GAPS for a year, I wanted to put all three of us on the intro diet for a month before we went into warmer weather. Re-going on the intro diet after being on GAPS for a while can give you increased healing and can help get rid of any health symptoms that you didn’t get rid of the first time around.
As a baby, my son had eczema, but when we went on GAPS intro when he was 11 months, it wasn’t seen again until this winter (over a year later) when it’s starting a tiny bit again. So I’m curious to see if running through the intro diet can get rid of those symptoms.
It’s not that eczema is a serious condition, but I know that it’s a symptoms of some underlying imbalance in his little body, and I’d like to do what I can to correct it.
Most of you know that we primarily are doing the GAPS diet for my little girl with autism, and we have seen great results with her on it so far- but we’re always wanting more healing for her, so I hope she can make leaps of progress as well with this repeat intro portion of the diet.
To Heal Allergies
I also would like my children to be less sensitive to diary- my son sleeps better when he’s off dairy, and my daughter gets ‘allergic shiners’ (dark undereyes) which are a symptom of a dairy allergy (yes, even with raw, even with cultured, even with goat! Though we haven’t been able to find raw goat milk to try yet, but we did tryculturing goat milk from the store) The last time we went through the introduction portion of the diet I was able to heal my dairy allergy in just a few weeks- which has been great!
Meal Plans
I’m working on a 30-day meal plan for the Intro Diet, and for that I summarized from the GAPS book what is allowed on each stage, which I’ll share below. I would
not try to do the intro diet without first reading the GAPS book and understanding the philosophy of the diet, I know the book is expensive, but it costs less than even one doctor’s visit 
You can purchase the GAPS book here.
- Learn more about the GAPS Intro Meal Plan Here- called What Do I Eat Now?
GAPS Diet Intro Stages
You can eat on stage 1:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt,
• 1-2 teaspoons a day of sauerkraut juice
Stage 2
You can eat on Stage 2:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Fermented vegetables; sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
Stage 3
You can eat on Stage 3:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled meat
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
Stage 4
You can eat on Stage 4:
• Meat or fish stock
• Well boiled GAPS-legal vegetables (no starchy root vegetables)
• Squash, winter and summer
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, start with a few tablespoons of carrot juice
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt
You can eat on Stage 5:
• Meat or fish stock
• Raw legal vegetables, peeled
• Squash, winter and summer
• Peeled, cooked apple, pureed
• Honey, up to a couple tablespoons a day
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, carrot, mint, cabbage, lettuce, apple, pineapple, mango
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt
Stage 6
You can eat on Stage 6:
• Meat or fish stock
• Raw legal vegetables, peeled
• Squash, winter and summer
• Peeled, raw apple
• Other fruits, raw, introduce slowly
• Honey, up to a couple tablespoons a day
• Boiled, roasted, or grilled meat (not burned)
• Sea salt
• Fresh herbs
• Cold pressed olive oil
• Fermented vegetables; saurkraut, kimchi, pickles
• Fermented fish
• Egg yolk, organic, carefully separated from the white
• Homemade ghee
• Stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables
• Ripe avocado mashed into soups, starting with 1-3 teaspoons a day
• Pancakes made with nutbutter, squash, and eggs- fried in fat or ghee, start with one a day
• Scrambled eggs made with ghee and served with avocado if tolerated and cooked vegetables.
• Freshly pressed juices, carrot, mint, cabbage, lettuce, apple, pineapple, mango
• Bread made with nut flour, eggs, squash, tolerated fat, salt- use dates and dried fruit to sweeten.
Cara,
Nicely done and very well laid out. One qustions: How do you decide when to move from one stage to the next?
Thansk for you your work.
dia
I think you just try moving on to the next stage, and watch for any bad symptoms (digestive, headaches, etc) when you try new foods.
You’re welcome!
It is hard to know if we are having ‘bad symptoms’ or if it’s just the detox effecting us. 2 of my 3 kids have thrown up today on our 3rd day . We all feel pretty icky…can anyone tell me how long it usually takes to get ‘detoxed’? We all feel so fluish and yucky! Praying this part hurries up and goes away! So thankful my family is being supportive…I feel so guilty seeing my kids feel so sick! I know this is really good for all of us, but I’m a little discouraged this afternoon!
Personally, when my kids get sick like that I up the carbs (with a little pureed fruit or fruit juice) and then try going back down the next day. I think it’s usually from going too low carb too quick.
That’s really helpful! We are also seriously considering doing GAPS, I know I really need to for some somewhat minor things. I just want to feel my best. Both my little ones have allergy issues, and I know they can heal…I don’t want those issues to become anything bigger, either. I am waiting to buy the book before we start though, as you mentioned.
Anyway, a side note about culturing goat’s milk…I was just reading about how Meyenberg goat’s milk is ultra pasteurized and therefore not able to be cultured. I think I tried making yogurt out of it before, and it flopped. Did you use a different kind?
I’m not sure- I know you can even make yogurt out of powdered milk, it’s surely not as good as raw, but it still turns to yogurt.
I’ve used the Meyenberg, and it was more runny than cow milk but I was just under the impression that that is how goat milk yogurt is.
Hey Cara –
Also, we had a very similar reaction to raw milk in our home as well – only raw goat milk and products made from it work for us. That might be the case for you as well. 
We raise our own goats for milk, and I make all our yogurt from the milk. Our yogurt sets up really well. The only time I haven’t had it set up is when I don’t get the milk warm enough. But I second Becky’s comment about Meyenberg – UHT milk doesn’t work.
Hopefully this summer we’ll have a source of goat’s milk and I can see if I could get good goat yogurt!
Thank you Cara. I just finish reading the stages in the book and was just saying to the book, would you please summarize that for me? And Voila, you did it for all of us! Thanks again!
You’re welcome! I did it for myself too
How long do you stay on each stage of the intro diet? Thanks!
I was always under the impression that dark circles under the eyes meant that the liver was overloaded – maybe from allergies, but not specifically dairy…I’m curious to now where and why you heard they were specifically from dairy. I have them very bad.
That might be what it is- she has an overloaded liver too. But her circles also go away when I pull dairy from her diet, so I think they could come from a few different things.
Cara
Thanks for the post. How do you know if ones liver is over-loaded? My little girl has really dark circles and as an infant she had many allergies and eczema and she has over-grown most of the allergies..but the dark circles are still there.
Any ideas? Thanks again.
Hi Tina, our naturopath actually told me, so I’m not really sure!
I’m fairly certain that dark circles are caused my a casein (milk protein) sensitivity. My family has always been sensitive to dairy for this reason.
This has been an interesting thread. I always had dark circles under my eyes and my chiropractor put me on iron. (he thought I was anemic) That didn’t help.My mom and I just figured that this was just my coloring. I did just notice a few weeks ago, that I haven’t had that problem in a while. Well, I haven’t had dairy for a year and a half! Also, after reading, “What’s eating my Child?”, I believe I have been allergic to milk from birth!
Thank you so much for simplifying and laying out the intro plan! I just recently bought the books and am hoping to start the intro soon, as soon as we can find a good (and affordable) source of meat and bones for the broth/soup! The GAPS guide is helpful, but your outline makes it much more clear!
Thanks again!
~Charity
Your fermenting veggies look beautiful! I have not tried anything other than yogurt yet. I have never liked saurkraut make with green cabbage. Does the kind with purple cabbage taste different? Is it sweeter? Any recommendations on a good veggie to start with?
You might want to try pickles
I haven’t noticed a difference between green and red- I just like that the red makes pink kraut 
Looking forward to the GAPS Menu Planner! Thank you for doing this! I am so ready to start GAPS but have been intimidated by it. This post helped me see it is manageable with some planning! Your planner will be such a great help!
Hi Cara, I just found your site a few days ago and have been scouring it with joy. I have five children and I’m pretty sure they all have allergies, though not all have the same symptoms. We get night terrors, dark circles under the eyes, stomach pain (among other pain) and I just found from the doctor today that my 7-year-old son has extremely high cholesterol. We’re looking at going on the GAPS intro (even my husband is curious now.. yea!), but just like most people, I’m very intimidated. I love your new menu planning help and was curious how soon you thought you might have the intro diet menu ready? We still have a lot of reading to do, so it will still be some time, but I can’t wait to feel better!
Thanks,
Kristi
Hi Kristi, I’m so glad you find this helpful!
I hope to have the intro menu plan done this month or next.
Hi Cara-
I’m about to do GAPS intro for the 3rd time. The two times I did it previously I never stuck really tight to any of the stages, so I’m looking forward to going slowly. I was wondering about stocks on stage 1. I typically make my stocks with some vinegar. Should GAPS intro stocks be vinegar-less in your opinion?
Also, what do you think about roasted vegetables? Could they be included at stage 4 when roasted meat is allowed? Thanks for your sharing your experience! And, thanks for the handy dandy list!
Sarah
Hi Sarah, I’m skipping the ACV as well for intro, just to be safe. I’m not sure about roasted vegetables – but I might think of waiting til stage 6 just because they could dry out and be harder to digest, like dried fruit and veggies.
Glad the list is helping so many
Hi Cara,
Gotta say, I LOVE your site and am excited to see that you will be offering GAPS Intro recipes/meals. The recipes I’ve tried from the sample menu (that are Intro OK), have *all* been favorites, even for those in our family that are not on the GAPS diet.
~Tammy
Hi Cara,
I love seeing all those Lacto Fermented veggies but was wondering if you could tell me exactly what they are? especially the triple layer ones, the picture is gorgeous!
Hi Kate,
The others are kimchi and then just purple kraut, and pickles 
That’s sauerkraut- the pink is from the previous batch, and then the green and red are just different colors of cabbage. Once they’re fermented, they’ll be pink too
I’m intrigued by this, but am having allergy troubles with nuts, onions, leeks, and garlic. What do you do if the early stages include foods you know you can’t eat?
Hi Suzanne,
You could just skip the onions, leeks, and garlic in the intro. By the time you get to nutbutter you might be able to try a little (unless your allergy is life threatening, in that case I wouldn’t!) or you could just make squash pancakes. It’s not necessary to eat all the foods on the introduction diet, it’s just a list of foods you can have.
Thanks, Cara, that’s helpful.
Thank you SO MUCH for this. I was going crazy trying to figure out what was allowed (and what to eat). I have the books but there is no bullet point list like this. It’s just what I needed and you saved me from having to make my own!
My 11 month old (who is still nursing) has terrible food allergies and I’m wanting to start him on the intro diet. I read that it’s not recommended that nursing moms do the intro diet (though I never really found the reason why…). So, I was wondering what your family did. When you put your baby on the intro diet at 11 months, were you nursing him? Does he still see healing results if he’s getting non-intro foods through my milk? I have searched and searched and can’t find any answer to my situation and was hoping you might have some insight.
Hi Amanda, We don’t want to do intro while nursing in case we detoxify too quickly, we don’t want our toxins to dump into our milk. Also, it’s really hard to keep carbs up while nursing, what I did was added butternut squash (which I thought wasn’t allowed, but actually is allowed) and moved through intro very quickly- only one day on each stage and then after a week I could have raw fruits (I held off with dairy for a while since I had troubles with that in the past) and keeping my carbs up was no problem.
My 11 month old really didn’t take much food other than breast milk, so me doing intro was him doing intro
I’m not sure if this is much help, it’s just what we did.
Hi Cara,
I’m new to the GAPS diet but I am very interested in it. I don’t have any allergies that I am aware of, but I do have some minor digestive problems that I would like to figure out. I have a 7 month who is fully breastfeeding so, after reading the last comment, I won’t be doing it full force. But I just need a little bit of clarification…
So I go through the intro diet – staying on each level for only 1 day. When I get to stage 6, how long do I stay there?
Any other tips for a nursing mom looking into the GAPS diet?
Thanks!
Hi Jenm
You may do fine with just going full GAPS and see if that helps your digestion. I was only thinking the mother above would want to try intro first because her child had food allergies (and so would likely have a harder time with the full amount of food allowed on the full gaps diet). The GAPS intro is really just ‘see how it goes’ approach, some people might be done with the whole intro in a week, some might take months to go through.
And I’m going to have to stick the reminder in that I’m not a medical professional, and all this is just my opinion.
I appreciate your ‘opinion’ and all the research you have done
Thanks!
Hi Cara.
I am a big fan.
When you publish you publish your intro ebook could you please include any soup options you can think of. We have been at this a L-O-N-G time (17 mos) and my kids still detest soup. We have used the chicken broth because it’s milder. When I add veggies they complain because it’s too chunky. When I puree it they complain there are too many little bits…….
Thank You!
julee.
Hi Julie,
I’m including lots of soup options- but I can’t say that it won’t have any chunks or little bits
Cara
What if you puree the soup w/ veggies &c in a blender, then maybe run it thru a strainer? Give you most all of the good stuff w/out the bits?
I have children who don’t like “bits” either, tho they happily down quantities of plain broth. But when we make lemonade, someone has to strain out the pulp. Picky, picky
It’s ok tho — more lemon for Mom!
We will be starting this in the next few weeks, I am nervous but hopeful. Thanks
Cara, this is fabulous. You’re so generous to do this. I love the GAPS books but they can be overwhelming. Having you synthesize the food choices of each stage into your neat list is a real GIFT! Thank you. Susan
Looking forward to the ebook! I am working through the intro but ran into the same problem with keeping up carbs b/c I still have multiple intolerances– dairy, eggs, nuts. Any tips? I’m also taking the Cheeseslave class
I am waiting for my GAPS book order so we’ve been on a rotation diet till it comes. I went to the GAPS diet website and though you could only eat plain broth for several days, which would be hard to convince my kids 4 & 7 (not to mention my husband) to try. Your presentation makes it more reasonable. While I await the book, in order to convince my husband to give a shot, can you tell me if foods within a stage are supposed to be rotated? should you try to include as many allowed foods as possible within a stage?
You state that you are working on a meal plan for intro. Do you know when that might be done? My brain is so foggy and I want to start intro in mid May. I really think I need to purchase your intro meal plan so I can stay on top of things! I already signed up for your newsletter a month or so ago. ~Jaime
Soon! I’m hoping this weekend!
A question about fermenting–We are getting ready to try GAPS and slowly I am gathering the tools and foods that we will need to tackle this program. Last week I tried the pickled asparagus recipe with lemon, thyme and sea salt. Our first foray into fermenting. Last night, after 5 days we opened the first jar to find a bubbling concoction–both my husband and I pulled out a spear and munched it down. My husband looked at me and asked if I was trying to kill him (not your typical pickled asparagus recipe) and within the next half hour we both began belching and then our stomachs started rumbling and gurgling. Neither of us felt good last night. Is this typical for fermented foods? Is the asparagus maybe too strong of a food to begin with? How do we know if the food is/is not safe to eat? Your thoughts on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks.
Hmm, you might want to start with sauerkraut, then you can start with smaller portions. I doubt your ferment was bad, though, I’ve heard that if it’s bad you’ll know it because there will be lots of fuzzy mold and a bad smell.
Hi, we are preparing to start GAPS. I have ordered my book and as we were waiting I found your website. I have been aware of GAPS for several years as I figured I may need it as we started the foster to adopt process and figured kids may come in with allergies. Maybe my question will be answered in the book, but I have been getting ready for GAPS and starting my 21 month old on some of the food to prepare her. She is a HUGE eater, eating yogurt, a peach or banana and 2 eggs for breakfast. She is not picky, but she doesn’t like soup and never has. We are a big soup family, but I have never been able to get her to eat a lot of soup. MY QUESTION: How am I going to be able to get her to eat enough on the intro diet or get her to eat this food. We have done 24 hr. fermented goat yogurt since she was 1 but she still has numerous food sensitivities and our biggest problem is serious behaviors. I am not new to parenting as I have children in their 20′s and we just adopted her. We did know from early on that she was going to have food issues and I am not new to this. My older children did as well, including myself. My 18 yr. old daughter is doing GAPS with us as she can’t lose weight and has other allergy issues.
Thanks,
Frugal tips…also can people do it if already have sensitivity or allergy to a nut(s) or other food like milk or gluten?
I’ve got a little question. Is there anywhere that the allowed foods are broken down into catagories like:
Veggies:
etc
etc
etc
Fruit:
etc
etc
etc
Milk Products:
etc
etc
I think that would be very helpful, if you don’t ahve it somewhere I’ll try to put it together for myself. I just thought it would be much easier than the alphabetical list in the book….:)
Aubri
I think it’s easier to say you can have all veggies except starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn), all fruits are fine if they’re ripe, all aged cheese and very low lactose milk products are okay
It might get long to list all the veggies!
Hi,
I have problems with my blood sugar getting low and I tried the first few days of the diet and my blood sugar went low and had to eat some grains like millet and aramarath. What do you suggest I do or eat more of? I also cannot sleep with the low blood sugar.
Judy
How long did you stay on Stage 1? I’m not sure where the starting point should be : I’m thinking a few days and then try Stage 2. What do you think?
Thanks so much for this great summary!
Hi CAra,
just purchased your book and reading through everything to gather supplies and such….What kind of seaweed powder….dulse, kelp or? and where do I get whey? do I make my own and how? thanks so much for this great compilation and the challenge….it’s awesome to be doing this with other people!
Whey- I think there are instructions in the dairy section of the intro e-book. Seaweek powder, I’m not sure there is a specific one recommended.
Hi Cara
Thank you SO much for all this information. My family and I want to try GAPS after many years on restriction diets due to massive allergies both severe & non severe. My daughter & I have the worst cases, but my husband is not left out. We only eat organics & prepare all our meals from scratch, but we still have problems.
My question for the Intro stages is what do we do when we have known allergies to some of even the intro foods, for example eggs? Do we simply skip that part, or do the skin test & decide based on that reaction? We have a lesser allergy to cabbage also…
So far, that is the most daunting part of proceeding on the diet for me. However, every day I struggle to make sure my family is eating as healthily as possible given the over 50 allergies we are dealing with.
We are all looking so VERY forward to some relief & results, and for me less worry.
Thanks very much for your support
Pip
You’re such a good mom
I personally would wait a few weeks and then try introducing eggs, in the order listed (egg yolks in soup, egg yolks made into pancakes, then yolks and whites) but I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice 
hi there,
wondering at what stage i can start drinking mint and ginger tea? is it right from the beginning? i do hope so!! on day 2 and feeling very sad with some tea to get me through my other cravings.
thanks!
I think you could… you may want to wait until ‘fresh herbs’ are introduced though.
Hi. My son is three years old and is autistic. He has abnormal bowels, either constipated or unformed stool. I got your intro book and I am on the second day of the first stage of the diet. The first day was good, he ate soup. Today was more difficult. He was irritable and weak. I am wondering if I could only do stage 1 for two days instead of five? Also why should I not give cooked eggs to him in stage 2?
Thank you so much!
Rosana
Hi Cara
Thinking of starting the gaps diet.Can u please share as to for how long did u stay on during each stage.I understand its different for everyone but just to have a rough idea.
As for the eczema… my partner, Kelsy has eczema as well. It did get much better on GAPS, however, it flares with each newly introduced probiotic. It has come back this winter despite her being on full GAPS. (We started GAPS last year in February and got to full GAPS near the end of the summer.)
Our son used to be prone to eczema and asthma as a baby, but he seems to have outgrown it. He was also colicky and continued to have digestive problems as well as joint, muscle, bone pain, and extreme dyslexia. He always had lots of “seasonal” allergies, which got worse and worse over the years – until we went gluten-free, removed corn, and then started GAPS and all these problems went away!
You can read about our story on my website if you like. We also have a step by step breakdown of the GAPS Intro (a series of posts) and a “Starting GAPS” post that helps you get your kitchen set up in detail. http://theliberatedkitchenpdx.com/basics/starting-gaps/
Hi, I have never heard of the Gaps diet until today. I read everything on this site with interest. One question was asked twice but not answered. How long should one stay on each stage? I love soup so it could be very good for me.
Cheers, Joy
Thanks for all this, Cara. I’m starting GAPS intro in a few days to help with some psoriasis and eczema issues. I’m hoping that the rest of my family will follow suit. I have a 4-year-old carboholic who claims he can smell candy and bread and will check people’s pockets for it. I also have a 2-year-old with dark circles under his eyes…I heard gluten-sensitive people get those. Milk allergies, too? We drink raw milk. I suppose I should have him checked out, huh? I’d love for GAPS to rid my other son of his nut allergies. We tried GAPS before with a lot of resistance from them. I got called every name in the book and was deemed a terrible cook and mom for forcing them to eat that way. How would you handle those sort of … challenges?