Having eczema and being on the GAPS diet has made me very aware of the food addictions many people around me have. Once people hear that we can’t eat breads or noodles or rice, they tend to freak out. đ
They will invariably say, “Oh! I can’t live without my cake/bread/carbs/etc”. According to Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, this is a clear indication that there is a yeast overgrowth in the body system, specifically the gut. The yeast is telling you to feed it and that is what causes the cravings.
Both dd and I had similar cravings before we started the GAPS Diet. But after a few months on GAPS, the cravings have largely disappeared. I remember distinctly eyeing the bunch of bananas on the kitchen table and having a conversation with myself about eating it in the beginning. It was hard to walk away from it! I craved even apples, a fruit I used to not want to have anything to do with! That’s how badly the yeast wanted sugar.
But now, it isn’t as bad. Once in a while it rears its ugly head but sadly what I crave most is the creamy taste of milk! Weak coffee is allowed on full GAPS but with no milk. Ah! But it is coffee with milk that I crave đ
Many times people who can’t lose weight say they can’t help it and now, knowing what I know, I guess it is true. Cravings can get bad. You become addicted to the food, you just need it. I used to need to snack and eat supper, preferably something carb-based.
GAPS does help with food cravings if you stick to it and not cheat. Once you cheat, you allow the bad guys ammunition all over again. Which means you have to start from square one. You would have wasted all that effort. That is what keeps me going when the days are bad and no apparent benefits are seen.
But once you starve and kill the yeast in you, all the cravings will go away and suddenly you have willpower! As always however, the beginning is always the toughest. But is worth it as you see that food no longer has power over you and you begin to shed unwanted and unhealthy weight.