Body Ecology Diet / Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet

The Body Ecology Diet (BED) and the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet (GAPS) are popular with some parents – especially those whose children suffer with mental disorders and intestinal issues.  Since these two diets are gaining in popularity, I have reviewed their Web sites and dietary suggestions.

BED

To improve health and well being BED focuses on adding cultured foods to the diet, changing the quality of fats and oils one consumes, drastically reducing the intake of carbohydrates and sugars, and taking a whole host of supplements.  The emphasis is on curing gut issues.  Seemingly, curing gut issues is their answer to curing nearly ALL chronic diseases.

In my opinion the first and fourth choices are totally unnecessary and the later two choices are laudable – only if properly executed.  Unfortunately, BED's menus indicate the sponsors do not understand as much as they should about food.  In other words their food choices may address some gut issues, but they will not fully accomplish their stated goals!  In fact, many of BED's food selections will actually cause all the many chronic diseases Americans battle.  Over all, it is slightly better than typical daily American fare, but it is a feeble effort compared to The Real Diet of Man.

Some BED recipes call for over-ripe bananas, raisins, oats, buckwheat, organic peanut butter, organic sugar, organic eggs, organic butter (as if the word “organic” makes horrible stuff good), spelt, olive oil, rice milk, and the list of horrible foods goes on and on.  These foods have highly skewed balances (high levels of Omega-6 fatty acids and low levels of Omega-3 fatty acids) of the critically important essential fatty acids (EFAs) and/or are high glycemic.  In some cases they are universally contaminated with fungi and molds!

Amazingly BED strongly recommends amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa!  They call them seeds instead of grain.  I guess they do not know that all grains are seeds of annual grass plants.  (Even corn is a grass.)  Right, the chemical composition of seeds differs greatly from the green leaf.  And amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa seeds have fatty acids profiles that are worse than many conventional grains.  Check them out in my GI, GL, Fat Ratio, and Inflammation Web page and you’ll see what I mean.

My conclusion is that if you eat foods recommenced by BED you must purchase the many supplements, probiotics, and other stuff they sell to hopefully offset the damage.  I seriously doubt that even with the supplements you will be able to properly balance the crucial EFAs.

GAP

GAP is better than BED.  It focuses mostly on meat and veggies.  But once again, as with BED, the GAP folks believe the organic label cures all sins.  A discussion on organic, natural, and other worthless food terms will follow in a future post.  Until then, keep in mind that the natural chemicals making up foods themselves have far an away more impact on a body than do any other unnatural contaminants introduced by man.  In other words, it’s the nutrients, or lack of them, in the more popular foods that has the greatest impact on human health.  High glycemic is still high glycemic.  Low Omega-3 is still low Omega-3, etc.

For instance, high glycemic foods cause fungal infestations within one's body to spew out mycotoxins.  Fungi and their mycotoxins are 100% organic and everyone has a fungal infestation within their body.  And for a fact, mycotoxins are the biggest chemical contaminant in our foods.  If all foods were organic, unless people changed to The Real Diet of Man, the incidences of chronic disease would be exactly the same as it is today without organic foods.  Therefore organic is basically meaningless in terms of food safety and nutrition!

The GAP folks do not differentiate between grain-fed meats and grass-fed meats.  They think chicken is a healthy meat even if it is grain-fed from conception.  Surprisingly they recommend animal fats.  But what good are animal fats if the animals eat grain?  Once again the GAP diet does not recognize that in nearly all cases an organic egg is nutritionally identical to the cheapest grain-fed eggs all stores sell.  They do not understand that free range, brown eggs, and/or cage-free are meaningless terms when it comes to nutritional characteristics.  Obviously they do not know that some eggs are Omega-3 eggs, therefore far healthier eggs.

GAP recommends avocados.  It recommends pancakes made with organic nut butter (almond, walnut, peanut).  It recommends breads made with nuts and salad dressings made with olive oil mixed with sunflower and/or sesame and/or pumpkin seeds.  GAP also recommends pineapple, mangoes, and “more” honey.

Avocados, olive oil, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts are exceptionally high Omega-6 sources.  Of course peanuts are a legume seed, not a nut, and they are very dense sources of Omega-6.  Pineapple, mangoes, and honey are high glycemic.  Honey is nearly off the top of the glycemic chart!  These foods are body killers!

Popular Diets are Horrible Diets

These two diets are "prescribed" primarily for sick people -- those with mental disorders and gut issues -- not everyone.  But gut issues and mental disorders are just a few of the many disorders that fall under the category of chronic disease.  Chronic diseases are body failures.  Nearly all body failures are due to the food people eat.  Therefore why not have a diet that is for everyone.  That's what The True Diet of Man is -- a diet for everyone.  It's for people with health issues and those who want to avoid health issues in the future.  For me, that is the only answer to eating properly.  Therefore the diet I follow is for sick people and healthy people.  That's because we all need the same, exact basic nutrients for optimal body function across the board.

Just about all popular diets are similar to BED and GAP primarily because they only rearrange the chairs on the Titanic.  In other words, they try to replicate the traditional foods with different ingredients – unfortunately their different choices do not differ nutritionally!  For instance, spelt is an old wheat variety that is actually worse in nutrient composition than many of the newer varieties most commonly used today.  That is also true of the nutrient compositions of amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.

The only way to create change is to change.  That means one must reject most modern-day traditional foods and learn to appreciate different foods and food combinations.  That’s what The Real Diet of Man does.  It is a complete rejection of the modern-day, traditional, grain-based food system.  It’s focus is on grass-fed meats, veggies, low glycemic foods, only some fruits sparingly, and nuts rarely.  No dairy, raw or not.

Now that is change because all grain or seeds, grain-based foods, grain-fed livestock, and high glycemic foods are out.  It’s such a huge change true Paleo eaters have a very difficult time finding something to eat when they go to a restaurant, a dinner function, or a friend’s house.  They quickly discover they are no longer in the social loop!  Therefore it takes real determination and discipline to eat correctly in our society.

For optimal body function the objective of one’s diet is to have the essential fatty acids (EFAs) in perfect balance, get the whole spectrum of other required nutrients in perfect balance, to eat enough energy and protein to fully sustain one’s lifestyle, and to eat foods that subdue fungal infestations.  That can only be achieved with The Real Diet of Man without any backsliding.  This is the only way to strengthened the immune system, improve brain and all other aspects of body function, and lower mycotoxin loads to sustainable levels.  Anything less leaves the body vulnerable to body failure and . . . all chronic diseases are body failures.

Important links relating to this commentary.
Food Analysis:  GI, GL, Fat Ratio, and Inflammation
It All Began in the Sea . . .
Man Is an Extension of the Leafy, Green Plant
The Real Diet of Man is Very Simple
Brain Function is Unequivocally Food Dependent
Autism and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
BED
GAP