Gut and Psychology 
Syndrome 
Natural treatment for 
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, 
MMedSci(neurology), MMedSci(nutrition) Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride set up The Cambridge 
Nutrition Clinic in 1998. As a parent of a child 
diagnosed with learning disabilities, she was acutely 
aware of the difficulties facing other parents like her, and she 
has devoted much of her time to helping these families. She 
realised that nutrition played a critical role in helping 
children and adults to overcome their disabilities, and has 
pioneered the use of probiotics in this field. Her willingness to share her knowledge has resulted in her 
contributing to many publications, as well as presenting at 
numerous seminars and conferences on the subjects of learning disabilities and 
digestive disorders. This book captures her experience and knowledge, incorporating 
her most recent work. She believes that the link between learning disabilities, the food and drink that we 
take, and the condition of our digestive system is absolute, and the results of her work 
have supported her position on this subject. In her clinic, parents discuss all aspects 
of their child's condition, confident in the knowledge that they are not only talking to 
a professional but to a parent who has lived their experience. Her deep 
understanding of the challenges they face, puts her advice in a class of it's own. Natasha Campbell-McBride holds a Degree in Medicine and Postgraduate Degrees in 
both Neurology and Human Nutrition. In her clinic in Cambridge she specialises in 
Nutrition for Children and Adults with Behavioural and learning Disabilities, and 
Adults with Digestive and Immune System Disorders 
Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride is to be congratulated on putting 
together such a well-researched and provocative book. I warmly 
recommend it. Dr Basant KPuri, Consultant Psychiatrist, Imperial College, London, UK 
Dr Campbell-McBride has done an excellent job of summarising 
the nutritional biochemical connections with psychiatric and 
neurological disorders and gastrointestinal function. The book is 
full of valuable and interesting facts that can be used by people to 
optimise the health of themselves and their children. Dr. William Shaw, Ph.D., Great Plains Laboratories, Kansas, USA 
The book contains basic information for the 
beginner as well as in-depth information  ISBN  0-9548520-0-1 
for those at an advance level. Thank you 
Dr Campbell-McBride for writing this book. Dr. Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D., Centre for the 
Study of Autism, Oregon, USA 
£14.95 9 780954 852009 > | Gut and Psychology 
Syndrome 
Natural treatment for 
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, 
MMedSci(neurology), MMedSci(nutrition) Copyright © 2004 by Natasha Campbell-McBride 
Gut and Psychology Syndrome 
ISBN 10: 0-9548520-0-1 
ISBN 13: 978-0-954-85200-9 
First published in United Kingdom in September 2004 by 
Medinform Publishing 
10 Adelaide Close 
Soham 
Cambridge CB7 5FJ 
First reprint February 2005 
Second reprint August 2005 
Third reprint March 2006 
Fourth reprint July 2006 
Fifth reprint October 2006 
Sixth reprint November 2006 
Seventh reprint May 2007 
Eighth reprint November 2007 
Ninth reprint April 2008 
Tenth reprint August 2008 
Eleventh reprint November 2008 
The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author 
of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, 
Patent and Designs Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a 
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior 
written permission of the author. Printed by Halstan Printing Group, Amersham, Buckinghamshire 
Illustrations by Peter Kent To my sons, Nicholas and Matthew, and to my husband, Peter, 
without whose support and encouragement this book would never 
have been written. REVIEWS 
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is to be congratulated on putting together 
such a well-researched and provocative book. From the over-use of anti­
biotics to the promotion of breast-feeding and healthier diets, 
Dr. Campbell-McBride writes with the authority of a practising doctor and 
with the warmth and feeling of a mother of a child with autism. Every 
parent with a child who has autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity dis­
order, dyslexia or dyspraxia will find much to value in this book, which in 
turn delights and shocks the reader. I warmly recommend it. Dr Basant K Puri,MA, PhD, MB, BChir, BSc MathSci, MRCPsych, DipStat, 
MMath, Head of the Lipid Neuroscience Group, MRI Unit, Hammersmith 
Hospital, Imperial College, London; and author of the books The Natural 
Way to Beat Depression; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; and Natural Energy. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has done an excellent job of summarising 
the nutritional biochemical connections with pyschiatric and neurological 
disorders and gastrointestinal  function. She has done an admirable job in 
relating specific digestive disorders in conditions such as schizophrenia, 
autism, attention deficit disorder and other problems of child develop­
ment. The book is full of valuable and interesting facts that can be used by 
people to optimise the health of themselves and their children. Dr. William Shaw, PhD., Great Plains Laboratories, Kansas, USA 
Dr. Campbell-McBride's book provides important information and great 
insight into the understanding and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders 
in those with developmental disabilities and other disorders. The book 
contains basic information for the beginner as well as in-depth infor­
mation for those at an advance level. Thank you Dr. Campbell-McBride for 
writing this book. Dr. Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Autism, 
Oregon USA. This book is fantastic and will become a classic. Every medic should have 
one.... No, every household should have one! An invaluable resource for patients with 'syndrome diseases' and 
so-called 'mental health problems'. The medicine of the future already in 
practice. Martina Watts BA(Hons) DipION MBANT, 
practising nutritionist and journalist 
This book presents the case for investigating the nutritional aspects, how 
the gut works and how poor gut function seriously impacts not only 
physical health but also brain function, for all children with learning and 
behaviour difficulties. Countless parents seeking help from The Hyperactive Children's Support 
Group find their children benefit greatly from dietary and nutritional 
interventions. Vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid deficiencies are all 
too frequently discovered. This book offers an insight to how the digestive system affects the brain. Sally Bunday, Founder Director, 
The Hyperactive Children's Support Group, UK WICKEN FEN 
The old wooden gates swinging wide open 
leaving room for a path of wood stretching out in front of you. The heavenly scent of the clean fresh air. The whistling sound of the grass and the trees 
swaying left and right in the breeze. At night you stare at the wonderful sight. The path leading over the moist soft grass. You walk on the bridge over a gently flowing river. The hill reaching so high, almost touching the sky. The windmill still stands as you walk the stairs 
which have been there for years. The buzzing of the bees busy in their hive. All the sounds surround you. The warm feeling of welcome is quick to arrive. The sun shining bright on the grass 
as green as the leaves in summer. The way forward getting thinner leaving the feeling that lasts. The adventure is over. Feeling warm inside. Farewell until next time. Nicholas Campbell-McBride, 11 years old, 
Cambridge, UK CONTENTS 
To the Parents of Autistic Children - an Open Letter 1 
Introduction 5 
Part One: What Is Going On? 1. All Diseases Begin in the Gut 9 
2. The Roots of a Tree 15 
3. Immune System 25 
4. What Can Damage Gut Flora? 31 
5. The Opportunistic Flora 37 
6. The Gut-Brain Connection 45 
7. The Families 53 
8. Vaccinations. Does MMR Cause Autism? 59 
9. Schizophrenia 63 
Part Two: Treatment 
Diet 
1. The Diet - A Discussion 71 
2. The Appropriate Diet for GAP Syndrome 93 
3. Recipes 119 
4. It's Feeding Time! Oh, No! 157 Supplementation for Children and Adults with GAP Syndrome 163 
1. Probiotics 
165 
2. Fats: The Good and the Bad 
3. Vitamin A 187 
4. Digestive Enzymes 
5. Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation 
Detoxification for People with GAPS 
Part Three; Different Issues 
1. Ear Infections and Glue Ear 
2. Top Ten Influences, which Boost Immunity 221 
3. Top Ten Influences, which Damage Immunity 223 
4. Constipation 225 
5. Genetics 
229 
6. A Few Words About Education 
235 
Selected References 
243 
Index 261 To THE PARENTS OF 
AUTISTIC CHILDREN - AN OPEN LETTER 
Not many people would choose to become parents of an autistic child. Yet 
it is happening to more and more of us in our modern world. There is an 
unmistakable epidemic of autism going on across the globe. If this can 
possibly be of any comfort for a parent, then I would say that you are 
certainly not alone! Autism used to be a rare disorder, so that the majority of doctors never 
saw it in their practice and most people had never heard of it. Fifteen years 
ago in western countries the incidence of autism used to be on average one 
child in 10,000. Now according to the UK Department of Health 1 in 166 
children in Great Britain are diagnosed with autism. According to the USA 
Centre for Disease Control (CDC around 1 out of 150 American children are 
diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders now and the numbers are 
growing every day. Similar numbers are reported by the Autism Canada 
Foundation. A Finnish study published in the European Journal of Child 
and Adolescent Psychiatry (2001, volume 9) reported an incidence rate of 1 
child in 483 diagnosed autistic in Finland. In Sweden a rate of 1 child in 141 
was reported. So, what is happening? Why do we have such a dramatic increase in 
numbers of children falling prey to this terrible disorder, deemed incurable 
by orthodox medicine? Is the reason for this epidemic genetic? The truth is - we don't know! However, what we do know, is that genetic disorders do not show such a 
sudden increase in incidence. Genetics just don't work that way. This kind 
of increase in new diagnosis of autism cannot be explained by genetics. On 
the contrary, it provides a strong argument to support the statement, that 
genetics may not play an important part in the development of autism 
after all. Is this epidemic due to better diagnosis? That is what some very well-
established British medical experts are trying to tell us. So, in effect are they 
saying that 10 years ago doctors in the UK were so bad at recognising and 
diagnosing autism 
case, where are all these children today? They would by now be teenagers with autism, because we know that this disorder does not disappear with 
age. We clearly do not have 1 in 166 teenagers in the UK with autism. So, this 
argument does not convince anybody. Something else is going on. Something that cannot simply be explained away and something that 
cannot be fixed with a pill. Most parents of autistic children can clearly recall that traumatic 
moment of the diagnosis of "Autism" being announced to them by a doctor 
followed by the statement "There is nothing that can be done." Well, being 
a doctor myself, I have to say that your doctor is wrong, there is a lot that 
can be done! I would even go further, depending on your commitment and 
certain circumstances, you have a good chance of bringing your child as 
close as possible to normality! Hundreds of autistic children across the 
globe, appropriately treated and educated become almost indistinguish­
able from their typically developing (normal) peers. The sooner the treat­
ment starts - the better are the results, because the younger the child is, the 
less damage there is to undo and also because they have less catching up to 
do in their development with normal children of their age. Thankfully, the 
medical professionals, though often being unhelpful as far as treatment is 
concerned, are much better nowadays at diagnosing autism. The majority 
of children get diagnosed by the age of three, which was not the case 10-15 
years ago. Receiving the diagnosis so early gives the parents a chance to 
start acting early, which gives the child a better chance of recovery. In the western world there is a general tendency to delegate responsi­
bility for our health to the medical profession. If you are ill you go to the 
doctor. When it comes to autism, after establishing the diagnosis, official 
medicine has virtually nothing to offer the child. It is a big shock for par­
ents to suddenly find themselves facing this monster called "Autism" on 
their own. Most of the parents I have met are intelligent and often well-
educated people. The first thing they do is to learn as much as possible. Today there is a whole world of information available on the subject of 
autism, including solid scientific research. Looking at the amount of 
research done in other areas of medicine in the last 10 years, it is often less 
than what has been achieved in the field of autism. I believe the reason is 
that research in autism is almost entirely driven by the most motivated 
people on Earth - the parents of autistic children. Among them are doctors, 
biochemists, biologists and simply intelligent people looking for solutions 
to their child's problem. There is a network of parent organisations across 
the world keen to share information and help each other. I know a lot of 
parents who would spend hours on the phone to comfort and help another parent in the same situation. Treating autism is not an easy task. It takes 
years of continuous effort and commitment. But, being a parent myself, I 
can tell you that it is one of the most rewarding experiences on Earth! In 
this book I would like to share with you what I strongly believe to be the 
appropriate treatment for an autistic child. Information on nutrition is not included into the curriculum of western 
medical schools and consequently doctors have very little idea about the 
value of nutrition in the treatment of disease. Yet appropriate nutrition is a 
corner-stone of any successful treatment for any chronic disease Autism 
and other learning disabilities are no exception. There are many popular 
misconceptions in this area, which have to be clarified. Autism used to be a diagnosis considered hopeless. With all the know­
ledge we have today it is very far from that. And we are still learning every 
day. Children diagnosed today are much more fortunate than children 
diagnosed ten years ago (if the word fortunate can be used at all), because 
their parents have so much more information available to them to start 
helping their child immediately. Ten years ago we did not know half of what 
we know today. Parents of newly diagnosed children now have no time to 
despair - there is too much learning to do! I think, that is very positive. The 
learning rollercoaster, your child will take you through, will change your 
life forever. Who knows, it may open new horizons and opportunities for 
you, as it has done for so many people. So, let's keep learning! INTRODUCTION 
This book has evolved over a period of three years when I worked with 
hundreds of children in my clinic. Initially the book was planned to be 
about autism as the majority of children who came to see me were indeed 
autistic. However, the more children I saw the more it became clear that we 
have other epidemics emerging. Attention deficit disorder with hyperactiv-
ity and without it (ADHD/ADD), dyspraxia, dyslexia, various behavioural 
and learning problems, allergies, asthma, eczema - all have reached epi­
demic proportions. But more than that these seemingly unrelated condi­
tions overlap with each other. After years of working with the children in 
my clinic I hardly met one child who presented with just one of the above 
conditions. Every child has two, three or more of these health problems at 
once. For example, a child would present with allergies; at the same time 
the parents would describe a couple of asthmatic episodes and eczema 
and then would talk about their child's extreme clumsiness (dyspraxia) and 
learning problems. A large percent of allergic and asthmatic children are 
dyspraxic and hyperactive to various degrees. Many of them have prob­
lems with concentration and attention span, which affect their learning 
ability. There is an approximate 50% overlap between dyslexia and dys-
praxia and a 30 50% overlap between ADHD and dyslexia. Children who 
suffer severe eczema in infancy quite often develop autistic features later 
in life. Autism and ADHD overlap with every one of the above-mentioned 
conditions. Apart from being hyperactive many autistic children have 
severe allergies, asthma, eczema, dyspraxia and dyslexia. ism 
THE OVERLAPPING PICTURE 
As we can see, modern medicine has created all these separate diagnostic 
boxes to fit our children in. But the modern child does not fit into any one 
of them; the modern child fits into this rather lumpy picture. Why are all these conditions related? What underlying problem are we 
missing in our children which makes them susceptible to asthma, eczema, 
allergies, dyspraxia, dyslexia, behavioural problems, ADHD and autism in 
different combinations? Why when they become teenagers, do many of 
these children fall prey to substance abuse? Why do many of these children 
grow up to become diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, bipolar dis­
order and other psychological and psychiatric problems? To answer all these questions we have to look at one factor, which unites 
all these patients in a clinical setting. This factor is the state of their diges­
tive system. I have yet to meet a child with autism, ADHD/ADD, asthma, 
eczema, allergies, dyspraxia or dyslexia, who has not got digestive abnor­
malities. In many cases they are severe enough for the parents to start talk­
ing about them first. In some cases the parents may not mention their 
child's digestive system, yet when asked direct questions would describe a 
plethora of gut problems. But what have digestive abnormalities got to do 
with autism, hyperactivity, inability to learn, mood and behaviour prob­
lems? According to recent research and clinical experience - a lot! In fact it 
appears that the child's digestive system holds the key to the child's mental 
development. The underlying disorder, which can manifest itself in INTRODUCTION 7 
different children with different combinations of symptoms, resides in the 
gut! Rather than trying to fit a child with autistic tendencies, asthma, 
eczema and hyperactivity or a child with dyspraxia, dyslexia and allergies 
into any particular diagnostic box we need to have a name for the under­
lying disorder, which originates in the gut and manifests itself as any 
combination of the above conditions. Here I propose a name: Gut And Psychology Syndrome  or GAP  
Syndrome . Children with GAP Syndrome often fall into the gap - the gap in 
our medical knowledge. As a result they do not receive appropriate treat­
ment. In the following chapters we are going to talk in detail about what 
the GAP Syndrome means, how it develops and how to treat it. Apart from childhood learning disabilities: autism, ADHD/ADD, 
dyslexia, dyspraxia and various learning and behavioural problems, there 
is another group of conditions which fit into the GAP Syndrome. These 
conditions are schizophrenia, depression, manic depression or bipolar dis­
order and obsessive compulsive disorder. The father of modern psychiatry 
French psychiatrist Phillipe Pinel (1745-1828), after working with mental 
patients for many years, concluded in 1807: "The primary seat of insanity 
generally is in the region of the stomach and intestines." And yet, the last 
thing a modern psychiatrist would pay attention to is the patient's diges­
tive system! We will discuss the scientific and clinical evidence pointing in 
the direction of gut-brain connection in schizophrenic patients. It is beyond the scope of this book to look at other psychiatric condi­
tions. Hopefully, future clinical experience and research will shed light on 
how many of them may belong to Gut And Psychology Syndrome. Here 
we will concentrate on the conditions which receive the diagnostic labels 
of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, ADHD/ADD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and 
Schizophrenia. This book may also be useful for patients who are 
diagnosed with allergies, including asthma and eczema. PART ONE: 
WHAT IS GOING ON? 1. ALL DISEASES 
BEGIN IN THE GUT 
Hippocrates, 460-370 BC 
GAPS children and adults have digestive problems, sometimes quite 
severe. Colic, bloating, flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, feeding difficul­
ties and malnourishment, all to various degrees, are a typical part of 
autism, schizophrenia and other GAPS conditions. Doctors often explain 
these symptoms as a result of patient's "funny" feeding habits and are not 
inclined to investigate them. Whether we look at a child or an adult with GAPS, in the majority of 
cases digestive problems start at weaning time or times when breast milk 
gets replaced with formula milk and other foods get introduced. In many 
cases parents clearly remember that the diarrhoea or constipation started 
in the second year, but thinking back would recall that their child had colic, 
vomiting (reflux) or other digestive symptoms in the first year as well. In 
cases of GAPS adults it is important to speak to the parents of the patient (if 
possible) in order to collect a detailed medical history starting from birth. In those cases where an adult did not have a history of gut problems from 
childhood the digestive problems would start later in life due to some 
health-damaging event. The second year of life is the time when many GAPS children start devel­
oping fussy eating habits, refusing a whole lot of foodstuffs and limiting 
their diet to a handful of foods, usually starchy and sweet: breakfast cere­
als, crisps, chips, popcorn, cakes, biscuits, sweets, bananas, bread, rice, 
sweet yoghurts. Most of these children would refuse to have vegetables, 
fruit (apart from bananas), meats, fish and eggs. About 60-70% of the autis­
tic children I have seen in my clinic would have an extremely limited diet, 
consisting sometimes of two or three items. It is quite rare to meet an autis­
tic child who is not fussy with food. Other GAPS children may not be as extreme as autistic children but the majority of them also limit their diets 
in the same typical fashion. It is also very rare for parents of GAPS children to describe their child's 
stool as normal. The picture is particularly striking in autistic children. Diarrhoea and constipation would often alternate and, in many cases 
undigested food is clearly visible in the stool. Very often the stool would 
have an extremely strong, unpleasant smell and at other times it is so liquid 
and frothy that the child cannot hold it. Sometimes the stool would be very 
acid and burn the child's skin in the nappy area. In many cases the stool 
has a pale whitish colour and floats on the surface of the water, indicating 
that the child is unable to digest fats. Often the child would have such 
severe constipation, that he or she would not open the bowel for 5-7 or 
more days, which then would result in an extremely large and painful stool. This sort of experience makes children fearful of passing stool, so they hold 
on for as long as they can, making the whole problem even worse. In some 
cases parents do not notice anything wrong with the stool, but when asked 
would acknowledge that their child has pronounced flatulence and bloat­
ing. In many of these cases the child would wake up at night screaming, 
when the parents do not know what is wrong. As the excessive gas gets 
released or simply moves to a different place in the bowel the pain would 
disappear and the child would settle down. In the case of autism all these symptoms undoubtedly cause children a 
lot of discomfort and pain. But unfortunately, due to their inability to com-
municate most autistic children cannot tell their parents about it, so they 
express their feelings in other ways: self-stimulation, self-destruction, 
tantrums, refusing to eat, etc. Children with other GAPS conditions who do 
not have communication problems often complain of tummy aches and 
feeling nauseous. In most cases these children are not tested or investigated by gastro-enterologists. In a few published cases when autistic children have been 
investigated, an X-ray of their digestive tract almost invariably showed a 
condition called "faecal compaction with an over-spill syndrome" What 
does it mean? It means that large amounts of old, compacted faeces are lit­
erally glued to the walls of the digestive tract, where they can stay for many 
months, providing a fertile rotting environment for all sorts of parasites, 
bacteria, fungi and viruses to breed and thrive, constantly producing a lot 
of toxic substances which are absorbed into the bloodstream of the child. In this condition new food, eaten by the child, seeps through a narrow 
channel between these compacted faecal masses. So, whatever stool comes out of these children is an over-spill, which does not empty the 
bowel, hence the name - an over-spill syndrome. Until the last few years, apart from a few anecdotal reports in medical lit­
erature on an over- spill syndrome in autistic children, there was virtually 
no research done in this area. Then in 1998 Dr Andrew Wakefield, a consul­
tant gastro-enterologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London, and his team 
published their research, suggesting a connection between chronic 
inflammatory bowel disease and autism. They performed endoscopy and 
biopsy on a group of autistic children, who were referred to them with gas­
trointestinal symptoms. Endoscopy is a procedure where a special pipe is 
inserted into the digestive tract of a patient, through which an investigator 
can see what is going on there. While an endoscopy is being performed, a 
small bit of the gut wall can be obtained using a special biting instrument 
to be later examined under the microscope. This is called taking a biopsy. As a result of their research, Dr Wakefield and his team have identified a 
condition in the bowel of these children, which they named Ileal -  
Lymphoid - Nodular Hyperplasia and Non - Specific Colitis . Let us see what 
it all means. First we will look at the Ileal - Lymphoid - Nodular Hyperplasia . Ileum is 
a name given to the last three-fifths of the small intestine. Ileum is approx­
imately 3.5 m long in adults and at its end connects to the bowel. The major 
function of the small intestine in general is food absorption. However, not 
much food absorption happens in the ileum. The walls of this part of the 
small intestine are packed with large numbers of lymph nodes, called 
Peyer's patches, which are small round or bean shaped structures, ranging 
in size from 1 to 25 mm. These lymph nodes are a very important part of our 
immune system. We know of two major functions that they fulfil. 1. The first function is filtering the lymph (tissue liquid), coming from 
the ileum and removing bacteria, viruses, fungi, dead cells (including 
cancer cells) and various toxins from it. It is a good place to look at 
what particular infectious agents might be lurking in your intestine 
because the lymph nodes are like a prison for these viruses, bacteria, 
dead cells and fungi - if they cannot destroy them, they imprison 
them. So, when gastro-enterologists perform endoscopies, they 
always try to get a sample of these lymph nodes to be examined under 
the microscope. This is what Dr Wakefield's team has done. 2. A second function of lymph nodes is production of lymphocytes - a 
large group of immune system cells, a major function of which is fighting infections. In fact lymph nodes themselves are made pri­
marily of lymphocytes, together with some other cells. So, when the 
lymph nodes are faced with an infection, they start producing a lot of 
lymphocytes to fight the infection, which makes the lymph nodes 
large and inflamed, sometimes painful. This enlargement of the 
lymph nodes is called lymphoid nodular hyperplasia and this is what 
Dr. Wakefield has found in the ileum of autistic children. Because many of the children from his study have developed autistic 
features after MMR vaccine, this is the direction Dr Wakefield pursued 
when looking at what particular infection may have caused this enlarge­
ment of the lymph nodes. Suspecting that it might be the measles virus, he 
involved in his research a well-known virologist Dr John O'Leary, a 
professor of pathology from Dublin. Sure enough, Dr O'Leary has found 
the same measles virus used in the MMR vaccine in the ileal lymph nodes 
of the autistic children. This particular part of Dr Wakefield's research, con­
cerning the measles virus and MMR vaccine, caused a lot of controversy 
and vigorous resistance from government and the medical establishment 
which distracted attention from the main issue. The main issue is: autistic 
children have enlarged and inflamed lymph nodes in their gut wall, which 
is a clear sign of a fight with some infection going on there. Let us now look at the second part of the condition which Dr Wakefield 
described in his group of autistic children, the Non - Specific Colitis . The 
term Colitis means an inflammation of the colon. Doing the endoscopies, 
Dr Wakefield's team has found various stages of chronic inflammation in 
the gut of these children, erosions of the mucous membranes of the colon 
and intestines, abscesses filled with pus, ulcers and plenty of faecal com­
paction. In some places the gut wall was so inflamed with such enlarge­
ment of the lymph nodes, that it almost obstructed the lumen of the gut. In 
some ways this inflammation resembled ulcerative colitis, in some -
Crohn's disease, when some features were completely unique to these 
autistic children. That is why this colitis was named non-specific, because 
it could not be assigned to any existing diagnosis. Dr Wakefield's team 
called it AUTISTIC ENTEROCOLITIS. This term is yet to be accepted into 
the official medical vocabulary, but for us who work with autistic children 
it is a very good term to use. The findings of Dr Andrew Wakefield and his team, who have examined 
hundreds of autistic children, have been independently supported by a 
number of other researchers in the world (Buie at al., Uhlmann et al., Furlano et al, Morris et al.). Apart from published research, there are 
number of practising doctors around the world, whose clinical observa­
tions support the fact that autistic children have a digestive disorder, the 
severity of which may differ in different children. Based on my clinical 
experience I would strongly add my voice to theirs: in fact I have yet to 
meet an autistic child without digestive problems. So far we have been talking mostly about autism. What about the rest of 
GAPS patients? There has been a substantial amount of research linking 
schizophrenia with digestive abnormalities similar to coeliac disease. C. Dohan, R. Cade, K. Rachelt, A. Hoffer, C. Pfeiffer and other doctors and 
scientists have established a hypothesis of gut-brain connection in 
schizophrenia and backed it by very serious scientific findings, which we 
will discuss in detail in the following chapters. Clinical experience shows 
that the majority of schizophrenic patients suffer from digestive problems. In most cases these problems start in early childhood. Apart from autism and schizophrenia there is much less published sci­
entific data on gut problems in ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, asthma, allergy, 
eczema and other GAPS conditions. However, when it comes to clinical 
observations almost all children and adults with GAPS have digestive prob­
lems to various degrees. Many patients have typical symptoms of IBS 
(Irritable Bowel Syndrome): abdominal pain, bloating, stool abnormalities 
and flatulence. A small percentage of patients may have normal stools, but 
would suffer from malnutrition, reflux, "heartburn", abdominal pains and 
flatulence. In the case of GAPS children most of them limit their diets in the 
typical GAPS fashion preferring processed carbohydrates to the exclusion 
of everything else. Many GAPS adults also have similar fussy attitudes to 
food. I had a number of patients who did not complain of any particular 
digestive problems. However, when put on GAPS treatment programme 
have improved dramatically. The question is: why do GAPS children and adults have their digestive 
systems in such a condition? What has it got to do with their mental state? To understand that we need to look at some very important fundamental 
aspects of human gut. 2. THE ROOTS 
OF A TREE 
A human body is like a planet inhabited by huge numbers of various 
micro-creatures. The diversity and richness of this life on every one of us is 
probably as amazing as the life on Earth itself! Our digestive system, skin, 
eyes, respiratory and excretory organs are happily co-existing with trillions 
of invisible lodgers, making one ecosystem of macro- and micro-life, living 
together in harmony. It is a symbiotic relationship, where neither party can 
live without the other. Let me repeat this: we, humans, cannot live without 
these tiny micro-organisms, which we carry on and in our bodies every­
where. The largest colonies of microbes live in our digestive system. A healthy 
adult on average carries 1.5 - 2 kg of bacteria in the gut. All these bacteria 
are not just a chaotic microbial mass, but a highly organised micro-world 
with certain species predominating and controlling others. The number of 
functions they fulfil in our bodies are so vital to us, that if our gut got 
sterilised, we would probably not survive. In a healthy body this microbial 
world is fairly stable and adaptable to changes in their environment. Let's 
look at who is who in there? Gut micro-flora can be divided into three groups: 
1. Essential or beneficial flora This is the most important group and the 
most numerous in a healthy individual. These bacteria are often 
referred to as our indigenous friendly bacteria. The main members of 
this group are: Bifidobacteria, Lactobacteria, Propionobacteria, physi-
ological strains of E.coli, Peptostreptococci and Enterococci We are 
going to look in detail at what good work they do in our bodies. 2. Opportunistic flora This is a large group of various microbes, the 
number and combinations of which can be quite individual. These 
are: Bacteroids, Peptococci, Staphylococci, Streptococci, Bacilli, 
Clostridia, Yeasts, Enterobacteria (Proteus, Clebsielli, Citrobacteria, 
etc. ), Fuzobacteria, Eubacteria, Catenobacteria and many others. There are around 500 various species of microbes known to science so far, which can be found in the human gut In a healthy person their 
numbers are normally limited and are tightly controlled by the bene-
ficial flora. Each of these microbes is capable of causing various 
health problems if they get out of control. 3. Transitional flora These are various microbes, which we daily 
swallow with food and drink, usually non-fermenting Gram-negative 
bacilli from the environment. When the gut is well protected by bene-
ficial bacteria, this group of microbes goes through our digestive tract 
without doing any harm. But if the population of the beneficial flora is 
damaged and not functioning well this group of microbes can cause 
disease. So, what are all these microbes doing there and why do we need them? Health and integrity of the gut 
A human digestive tract is a long tube open to the outside world at its start 
and at its end. Whatever harmful things there are in the outside world, our 
digestive system is a perfect entrance for them into our bodies. We eat and 
drink plenty of micro-organisms, chemicals and toxins every day. How do 
we survive? One of the major reasons is the fact that the whole length of the digestive 
tract is coated with a bacterial layer, much like a thick layer of turf on the 
surface of the gut epithelium, providing a natural barrier against invaders, 
undigested food, toxins and parasites. And, just like a soil unprotected by 
turf becomes eroded, the gut wall suffers if its protective bacterial "turf" 
gets damaged. How do our indigenous bacteria protect the gut wall? Apart from providing a physical barrier, they work against invasive 
pathogenic microorganisms by producing antibiotic-like substances, anti-
fungal volatiles, anti-viral substances including interferon, lizocym and 
surfactins that dissolve membranes of viruses and bacteria, they engage 
the immune system to respond appropriately to invaders. In addition, by 
producing organic acids, the beneficial bacteria reduce pH near the wall of 
the gut to 4.0-5.0, making a very uncomfortable acidic environment for 
growth and activity of pathogenic "bad" microbes, which require more 
alkaline surroundings. Pathogenic microbes produce a lot of very potent toxins, not to mention 
all the toxic substances that we ingest with food and drink. Our healthy 
indigenous gut flora has a good ability to neutralise nitrates, indoles, phenols, skatol, ksenobiotics and a lot of other toxic substances, inactivate 
histamine, chelate heavy metals and other poisons. The cell walls of bene­
ficial bacteria absorb many carcinogenic substances, making them in-
active. They also suppress hyperplastic processes in the gut, which is the 
basis of all cancer formation. So, if the beneficial bacteria in the gut are damaged and are not functioning  as they should, then the "walls of the city" are not protected very 
well, which is a typical situation in a GAPS gut. Without protection the gut 
wall is open to invasion by anything that comes along: a virus from vaccination  or the environment, a ubiquitous fungus such as Candida Albicans, 
various bacteria and parasites and toxic substances, all of which are very 
capable of damaging our digestive system and causing a chronic inflammation  in its walls. And we must not forget about the opportunistic flora, 
which normally lives in the gut, tightly controlled by the beneficial bacte-
ria. They are always there and ready to cause trouble, if their guardians, the 
good bacteria, are weakened. Studies with microscopic examination of a 
biopsy of the gut wall show that in healthy individuals there is a thick 
bacterial band attached to gut mucosa, keeping it intact and healthy. In 
inflammatory bowel disease different pathogenic bacteria are found in the 
mucosa, even inside the gut cells, which means that the protective 
bacterial band has been broken and allowed the pathogens to reach the 
sacred gut wall. To make the situation even worse, without well functioning gut flora the 
gut wall not only becomes unprotected, but also malnourished. Normal 
gut flora provides a major source of energy and nourishment for the cells, 
which are lining the digestive tract. The beneficial bacteria living on the gut 
epithelium digest the food, which comes along, converting it into nourish-
ing substances for the gut lining. In fact it is estimated that gut epithelium 
derives 60-70% of its energy from bacterial activity When the gut flora is 
compromised, the lack of nourishment it would produce adds to the 
damage of the digestive wall. This sets up a chain of degenerative changes 
in the digestive wall structure, which would further impair its ability to 
digest and absorb nutrients. To understand what exactly happens in the gut of your child, let us have 
a look at some anatomy and physiology of the gut lining. The absorptive 
surface of intestines has a wonderful structure of finger-like protrusions, 
called villi and deep crypts between them. The epithelial cells called enterocytes, which coat the villi are the very cells which complete the digestive 
process and absorb the nutrients from food. These cells work very hard, so they have to be always young and in a good shape to do their job efficiently. As usual, Mother Nature organised it in the most marvellous way. These 
enterocytes are constantly born in the depth of the crypts. Then they slowly 
travel to the top of the villi, doing their job of digestion and absorption and 
getting more and more mature on the way. As they reach the top of the villi, 
they get shed off. This way the epithelium of intestines gets constantly 
renewed to ensure its good ability to do its work well (FIG. 1). Animal experiments with sterilisation of the gut found that when the 
beneficial bacteria living on the intestinal epithelium are removed this process of cell renewal gets completely out of order. The time of cell travel 
from crypts to the top of the villi becomes a few times longer, which upsets 
the maturation process of enterocytes and often turns them cancerous. The mitotic activity in the crypts get significantly suppressed, which 
means that much less cells will be born there and much less of them will be 
born healthy and able to do their job properly. The state of the cells them-
selves becomes abnormal. All because their housekeepers, the healthy gut 
bacteria, are not there to take care of them (FIG. 2). That is what happens in a laboratory animal with a sterilised gut. In a 
human body the absence of good bacteria always coincides with bad 
bacteria getting out of control, which makes the whole situation much 
worse. Without the care of beneficial bacteria while under attack from 
pathogenic flora, the whole structure of gut epithelium changes, starting a 
process of pathology or disease developing. The villi degenerate and 
become unable to digest and absorb food properly, leading to malabsorp­
tion, nutritional deficiencies and food intolerances. Gut flora is the housekeeper of the digestive system. The state of the 
house and its ability to fulfil its purposes directly depends on how good the 
housekeeper is. Anatomical integrity of our digestive tract, its functionality 
ability to adapt and regenerate, ability to defend itself and many other 
functions are directly dependent on the state of its microscopic house-
keepers - our gut flora. As we will see later, GAPS children and adults have 
a very abnormal gut flora, which results in digestive abnormalities. Nourishment of the body 
Everybody knows that the main purpose of having a digestive system is to 
be able to digest and absorb food. Scientific and clinical experience shows 
that without healthy gut flora the digestive system cannot fulfil these func-
tions efficiently . A good example is the digestion of milk and wheat V>e<*\1rhu eoteroctjte SteK trfteroc^fe in 
^ <ylt <^$\>ioSt$ 
FIG. 2 The hair on the enterocytes represent microvilli. As the enterocytes cover 
the surface of the villi their hair (microvilli) make a so-called brush-border, where 
the last steps in digestion of food happen. proteins which happens in two stages. The first stage occurs in the 
stomach where, under the influence of digestive juices produced by the 
stomach walls, milk and wheat proteins get split into peptides, some of 
which have morphine-like structure called casomorphines and gluteo-morphines (or gliadinomorphines). It is a normal process and happens in 
all of us. Then these peptides move to the small intestine where the next 
stage of their digestion happens. They get subjected to pancreatic juices 
and then reach the intestinal wall where they are broken down by enzymes, 
called peptidases, on the microvilli of enterocytes. This is the stage which is 
missing in people with abnormal gut flora because of the poor state of their 
enterocytes. As a result casomorphines and gluteomorphines get absorbed 
into the bloodstream unchanged and cause problems in the body, in particular  interference with brain function and immune system function. There has been a considerable amount of research in this area in patients 
with autism, schizophrenia, ADHD, psychosis, depression and autoimmu-
nity, who show high levels of casomorphines and gluteomorphines in their 
bodies, which means that their gut wall is in no fit state to complete appro­
priate digestion of these substances. Clinical experience shows that when 
the gut flora is restored, many GAPS patients can digest casein and gluten 
in moderate amounts without their symptoms returning. Apart from keeping the gut wall in good shape, the healthy gut flora pop­
ulating this wall has been designed to take an active part in the very 
process of digestion and absorption. So much so, that the normal digestion 
and absorption of food is probably impossible without well-balanced gut 
flora, It has an ability to digest proteins, ferment carbohydrates, break 
down lipids and fibre. By-products of bacterial activity in the gut are very 
important in transporting minerals, vitamins, water, gases and many other 
nutrients through the gut wall into the bloodstream. If the gut flora is damaged, the best foods and supplements in the world may not have a good 
chance of being broken down and absorbed. Certain ingredients in our foods cannot be digested by a human gut at all 
without the help of beneficial bacteria. A good example is dietary fibre. In a 
gut with healthy gut flora the fibre gets partially broken down to oligo­
saccharides, amino-acids, minerals, organic acids and other useful nutri­
ents to feed the gut wall and the rest of the body. Most of us are aware that 
dietary fibre is good for us. Fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts 
and seeds, beans and pulses are all good sources of fibre. Supplemental 
fibre in the form of sachets, capsules or drinks is often prescribed to people 
by doctors to lower their blood cholesterol levels, to remedy constipation and many other digestive problems, to help bile metabolism, to prevent 
bowel cancer, to improve glucose tolerance in diabetics, etc., etc. There is a 
long list of benefits from regular consumption of dietary fibre. Well, fibre is 
one of the natural habitats for beneficial bacteria in the gut. They feed on 
it, producing a whole host of good nutrition for the gut wall and the whole 
body, they engage it in absorbing toxins, they activate it to take part in 
water and electrolytes metabolism, to recycle bile acids and cholesterol, 
etc., etc. It is the bacterial action on dietary fibre that allows it to fulfil all 
those good functions in the body. And when these good bacteria are dam­
aged and are not able to "work" the fibre, dietary fibre itself can become 
dangerous for the digestive system, providing a good habitat for the bad 
pathogenic bacteria and aggravating the inflammation in the gut wall. This 
is when gastroenterologists have to recommend their patients have a low-
fibre diet. Consequently, dietary fibre alone without the beneficial bacteria 
present in the gut can end up not being all that good for us. And indeed 
GAPS children and adults who are prone to diarrhoea or loose stools have 
to have low fibre in their diet until the diarrhoea clears. Apart from fibre there is another substance which most of us would not 
be able to digest without our good bacteria in the gut. This substance is 
milk sugar, called Lactose. It is a well-known fact that a lot of people are 
Lactose intolerant, which means that they can't digest milk. Most GAPS 
children and adults are among these people. The explanation offered by 
science so far is that many of us lack an enzyme called Lactase to digest 
Lactose. If we are not meant to digest Lactose, then why do some people 
seem to manage it perfectly well? The answer is that these people have the 
right bacteria in their gut. One of the major Lactose digesting bacteria in 
the human gut is E.coli. It comes as a surprise to many people that physio­
logical strains of E.coli are essential inhabitants of a healthy digestive tract. They appear in the gut of a healthy baby from the first days after birth in 
huge numbers: io 7 - io 9 CFU/g and stay in these same numbers throughout 
life, providing that they do not get destroyed by antibiotics and other envi­
ronmental influences. Apart from digesting Lactose, physiological strains 
of E.coli produce vitamin K and vitamins Bi, B2, B6, Bi2, produce anti­
biotic-like substances, called colicins, and control other members of their 
own family which can cause disease. In fact having your gut populated by 
the physiological strains of E.coli is the best way to protect yourself from 
pathogenic species of E.coli. They also take a huge and complex part in 
appropriate functioning of the immune system, which we will talk about 
later. Apart from E.coli, other beneficial bacteria in the healthy gut flora will 
not only ensure appropriate absorption of nutrients from food but also 
actively synthesise various nutrients: vitamin K, pantothenic acid, folic 
acid, thiamin (vitamin Bi), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), 
pyridoxine (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin Bi2), various amino 
acids and other active substances. In the process of evolution Nature made 
sure that when the food supply is sparse, we humans don't die from vita­
min and amino acids deficiencies. Nature provided us with our own fac­
tory for making these substances - our healthy gut flora. And when this gut 
flora is damaged despite adequate nutrition we develop vitamin deficien­
cies. Why? Because most water-soluble vitamins have a fairly short life in 
the body. So, unless one is taking these vitamins every hour (providing that 
they can get absorbed at all withouthealthy gut flora), there will be periods 
during the day when the body would be deficient in these vitamins. That is 
what happens to people with damaged gut flora which is unable to provide 
a constant steady stream of water-soluble vitamins for the body to use. Every tested GAPS child or adult shows deficiencies in those very vitamins, 
which their gut flora is supposed to produce. Restoring the beneficial bac­
teria in their gut is the best way to deal with those deficiencies. Most people with abnormal gut flora have various stages of anaemia. It is 
not surprising. They not only can't absorb essential for blood vitamins and 
minerals from food, but their own production of these vitamins is dam­
aged. On top of that people with damaged gut flora often have a particular 
group of pathogenic bacteria growing in their gut, which arejron-loving 
bacteria {Actinomyces spp., Mycobacterium spp. t pathogenic strains of 
E.coli, Cotynebacterium spp. and many others). They consume whatever 
iron the person gets from the diet, leaving that person deficient in iron. Unfortunately, supplementing iron makes these bacteria grow stronger 
and does not remedy anaemia. The majority of GAPS patients I have seen look pale and pasty and their 
blood tests often show changes typical for anaemia. Many of these patients 
have been prescribed iron tablets by their doctors. However, it takes much 
more to remedy anaemia than supplementing iron. To have healthy blood 
the body needs magnesium, copper, manganese, iodine, zinc and many 
other minerals, a whole host of vitamins: Bi, B2, B3, B6, Bi2, C, A, D, folic 
acid, pantothenic acid and many amino acids. It has been shown in a large 
number of studies all over the world, that just supplementing iron does not 
do much for anaemia. It saddens me to see that doctors still prescribe it to 
anaemic patients giving them a lot of unpleasant digestive side-effects due to encouraging growth of pathogenic iron-loving bacteria and direct nega­
tive effect on the cells of the gut lining, which are already inflamed and very 
sensitive in GAPS patients. People with abnormal gut flora have multiple nutritional deficiencies 
due to all the factors described above. Every GAPS child and adult who has 
been tested shows a typical picture of nutritional deficiencies in many 
important minerals, vitamins, essential fats, many amino acids and other 
nutrients. The most common deficiencies are in magnesium, zinc, sele­
nium, copper, calcium, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, potassium, 
sodium, vitamins Bi, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, A, D, folic acid, pantothenic acid, 
omega-3, omega-6 and omega™9 fatty acids, taurine, alpha-ketoglutaric 
acid, glutathione and other nutrients. This usual list of nutritional deficien­
cies, commonly seen in GAPS patients, includes some of the most impor­
tant known nutrients for normal functioning and development of the 
brain, immune system and the rest of the body Despite the fact that some 
of GAPS children appear to grow very well, often being large for their age, 
they are malnourished in very important micronutrients. And knowing the 
state of their digestive system, it is not surprising. A well-functioning gut  
with healthy gut flora holds the roots of our health. And, like a tree with sick  
roots is not going to thrive, the rest of the body cannot thrive without a  
well-functioning  digestive system . The bacterial population of the gut - the 
gut flora™ is the soil around these roots, giving them their habitat, protec­
tion, support and nourishment. As we know, the roots of a tree, invisible, hidden deep under the ground, 
play a crucial role in the well-being of every branch, every twig, every little 
leaf of that tree, no matter how proudly high and far they may be from 
those roots. In the same way the diverse and multiple functions of gut flora 
reach in the body far beyond the gut itself. Let us look at one of the most 
important^branches" in the body-the immune system. 3. IMMUNE SYSTEM 
People with GAP Syndrome have got a compromised immune system. When we test their immune status, deficiencies in various immunoglobu­
lins are found, while other immunoglobulins may be increased out of pro­
portion. Deficiencies in complement, various cells, enzymes and other 
parts of the immune system are common. It appears that the whole of the 
immune system in GAPS children and adults is out of balance. But the 
most scary thing that happens is that their immune system starts to pro­
duce antibodies attacking the body's own tissues, including brain and the 
rest of the nervous system. It is an immune system deeply upset and out of 
control, scavenging on its own body. Why does this happen? Has it got anything to do with the state of these 
patients' digestive system? There is no doubt that it has! The epithelial surface of the digestive system inhabited by huge num­
bers of bacteria can truly be described as the cradle of the immune system, 
both systemic and mucosal. A baby is born with an immature immune 
system. Population of the baby's digestive tract with healthy bacterial flora 
plays a crucial role in the appropriate maturation of its immune system. If 
establishment of balanced gut flora does not take place around the first 20 
days of life, then the baby is left immune-compromised. The beneficial 
bacteria which take up residence on the epithelium of the gut wall play a 
major immunomodulatingrole in a number of ways. Let us look at some of 
them in detail. Essential or beneficial bacteria in our digestive system engage a very 
important member of the immune system-the lymphoid tissue of the gut 
wall and take part in the production of huge numbers of lymphocytes and 
immunoglobulins. For example, in the cell wall of Bifidobacteria (the good 
bacteria largely populating the human colon) there is a substance called 
Muramil Dipeptide which activates synthesis of one of the most important 
groups of immune system cells-lymphocytes. As a result a healthy gut wall 
is literally infiltrated, jam-packed with lymphocytes, ready to protect the 
body from any invader. Scientific research shows that in people with dam-aged gut flora there are far fewer lymphocytes in the gut wall, which leaves 
it poorly protected. There are commercial companies trying to make sup­
plements from Muramil Dipeptide to help the immune system. I believe 
that it is better to restore a healthy colony of Bifidobacteria in the gut, 
which will produce Muramil Dipeptide naturally, as well as many other 
useful substances which these bacteria normally supply. Lymphocytes in the gut wall produce immunoglobulins. The most 
important one in the gut is Secretory Immunoglobulin A (IgA). Secretory 
IgA is a substance which is produced by lymphocytes in all mucous mem­
branes in the body and excreted in body fluids. It is found in breathing pas­
sages, nose, throat, bladder, urethra, vagina, saliva, tears, sweat, colostrum, 
breast milk and of course the mucous membranes of the digestive system 
and its secretions. Its job is to protect mucous membranes by destroying 
and inactivating invading bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. It is one of 
the immune system's ways of dealing with the unwelcome invaders 
coming with food and drink into our digestive system. Microbiological sci­
ence established a fact that when the healthy gut flora is compromised in 
humans and in laboratory animals the number of cells producing IgA falls 
dramatically and their ability to produce this important immunoglobulin 
is severely reduced. This, of course, would greatly lessen the ability of the 
gut to protect itself. In addition quite soon after being excreted the 
Immunoglobulin A naturally degrades. Apart from stimulating its produc­
tion, the beneficial bacteria slow down its degradation through a very com­
plex process, allowing the IgA more time to do its work. IgA is commonly 
deficient in GAPS children and adults due to their abnormal gut flora. As a 
result their gut wall has poor ability to defend itself from fungi, viruses 
from vaccinations or the environment, bacteria and parasites. Lymphocytes are not the only immune cells, which should be present in 
abundance in the digestive wall. When there is a deficiency of beneficial 
bacteria in the gut, other groups of immune cells, called neutrophils and 
macrophages cannot do their job properly either. These are the cells, which 
gather in infected and inflamed tissues and clean them up by literally swal­
lowing viruses, toxins, bacterial and cellular debris and destroying them. Approximately 126 billion neutrophils per day leave the blood and pass 
through the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. In people with abnormal gut 
flora these cells reduce their ability to tackle antigens, in other words they 
can't destroy invaders and their toxins efficiently, even when their phago­
cytic (swallowing) ability may appear to be normal. We don't know yet how 
it happens. What we do know is that this will allow viruses, bacteria and other invaders to survive and persist inside of neutrophils and 
macrophages - the very cells, which are supposed to destroy them. Apart from ensuring appropriate function of lymphocytes, IgA and 
phagocytes, healthy gut flora takes a very important part in the production 
of interferons, cytokines and many other active regulators of immune 
response, particularly in fighting viral infections. Millions of children and 
adults around the world are exposed to viruses from vaccines or the en­
vironment. If these people have got well-functioning gut flora, then these 
viruses do them no harm, because their bodies are well equipped to deal 
with them. In GAPS people due to the abnormalities in their gut flora 
viruses from vaccines or the environment have a good chance to survive 
and persist. A good example is the measles virus found in the gut wall and 
spinal fluid of autistic children. It is quite reasonable to suspect that this 
virus comes from the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination. Another fascinating way in which beneficial bacteria work with the 
immune system is a so-called "mimicking phenomenon". The bacteria on 
the surface of gut epithelium and the cells of this epithelium swap antigens 
rather like children swapping their hats when playing hide and seek to fool 
the seeker. This swapping of antigens improves efficiency of a large 
number of various immune responses, particularly in local immunity. Unfortunately, in GAPS patients this swapping can work against them as 
many pathogenic microbes can play this game as well. There is a debate in 
scientific literature about the measles virus using this mimicking phe­
nomenon to fool the immune system into attacking its own tissues. Gut flora's influence on the immune system reaches far beyond the gut 
itself. The research shows that when the gut flora is damaged, not only the 
levels of IgA, lymphocytes, macrophages, interferons, cytokines, etc. in the 
digestive system drop but the whole immune system in the body gets out 
of balance. This process makes the person immune-compromised. To understand all this, let's imagine a medieval fort with high stone 
walls. The soldiers are on the walls defending them with guns, catapults 
and other weapons^ appropriate for the job of fighting. Inside the fort there 
are civilians, who grow crops, cook food for the defenders and do all the 
civilian jobs. They have spades, cooking pots and all other tools for doing 
their jobs. When an enemy comes, it is the job of the soldiers to fight them. Imagine that the soldiers fail and the enemy starts getting inside the fort. Now the civilians are faced with the job of the soldiers. The civilians do not 
have appropriate training or tools for fighting so they are going to use 
whatever they have to hand - their gardening tools, cooking pots, etc. These tools are not made for fighting so the civilians are not going to be as 
effective at defending the fort as the soldiers with their weapons. Something along these lines happens in the body, when the gut flora is 
compromised. There are two major armies in the immune system: Thi 
immunity (the soldiers on the walls of the fort) and Th2 immunity (the 
civilians inside the fort). The soldiers on the walls, Thi immunity (T-cell 
helper type 1), promotes a so-called cell-mediated immunity, which is 
located everywhere the body is in contact with the outside world. Its role is 
to fight infections in the mucous membranes, skin and inside cells. It is a 
first and very effective barrier to any invasion into the body. Secretory 
immunoglobulin A is assigned to this system as well as Interleukin-2 (IL-2), 
Interleukin 12 (IL-12), gamma interferon and some other substances. As we 
have seen, healthy gut flora plays an extremely important role in keeping 
this part of immunity active and up to its job. When the bodily flora is dam­
aged, then this part of immunity becomes less efficient and starts letting 
unwanted microbes and toxins through into the body. The body responds 
by activating the second army in the immune system (the civilians inside 
the fort) the Th2 immunity (T-cell helper type 2) responsible for humoral 
immunity or immunity in the liquids of the body. The main players in this 
system are Interleukins 4, 5! 6 and 10, alpha interferon and IgE. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the master of allergic reactions in the body, it is 
very active in people with asthma, eczema, hay fever and other allergies. In 
a person with abnormal gut flora this Th2 system becomes overactive, 
which predisposes the person to atopic or allergic type reactions, chronic 
inflammation, autoimmunity and many other undesirable effects. Like 
civilians in a fort, armed with the wrong tools and not trained to fight, the 
Th2 system is not going to defend the fort in the right way. We need both the Thi and Th2 immunity in the body, but they have to be 
in the right balance. The imbalance between Thi and Th2 immunity with 
underactive Thi and overactive Th2 is a usual picture in chronic viral infec­
tions, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, candidiasis, asthma, eczema, 
autism and most other GAPS conditions. Why? Because all these condi­
tions, though they look quite different, have one big thing in common - a 
gut dysbiosis or abnormal gut flora, which is the major balancing agent 
between Thi and Th2 immunity. To carry on with the medieval fort analogy, 
it is the gut flora that keeps the soldiers on the walls in large numbers, alert, 
well trained and always ready to fight. When the gut flora is not functioning 
well, then the soldiers become relaxed and lazy, some of them go inside the 
fort to help the civilians with their jobs, so the number of soldiers on the walls get smaller, making the Thi immunity weak and out of balance with 
the Th2 immunity. On the whole it is hard to overestimate how important the state of our 
gut flora is in the appropriate functioning of our immune system. The gut 
wall with its bacterial layer can be described as the right hand of the 
immune system. If the bacterial layer is damaged or, worse than that, 
abnormal, then the person's immune system is trying to function with its 
right hand tied behind its back. In the previous chapter we covered in detail the various nutritional 
deficiencies which people with abnormal gut flora develop. An immune 
system cannot function without constant nourishment, it requires most 
known vitamins and minerals, amino acids and fats to be able to do its job.
Gut_and_Psychology_Syndrome.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Gut and Psychology 
Syndrome 
Natural treatment for 
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, 
MMedSci(neurology), MMedSci(nutrition) Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride set up The Cambridge 
Nutrition Clinic in 1998. As a parent of a child 
diagnosed with learning disabilities, she was acutely 
aware of the difficulties facing other parents like her, and she 
has devoted much of her time to helping these families. She 
realised that nutrition played a critical role in helping 
children and adults to overcome their disabilities, and has 
pioneered the use of probiotics in this field. Her willingness to share her knowledge has resulted in her 
contributing to many publications, as well as presenting at 
numerous seminars and conferences on the subjects of learning disabilities and 
digestive disorders. This book captures her experience and knowledge, incorporating 
her most recent work. She believes that the link between learning disabilities, the food and drink that we 
take, and the condition of our digestive system is absolute, and the results of her work 
have supported her position on this subject. In her clinic, parents discuss all aspects 
of their child's condition, confident in the knowledge that they are not only talking to 
a professional but to a parent who has lived their experience. Her deep 
understanding of the challenges they face, puts her advice in a class of it's own. Natasha Campbell-McBride holds a Degree in Medicine and Postgraduate Degrees in 
both Neurology and Human Nutrition. In her clinic in Cambridge she specialises in 
Nutrition for Children and Adults with Behavioural and learning Disabilities, and 
Adults with Digestive and Immune System Disorders 
Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride is to be congratulated on putting 
together such a well-researched and provocative book. I warmly 
recommend it. Dr Basant KPuri, Consultant Psychiatrist, Imperial College, London, UK 
Dr Campbell-McBride has done an excellent job of summarising 
the nutritional biochemical connections with psychiatric and 
neurological disorders and gastrointestinal function. The book is 
full of valuable and interesting facts that can be used by people to 
optimise the health of themselves and their children. Dr. William Shaw, Ph. D. , Great Plains Laboratories, Kansas, USA 
The book contains basic information for the 
beginner as well as in-depth information  ISBN  0-9548520-0-1 
for those at an advance level. Thank you 
Dr Campbell-McBride for writing this book.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
Who is the author of the book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome"?
The argument is that it is not supported by the data, as the number of children with autism would have grown up by now, but they have not.
What is the main argument against the claim that the increase in autism diagnosis is due to better diagnosis?
The beneficial bacteria in the gut play a crucial role in the production of various nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, and also in the production of immunoglobulins and other important substances.
What is the primary purpose of the beneficial bacteria in the gut?
The gut flora plays a crucial role in the immune system, producing immunoglobulins, cytokines, and other substances to fight off infections and protect the body.
What is the relationship between the gut flora and the immune system?
Dr. Wakefield and his team discovered the condition "Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular-Hyperplasia" in the gut of autistic children.
What is the condition that Dr. Wakefield and his team discovered in the gut of autistic children?