The 'BEFORE' post

In a few days I will start a new diet. No, not the grapefruit fad. No large quantities of cider vinegar. Not Paleo, either. The diet is called GAPS and from what I've read so far, it has the potential to undo years of ill health and hopefully cure my digestive troubles. I see it as a gut renovation, like a house renovation. (Yes, the metaphor seemed too good to pass up.) Why a house? Well for one, I live an an old Victorian. When we moved in over twenty years ago, we had to remove some nasty asbestos, flaking lead paint, crumbling horse-hair plaster—remnants of the past, but volatile still. There were holes in the walls and leaks in the roof. The house was showing its age, but the basic structure inside was sound. So the plan is, I rid my basement of large colonies of unwelcome pathogens and bacteria. I'll banish the neurotoxins that have accumulated in my attic—yes, the 'ol noggin'. I'll rebuild the walls, filling leaks and gaps (pun intended) until the place is like new, better than the day it was born—did I say born? I mean built.
As I read more about the the protocol of the diet and the science that supports it, I'll share what I've learned, the daily experience of turning my food consumption habits upside down, the triumphs (hopefully) and the inevitable frustrations—this is life, after all. When I'm done, I hope to be able to enjoy food again without fear of reactions, and look back on this journey and declare it was worth the effort. And maybe have one slice of pizza, hold the pepperoni. Care to join me?