Egads Dads!

Most of us local Mamas have spouses "along for the ride" so to speak on our crazy SCD/GAPS dietary adventures. Some spouses have been through an autism diagnosis, the biomed route (loads of supplements to heal the body), the gluten-free diet, the gluten-free + casein-free diet, gluten-free + casein-free + soy-free + corn-free diet, elimination diets for allergies, Weston A Price diet, etc.. Is it any wonder that they are beyond DONE with diets by the time they arrive at SCD/GAPS?

So for the most part they support us with, "yep, sure, and uh-huh" to our obsessive rantings about sustainable agriculture, chemical free cleaning products, clean spices, and disaccharide/polysaccharide free menu options. It is not just my husband who, although supportive, grows weary of all the SCD/GAPS talk around the house.

These are good guys. They see the positive changes in the kids. They support their wives. They think only a mother would be crazy enough to do all this work. But some have dared to wonder aloud if the kids would just outgrow their issues and if we aren't just killing our Mama selves over nothing.

Sure they would... Just like the laundry magically gets folded and messes are magically cleaned up. Sometimes what looks like a kid outgrowing something is really a testament to the mother who did not give up. In fact, it is a wonderful thing if the Mama of the house has managed to make it all look fine to the outside world. If teachers just say things like, "Wow, ________ has recently turned a corner and is doing really well," just smile and nod. Explaining that you are tired to the bone just sounds a little like whining. But I digress. Maybe I need a nap.

So... I received two coincidental phone calls this past week. Two Mamas have husbands who, after being the mostly supportive dad and eating SCD/GAPS when the kids are present, went off the wagon last week for "business reasons." At home they had been mostly eating SCD/GAPS for months, although they did sneak treats here and there (perhaps almost daily, but just a little cheating since they aren't technically required by their own Mama to be on the diet). Last week both of them, for different reasons, were eating out most of the week. By day three they cried uncle. Well, at least their bodies cried uncle. I think both men were becoming intimately acquainted with their bathrooms as a result of all the processed, who-knows-what-laden meals they were consuming.

I am trying not to get a chuckle out of all this. Really, I am. But frequently the spouses give us Mamas SUCH a hard time thinking that these little changes don't *really* make that much of a difference. That cheating here and there shouldn't/wouldn't/couldn't be a big deal. We patiently explain the theory about starving out the pathogenic bacteria and that infractions, whether purposeful or not, reset the clock on starving out the bad guys. Keep in mind the size of the pathogens and that a tiny amount of cheating can feed a lot of bad bugs!

Anyway, these two dads (if they care to step back and analyze WHY they feel so badly) probably feel as though they are visiting the planet krypton. They used to have stomachs of iron and ate all that #$%^ without a problem. But now... now... Now their body has had a chance to get rid of some of the layers of toxins. Now when they put processed junk into their bodies their bodies know enough to rebel against the assault!

So, the big question is... how many times will they repeat the experience before deciding that _______________ doesn't agree with them. Or just admit that perhaps, just perhaps, their little apples didn't fall all that far from their tree. The kids being healed on this diet could come in the size / shape / ages of fathers as well.