Today is Day 13 of full GAPS, and I noticed my feet were no longer hurting. This post is going to describe the problems I've been having with my feet for the past few years. After just 13 days on full GAPS I am able to stand for hours in the kitchen, walk barefooted, walk through super size grocery stores and my feet are okay! This is so amazing.

In 2006 I was officially diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. Then in July 2008 I pulled something in my foot doing a Taebo workout with Eldest Son. We were using video workout tapes to get more exercise, and one of our favorites was Dancing to the Oldies series by Richard Simmons.

Eldest Son seemed to like the video workouts okay, but I thought he might like doing Taebo because it was a “manly” type workout. Well, doing one of the squats, where you stand with your knees bent and squat halfway down, I felt something pull in my foot.

I was in even more pain after that. I could not bear any weight on that foot when first waking in the morning. It took a very long time to heal and during that time I had to wear a brace every single night (really uncomfortable during the hot summer) for about six months.

It was almost impossible finding shoes that were comfortable, but eventually my husband I found a pair of shoes made by a company called Nevados. It is amazing how shoes do not have good support or cushioning. It may feel good to your fingers, but not when you put the shoe on to test it.

I had been wearing the Nevados since November 2008. They are normally $60, but would go on sale for $20. Even though the cushioning in the sole would still feel good to my fingers, the material would start to break down within a few weeks and my feet would start to hurt again.

In the beginning, I had to wear a new pair about every 4-5 weeks! I would buy several pair when I found them on sale. I had to wear the shoes every waking moment.

I wasn't sure it the GAPS Diet was playing a part.*

But I did wonder. Could it be the gelatin [affiliate link] in the broth having an effect?

I just googled Gluten-Free and plantar fasciitis. Maybe it's because I'm no longer ingesting gluten?

It would be just awesome if I could start wearing regular women's shoes and didn't have to always wear these dorky looking men's shoes.

Not to say that I'm a “shoe person”. I have never been much into shoes. But when you find that you can only wear a certain kind of men's casual wear shoes, it really is annoying. I like to look nice going to church, and the men's casual wear shoes don't go well with dresses, ya know?

I used to wear sandals during the summer, or flip-flops. But my feet have been such a mess that I have had to wear the Nevados year round!

I really wonder if the gluten might be affecting my feet. I guess I'll find out eventually, when I try adding gluten back into my diet.

UPDATE May 2016. I made the decision early on to forever avoid gluten. Two main reasons… I have one autoimmune disease which I know of: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and also have the MTHFR genetic mutation. Both are good reasons to stay off gluten forever.

*UPDATE: October 2019. My feet are still healthy and do not hurt. I walk a lot at my job, and line dance 14 hours each months. I'm so grateful that my feet are healthy and pain-free.

I think I finally figured out what was happening. I have learned that inflammation of the plantar fascia ligament (which runs the length of the bottom  of the foot) is what we have when we are diagnosed with Plantar fasciitis. It makes a lot of sense that the GAPS Diet – which reduces our consumption of foods known to cause inflammation (like gluten) – would be instrumental in reducing inflammation and therefore foot pain. Also I should note for the first few months on GAPS I also avoided dairy products (aside from butter) which are known to be inflammatory to some people.

AND… drinking broth reduces inflammation and supports our bodies.