The 85 Percent Savory Guideline Before and During Pregnancy

The current Full GAPS Diet says about 85 percent of daily food should come from its core savory foods: meat and organ meats, fish, meat and fish stock, eggs, fermented dairy and vegetables. Baking and fruit are limited to snacks between meals rather than replacing meals.^[1]

This is a general Full GAPS guideline, not a pregnancy-only ratio. The expanded older book repeats a similar pattern inside its chapter covering both preconception and pregnancy.^[2]

During my sixth pregnancy, I ate the same Full GAPS meals I cooked for the rest of our family. I use this guideline as a practical way to build those meals: savory foods form the meal, while fruit and baking stay secondary. That is how I apply the book’s pattern in a family kitchen, not a new percentage rule.^[4]

Where the 85 Percent Guideline Applies

The 2020 book places the guideline in its Full GAPS Diet instructions, so it applies whenever Full GAPS is being followed. The older book places it among the added food points for “The Pre-Conception Period and Pregnancy,” after giving directions for couples preparing to conceive and for a woman who is already pregnant.^[1][2]

The simplest accurate description is this: it is a Full GAPS pattern that the older chapter expressly carries through the preconception and pregnancy period. Preconception Nutrition on GAPS explains how both parents begin that phase.

What Belongs in the Savory Majority

The 2020 book lists:

• Meat, including organ meats.
• Fish.
• Homemade meat and fish stock.
• Eggs.
• Fermented dairy.
• Vegetables, including cooked, fermented and raw forms.^[1]

The older pregnancy chapter gives a closely related list: fresh meat, fish, eggs, quality dairy, vegetables and natural fats.^[2] The newer list adds the clearer current placement of organ meats, homemade stocks and fermented dairy.

What the Sources Say About Sweet Foods

The older chapter names baked goods made with ground nuts and dried fruit, honey and fruit as sweet foods that should remain small snacks between meals.^[2] It names dried fruit as part of those baked goods, not as a separate unlimited snack.

The 2020 Full GAPS chapter says baking and fruit should not replace meals. It also adds a starting limit: when beginning directly with Full GAPS, baking and fruit are kept out for a few weeks, then introduced gradually according to symptoms.^[1]

Neither source calls this an exact “85/15 rule.” The books specify about 85 percent core savory food and keep sweet foods small; they do not say the full remaining 15 percent should be filled with sweets.

The Role of Natural Fats

The older preconception and pregnancy chapter places special emphasis on fat. It names natural animal fats, extra-virgin olive oil and coconut oil, says most dietary fat should come from animal foods, and says pregnancy calls for more fat than usual because the baby needs it.^[2]

That chapter also connects dietary fat with reproductive-hormone balance. The 2020 Full GAPS instructions keep homemade stock, soups, stews and natural fats as staples rather than optional additions.^[1] GAPS Pregnancy Foods: Meat Stock, Fats, and Ferments covers stock, fats, dairy and fermented foods together.

Potatoes and Sourdough Under Current Full GAPS

The expanded older preconception chapter allowed home-cooked potatoes, sourdough bread and whole grains in moderate amounts when digestion was normal, served with generous natural fat.^[2] That allowance conflicts with the current Full GAPS food rules.

The 2020 book says Full GAPS excludes all grains, potatoes, parsnips, yams, sweet potatoes and foods made from them for at least two years. It places new potatoes and fermented gluten-free grains in the coming-off sequence, followed later by homemade sourdough after those earlier foods are tolerated.^[1]

Potatoes and sourdough therefore do not belong in the current Full GAPS preconception or pregnancy menu. Sweet Potato and GAPS explains the starch exclusion, while Creamy Mashed New Potatoes for Coming Off GAPS shows the later placement.

What the GAPS FAQ Says About Gestational Diabetes

In its gestational-diabetes answer, the GAPS FAQ attributes gestational diabetes to the same processed-carbohydrate pattern it associates with type 2 diabetes. It says pregnancy hormones can produce insulin resistance as part of supporting the baby and may move a woman already primed by a processed-carbohydrate diet into diabetes.^[3]

The FAQ’s food instruction is to remove processed carbohydrates, especially flour- and sugar-based foods, along with processed foods containing chemicals and vegetable oils. It does not present the 85 percent savory guideline as a guarantee against gestational diabetes, and it does not say that filling an inferred 15 percent with GAPS-allowed sweets removes all risk.^[3]

How to Read the Guideline

The books describe food categories and proportions rather than a fixed daily menu. They do not prescribe three identical meals, one fruit serving, one spoonful of honey, a daily baked item or a starchy side. They leave those choices open within the broader pattern.

The source-defined pattern is a savory majority built from the current Full GAPS staples, with baking and fruit kept secondary and introduced according to the current Full GAPS sequence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Guideline Apply Before Pregnancy?

Yes. The older chapter gives it within instructions covering both preconception and pregnancy, while the 2020 book makes it a general Full GAPS pattern.^[1][2]

Does 15 Percent Mean an Exact Sweet-Food Allowance?

No. The sources say about 85 percent should come from core savory foods and that baking and fruit should remain snacks. They do not direct readers to fill the remainder with sweet foods.

Are Potatoes and Sourdough Part of Current Full GAPS Pregnancy?

No. The 2020 book excludes potatoes and grains during Full GAPS and introduces new potatoes, fermented gluten-free grains and then sourdough later in the coming-off sequence.^[1]

Does the Ratio Guarantee Prevention of Gestational Diabetes?

No such guarantee appears in the source. The FAQ attributes gestational diabetes to processed-carbohydrate consumption together with pregnancy-related insulin resistance and directs attention to removing processed foods.^[3]

Build a Savory Pregnancy Pattern

Preparing for Baby: A GAPS Preconception Plan for Both Parents turns the savory-majority pattern, pregnancy food preparation, and both-parent planning into one usable sequence.

Explore the preparing-for-baby course.

References

1. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), “The Full GAPS Diet” and “Coming Off the GAPS Diet.”
2. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Psychology Syndrome, expanded English edition (2013), represented by the expanded second German edition (2015), “The Pre-Conception Period and Pregnancy,” pp. 402–404.
3. Campbell-McBride, N. GAPS FAQs, Pregnancy, question 13, “Why do some pregnant women suffer from Gestational Diabetes?”
4. Garnica, E. Personal family account and pregnancy timeline: sixth pregnancy on Full GAPS in 2026 and eating the same Full GAPS meals prepared for the family.