Microwaves on GAPS: What the Book Says to Use Instead

The GAPS book directs you to warm meat stock and other food on a conventional stove, rather than in a microwave. That instruction applies to both Intro and Full GAPS. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride gives food damage and carcinogenicity as her reasons for avoiding microwaves in Gut and Physiology Syndrome.^[1][2]

If you’re working through Stage 1 right now with a pot of meat stock on hand, this is the one piece of kitchen equipment to set aside for the duration. Here’s exactly what GAPS says, and what that means for how you actually warm food day to day.

The Book’s Microwave Guidance

In the Intro Stage 1 stock instructions, Campbell-McBride says to use the stove when warming stock or anything else. The Full GAPS chapter repeats the instruction for cooking and warming food, naming a conventional oven and stove.^[1][2]

Her kitchenware section also names glass, stainless steel, enamel, clay and cast iron as materials for pots and oven dishes. Wooden or stainless steel utensils and glass storage containers fit that guidance. It excludes nonstick and aluminum cookware, microwave ovens and induction cooktops. For a conventional stove, the book names gas, electricity, wood or oil as heat sources.^[3]

Intro and Full GAPS

You may first come across this instruction while warming cups of stock on Stage 1. Moving into Full GAPS widens the menu, but it keeps the same stove-and-oven guidance. You can build the reheating habit around the food you are already making.^[2]

What This Looks Like Day to Day

In practice, keep a small saucepan available for reheating individual cups or bowls. Warm a cup of stock over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is hot enough to drink. A small pan also makes it easier to reheat only what you need while the main stock stays refrigerated.

For soup or stew, use a covered pan and stir as it warms so the bottom does not catch. Match the pan to the amount you need, rather than warming the whole batch for one bowl. Keep your meal’s own reheating and storage directions beside it when you plan leftovers.

Our food changes came before all the cookware changes. For the first months, we still had plastic containers and pans that did not fit GAPS; we replaced them as the budget allowed. If you are choosing the next kitchen purchase, start with something you will use every day. A suitable small saucepan and a place to keep portions can make this part of the routine easier to repeat.

The Low-Tox GAPS Home course is listed in my shop for the wider home and kitchen changes. For the food side, use our first-week planning guide and choose the equipment those meals need.

Common Questions About Microwaves on GAPS

Does the No-Microwave Rule Apply to Full GAPS Too, or Just the Introduction Diet?

Both. GAPS states the same instruction, cook and warm food on a conventional stove, not in a microwave, in the general Full GAPS Diet guidance as well as in the Stage 1 instructions.^[2]

Why Does GAPS Give This Instruction Specifically?

Her stated reason is described at the start of this guide. The practical direction remains the same in the Intro stock passage and the Full GAPS chapter: use a conventional stove or oven.^[1][2]

Is It Just the Meat Stock, or Does This Apply to Everything I Eat?

GAPS phrases the Stage 1 instruction around warming the stock specifically, since that’s the food you’re consuming most often at that point, but the broader Full GAPS instruction covers warming food in general.^[2] The simplest approach is to treat it as a whole-kitchen rule rather than trying to track which specific foods it applies to.

What Should I Use Instead to Reheat Single Portions?

A small stainless steel or enameled cast-iron saucepan is one suitable option for a cup of stock. An oven dish can suit a larger meal. The book also allows glass, enamel and clay or earthenware cooking dishes, so you can choose from equipment that fits the meal and your budget.^[3]

See the microwave instruction in context in our Stage 1 Introduction Diet guide and the complete Full GAPS Diet guide.

References

1. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), Chapter 13, “GAPS Introduction Diet,” First Stage stock and reheating instructions.
2. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), Chapter 14, “The Full GAPS Diet,” conventional stove and oven guidance.
3. Campbell-McBride, N. Gut and Physiology Syndrome (2020), Chapter 21, “What We Shall Eat and Why, With Some Recipes,” kitchenware materials and heat sources.