Questions About The Diet

[glutengal]

Hi All,

I have a few questions and hope maybe someone can give some insight. I have been having problems with constipation since I went on the gluten free diet (did not have this before). I have been on the diet for a month now. I have increased my fiber, tried prunes and prune juice, ground flaxseed, magnesium, sweet potatoes and lots of water and stick to only fresh meat (chicken and turkey), fruit, vegetables, salad, nuts, brown rice and quinoa and during the first 3 weeks or so had a few pellet sized bm's about every 3-4 days then went 8 days with no bm and then for the last day or so a few pellets again, but this morning kind of feel like a bladder infection may be coming or just frequent urination. Don't know why I would have a bladder infection with all the water I drink let alone still have constipation.

My question is Do you think the SCD can help the constipation? I have been reading some of the thread and the Elaine Gottschall website "Breaking The Vicious Cycle". It just seems so restricted I just don't know. Also a question about the Yoghurt. Can I use regular milk and would using cream also make it better? What kind of pot can I use to make it without having a yoghurt maker. I was also wondering about using a heating pad. I also have looked for dry curd cottage cheese and cannot find any. What is the difference if I use the cream cheese recipe instead of the dry curd cottage cheese?

By the way am was not diagnosed with celiac or gluten intolerance but thought I would try the diet to due my daughters postive response (she had testing by Blood and Biopsy and both were negative). Her headaches, stomach pains, indigestion/gastritis symptoms etc. have gone (she had been on the diet 3 1/2 months). I have hypothyroidism that was diagnosed last year and asthma diagnosed 10 years ago. Family history of asthma and hypothyroid, as well as mother has hypoglycemia. Father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma last year and has take B-12 injections for years. Thought the diet may help my thyroid and asthma but seems to have caused this constipation problem and am not sure whether to continue with it or not. By the way, I am not having any abdominal pain from the constipation and really have no urge to have a bm. Not sure if something more serious is going on or not and may be just a coincidence that it started when I went gluten free. I am so frustrated I don't know where to turn.

Any suggestions would be greatly accepted and appreciated.

[katie may]

First, the constipation could cause pressure on the bladder, making you have to urinate more often. I've had times, too, where I thought I had an infection but it would go away within a few days. However, you should treat it if that is indeed what it is, I just thought I'd say I can relate and my issues with that do come and go occasionally.

You don't have to have pain to be constipated, although after a while you will probably feel uncomfortable because of all the fullness in your intestines. I'm not sure what you mean by not having the urge to go since with constipation, your body simply doesn't. But I think I just don't understand that statement.

I know when I first started to cut back on grains to ease my mind into the SCD, I had BMs like a regular person (pun not intended!) for the first time in years. Im having really bad trouble at the moment, but it may not be SCD related. It's def. worth a try - 1 month is not too bad to decide if it's good for you. It's not too limited either once you get further into the diet, though I'm not there yet.

I have a yogurt maker I ordered online and like it alot but would imagine any kind of warmer that keeps the heat constantly b/w 100 and 110 degrees would be just as good. The key is the temperature for fermenting of the happy bac that will eat all the lactose. If you do do the SCD, don't make SCD almost-legal choices. It's just not worth it.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes or if you find something that helps - I could use some help too.

Bless you with abundance & healing!!!

[glutengal]

First, the constipation could cause pressure on the bladder, making you have to urinate more often. I've had times, too, where I thought I had an infection but it would go away within a few days. However, you should treat it if that is indeed what it is, I just thought I'd say I can relate and my issues with that do come and go occasionally.

You don't have to have pain to be constipated, although after a while you will probably feel uncomfortable because of all the fullness in your intestines. I'm not sure what you mean by not having the urge to go since with constipation, your body simply doesn't. But I think I just don't understand that statement.

I know when I first started to cut back on grains to ease my mind into the SCD, I had BMs like a regular person (pun not intended!) for the first time in years. Im having really bad trouble at the moment, but it may not be SCD related. It's def. worth a try - 1 month is not too bad to decide if it's good for you. It's not too limited either once you get further into the diet, though I'm not there yet.

I have a yogurt maker I ordered online and like it alot but would imagine any kind of warmer that keeps the heat constantly b/w 100 and 110 degrees would be just as good. The key is the temperature for fermenting of the happy bac that will eat all the lactose. If you do do the SCD, don't make SCD almost-legal choices. It's just not worth it.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes or if you find something that helps - I could use some help too.

Bless you with abundance & healing!!!

Thanks for your reply Katie May and I am definitely considering the SCD. I'll keep you informed.

[BRUMI1968]

I've long had problems with Constipation. Had it pretty well cured a few years ago when I went Dairy Free (b4 going gluten-free a year later). Now I get it if I eat even the smallest amount of dairy products. I do also get it sometimes for reasons I never do pinpoint. You should make sure you're getting enough soluble fiber, and not just insoluble fiber. I can't remember which things are which, but you can look it up. Try to lean toward soluble fiber whenever you can.

I read once that in order to be "regular", a person needs bulk, water, and oil. But your diet sounds like you're getting all those things. If you're not dairy free, I'd try that right away. It took about 2 weeks for my system to regular, but once it did, like I said, I've been good to go except when I cheat (on dairy - I NEVER cheat on gluten) or on extremely rare occasion for whatever reason. Good luck to you!

[Wolicki]

Hi All,

I have a few questions and hope maybe someone can give some insight. I have been having problems with constipation since I went on the gluten free diet (did not have this before). I have been on the diet for a month now. I have increased my fiber, tried prunes and prune juice, ground flaxseed, magnesium, sweet potatoes and lots of water and stick to only fresh meat (chicken and turkey), fruit, vegetables, salad, nuts, brown rice and quinoa and during the first 3 weeks or so had a few pellet sized bm's about every 3-4 days then went 8 days with no bm and then for the last day or so a few pellets again, but this morning kind of feel like a bladder infection may be coming or just frequent urination. Don't know why I would have a bladder infection with all the water I drink let alone still have constipation.

My question is Do you think the SCD can help the constipation? I have been reading some of the thread and the Elaine Gottschall website "Breaking The Vicious Cycle". It just seems so restricted I just don't know. Also a question about the Yoghurt. Can I use regular milk and would using cream also make it better? What kind of pot can I use to make it without having a yoghurt maker. I was also wondering about using a heating pad. I also have looked for dry curd cottage cheese and cannot find any. What is the difference if I use the cream cheese recipe instead of the dry curd cottage cheese?

By the way am was not diagnosed with celiac or gluten intolerance but thought I would try the diet to due my daughters postive response (she had testing by Blood and Biopsy and both were negative). Her headaches, stomach pains, indigestion/gastritis symptoms etc. have gone (she had been on the diet 3 1/2 months). I have hypothyroidism that was diagnosed last year and asthma diagnosed 10 years ago. Family history of asthma and hypothyroid, as well as mother has hypoglycemia. Father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma last year and has take B-12 injections for years. Thought the diet may help my thyroid and asthma but seems to have caused this constipation problem and am not sure whether to continue with it or not. By the way, I am not having any abdominal pain from the constipation and really have no urge to have a bm. Not sure if something more serious is going on or not and may be just a coincidence that it started when I went gluten free. I am so frustrated I don't know where to turn.

Any suggestions would be greatly accepted and appreciated.

Hi, I don't know much about the SCD, but probiotics keep things very "regular" for me. I take two capsules in the am and one in the pm. I noticed a dramtaic difference immediately. I hope that helps!