Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[pele]

Hello All,

I have been on the SCD for 6 months and I too am starting to feel normal. (as Pele said what is normal) I have been reading this thread faithfully and have found great support and info. Thank you one and all! Here is my issue, I just lost my job. I was never rich but getting by. I need some advise on staying on this diet on a budget$. I can not eat on a few dollars a day as I was in my junk food days. Help!

Deb

Hi Deb

Welcome to the thread.

The financial part of the SCD is something I ponder a lot. I feel very lucky that I can afford to eat this way and hope I never have to go back to those cheap food substitutes grain and sugar.

I don't know what kind of shopping you have been doing, but if you are not employed, than hopefully you have more time to find bargains and cut costs by preparing more things yourself.

I would suggest buying big bags of frozen chicken pieces. Buy ground turkey or other meat and mix with spices, divide into patties and freeze for breakfast sausage. Eggs are still cheap, if you can eat them. Frozen peas are still a good buy, and lentils and split peas go a long way.

Do you live near a Trader Joe's? They have great prices on hard cheese, natural peanut butter and lots of other SCD legal foods.

You may already have frugal shopping habits, but if you are not used to checking prices, then start shopping around. A can of tuna or sardines, or a pound of bananas costs twice as much at some supermarkets than at others.

I don't know where you live, but out here, U-pick places are still open and apples, grapes, pears, squash and tomatoes are cheap and plentiful if you know where to go. Actually, apples are falling on the ground all over the place and are free for the taking.

If you are used to buying deli meats, bags of pre-chopped salad mixes and pre-peeled baby carrots, then you can save a lot not buying those kinds of things.

I would hate to have to give up organic produce, but I would rather eat non-organic produce than eat grain. And every time I buy avocados I remind myself just how much money I am saving not buying chocolate. Junk food is not cheap.

I hope you keep on posting and let us know how its going. I'd like to know what cost-saving measures you figure out.

[mftnchn]

I think you are in a unique situation with international travel and having to deal with food from very different cutures, despite globalization. When I read about your almond problems I wonder if the almonds were treated with wheat prior to roasting or processing.

So I guess my point is, don't fret too much over whether you ate the wrong thing. Just stay as close to the principles of the diet as you can. It may take longer because of your living situation, but pretty soon you'll be telling us how much better you are.

Thanks for the encouragement Pele, I am in a place where I need that. I have tried so many things over the years that helped for awhile and then problems came back so it is easy to get discouraged again.

In terms of the almonds, it could be flour or starch. What I am told though is that they soak the almonds in water, salt and flavorings and then dehydrate them. My guess is MSG is in the mixture. I'm still searching for a source for unprocessed ones.

[MissCici]

Yes, I am talking about a new version of the book, at least according to my doc. The naturopath I saw last week says he was consulted on the new book and that it will be more flexible than previous additions. My doctor said rice will be allowed in the new book and that he thinks potatos are fine, too. Not sure about the potato status in the new edition. New book should be published in a few weeks, at least according to the naturopath.

It will be interesting to see if these changes and/or any others do appear in the new edition.

Cici

[fig girl]

Yes I think its okay to take. Both asprirn and ibuprofin can cause problems for damaged guts. They make me feel like I've swallowed ground glass. Acetominophen doesn't hit the stomach hard. I took it for several days last April following a mishap. It may not be SCD legal but look how small the tablets are. Pain can cause more stress than a bit of corn starch.

Thank you so much pele. That puts me so much at ease. I haven't had to take tylenol/acetaminophen in a very long time thank goodness but was in a lot of pain so i felt i had to take it to get some rest....you're right, ithe pain can cause more stress than a little corn starch. Luckily so far it hasn't bothered me. I only take 1 at a time and hopefully won't have to take it very long. Thanks again! And as Sherry mentioned, it is so nice to read that you and Deb have had great success and that it keeps getting better being on the diet.

[AliB]

Yes, I am talking about a new version of the book, at least according to my doc. The naturopath I saw last week says he was consulted on the new book and that it will be more flexible than previous additions. My doctor said rice will be allowed in the new book and that he thinks potatos are fine, too. Not sure about the potato status in the new edition. New book should be published in a few weeks, at least according to the naturopath.

It will be interesting to see if these changes and/or any others do appear in the new edition.

Cici

Can't quite figure out what you mean by the 'new book'. At the end of the day if it includes rice and potatoes it ain't the SCD! The whole point of removing those foods apparently is to allow the gut to heal. It might still work after a fashion but surely would take a lot longer as the starchy foods would be feeding the rogue bacteria.

Can you find out what this book is and who it is by?

I personally found that I am ok with rice and potatoes but I can understand where Elaine is coming from on the starch issue. Peas are starchy yet they are allowed. Although I do sneak in a little rice or a couple rice cakes and maybe an odd potato or handful of fries (slap) now and again, I tend to try and avoid them as being diabetic they push my blood sugar up.

I am sure my recovery has been slower because I have allowed 'bad' foods to creep in here and there, especially as my gut is starting to heal and I can now tolerate more foods.

I had to stick tight to the SCD when I started and even then I was having problems still, but now after 4 months I am better able to cope with most foods. It is good to be able to eat eggs again and now some cheese, more fruit - I love strips of celery and apple with peanut butter now and can tolerate grapes and a few raspberries and strawberries as long as they are not too acid.

I bought a proper yogurt maker last week and have just had my first bowl this evening with fruit. Making it as I did before by turning the oven on and off to keep the heat up was a bit hit and miss but it worked ok and the yogurt was edible but at least I am now confident that it should turn out ok every time!

I still get the 'throbbing' body and pounding heart when I have had too much carb so I still have a way to go but I am not suffering much of the backache any more. I think soya may have been the culprit on that one. Still waiting for the energy to come back but it is still early days. Getting to bed earlier would undoubtedly help and talking of that I had better go now as it is nearly half past midnight here..................

[mftnchn]

Along the lines of a little starch in the meds....I am still taking all of my supplements and stuff which my doctor agrees that I need. Many of them have ingredients we are not supposed to have on SCD. But I have still had a dramatic response to the diet.

Everyone, I think I have identified the diet problem, at least today I am finally having a better bm-- So I think the problem was likely the contaminated cinnamon plus the flavored almonds. It could have been gluten in the cinnamon, not sure if it is flour or starch. If it is gluten it would make a lot of sense as the big C was my major symptom.

Hopefully things will continue to improve.

[MissCici]

Can't quite figure out what you mean by the 'new book'. At the end of the day if it includes rice and potatoes it ain't the SCD! The whole point of removing those foods apparently is to allow the gut to heal. It might still work after a fashion but surely would take a lot longer as the starchy foods would be feeding the rogue bacteria.

Can you find out what this book is and who it is by?

Based on what both my DO and my naturopath said, they are about to print an updated edition of "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" in the next few weeks. We will have to wait and see if this comes true, but they both told me the update will be not be as strict on a few foods.

Cici

[MissCici]

Sorry, I forgot some questions that I had.

Do all of you avoid canned foods? I know this is the guidelines of SCD, but I see some that state "no sugar added" and wondered if those and/or canned organics would be okay?

What are your thoughts on diet soda? Again, I know it is recommended to not have more than one per week, but I guess I don't understand this. Saccharin is deemed safe on SCD, but I have more concerns about saccharin than aspartame.

Thanks!

Cici

[aprilh]

Sorry, I forgot some questions that I had.

Do all of you avoid canned foods? I know this is the guidelines of SCD, but I see some that state "no sugar added" and wondered if those and/or canned organics would be okay?

What are your thoughts on diet soda? Again, I know it is recommended to not have more than one per week, but I guess I don't understand this. Saccharin is deemed safe on SCD, but I have more concerns about saccharin than aspartame.

Thanks!

Cici

Unfortuneately, about all diet soda's are made with aspartame - which is a nuerotoxin. I highly recommend NEVER ingesting aspartame.

Sometimes I make this (as a fizzy substitute) - Sparkling mineral water, lime squeeze and a little stevia or honey.

My kids call it homemade sprite!

[mftnchn]

My thought on the canned food would be to call to confirm that no sugar or corn syrup is added anywhere in the food processing, even to correct pH. I'd check to make sure all the food processing is done by the company you call rather than only part of it.

I think but not sure I remember it, that the diet soda restriction has to do with aspartame being hard to digest and not being a sweetener that is allowed on the diet.

I don't know why saccharin is okay, I haven't found any to use here anyway. And I don't like the taste.

On the book's modifications, I hope that it clearly gives the rationale for adding the foods back in. Personally, I am leaning toward not trusting the rice/potato addition for myself. At least until much farther in the healing process. The change was just too dramatic to ignore after going on SCD. Potato and rice (and sugar) were the main things I stopped eating.

[Matilda]

It is very unlikely that there'll be a new edition of "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall, because she is, sadly, dead. There's a book called "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" by Natasha Campbell-McBride which supports a modified version of SCD, which was reprinted in August 2008.

Matilda

[MissCici]

I knew that the author had passed away, so I, too, was confused by what my doc and naturopath said about a new edition. I know that it is odd and confusing that they gave me this information.

Cici

[AliB]

As far as I am aware, Elaine's daughter Judy is still very much alive. It is possible that she has supported a new book but whether she would digress from her Mum's work I'm not sure.

Can you find out any more about it - who is writing it, etc.?

Gut and Psychology Syndrome does support the SCD but as Matilda pointed out, that is already out - I have it myself (and very good it is too). In any case, if it has not yet been published, how does your DO know what is in it? Seems a bit dodgy to me.................

Just out of interest I just put 'SCD new book' into Google and it pulled up a little snippet in a link to the 'SCDiet. org' website that said 'she passed away before finishing the new book', but that's all I could find. I looked through the site and could not find the rest of the article anywhere - don't you just hate it when that happens - you see it in the search but when you go to the website it isn't there!

Maybe someone has finished it for her!

[pele]

Sorry, I forgot some questions that I had.

Do all of you avoid canned foods? I know this is the guidelines of SCD, but I see some that state "no sugar added" and wondered if those and/or canned organics would be okay?

What are your thoughts on diet soda? Again, I know it is recommended to not have more than one per week, but I guess I don't understand this. Saccharin is deemed safe on SCD, but I have more concerns about saccharin than aspartame.

Thanks!

Cici

I do use Muir Glen organic canned tomatoes occasionally. I emailed them and got a "form letter" response. I will call them tomorrow.

IMO, Elanie made a mistake on the diet soda thing. I would not use any artificial sweeteners. They are basically foreign chemicals to our bodies (again, just my opinion). I put sparkling water in my grape juice, orange juice or mint iced tea.

I also cheated on the diet and ate end-of-garden vegetable soup that my husband made. He forgot and put in some potatoes. I decided to go ahead and eat the soup. It seemed stupid to miss out on it because of a few little pieces of potato that I planted and grew myself. I lived.

[mftnchn]

Hello all. I'm in Thailand for a week, and was worried about the diet while gone. But the chef at the hotel where I am staying has been fabulous and I am enjoying a varied and tasty fare. He sat down for 2-3 hours with me to work things out, helped me get my yogurt started and has been fixing my meals himself. He's also gluten sensitive, so he understands this whole problem.

Apparently the tainted cinnamon and almonds were the culprits...as things are finally starting up again and I am now going through a cleansing it seems after several weeks of the return of the big C. Not up to going out at all, but the hotel room is lovely. Hopefully this will be short-lived. My thinking is that it must have been gluten in that cinnamon...wish I knew for sure.

[fig girl]

Hello all. I'm in Thailand for a week, and was worried about the diet while gone. But the chef at the hotel where I am staying has been fabulous and I am enjoying a varied and tasty fare. He sat down for 2-3 hours with me to work things out, helped me get my yogurt started and has been fixing my meals himself. He's also gluten sensitive, so he understands this whole problem.

Apparently the tainted cinnamon and almonds were the culprits...as things are finally starting up again and I am now going through a cleansing it seems after several weeks of the return of the big C. Not up to going out at all, but the hotel room is lovely. Hopefully this will be short-lived. My thinking is that it must have been gluten in that cinnamon...wish I knew for sure.

Hi Sherry,

Wow, that's wonderful the chef at the hotel is helping you out and he's gluten sensitive. I'm sure you're so relieved to have found him. I hope you get to feeling better soon....maybe there was gluten in them. At least you don't have to worry about preparing your meals and you can relax a little about that while you're there. I hope you enjoy your visit.

I'm still battling this cold/bug. I feel a little better and haven't had to take anything but tylenol the first day. I'm coughing now though and am really congested. We have some mucinex dm and i read where it is gluten free and the starch is from potatos but i just took some anyway. I sure hope it doesn't set me back too much.

[mftnchn]

Seems like our degree of sensitivity is all different plus changes over time. So we each have to do the trial and error thing. Hope the starch doesn't bother you.

Thnks, it has been lovely to have the nice meals and be able to participate with the group.

[pele]

Hi Deb

I assume you are still reading he thread.

I thought of another way we have gotten free produce in the past. A lot of farmers allow gleaning after they have harvested. This means you can go into the field and collect the stuff they leave behind. We have done this and gotten enough winter squash and cabbage to last several months. I know of growers who have allowed gleaners to clear out their berry crops, apples and tomatoes.

[mftnchn]

Yes I am wishing I had access to canning jars here where I am (local folks have never heard of that!!) to put up my own preserves. My freezer is full!

[covsooze]

Hi Ali

I'm not on the SCD coz I know I would lose weight doing it (I'm borderline underweight usually) and that would not be good being pregnant. However, I do want to clean my diet up as much as practicable in the circumstances and would lean towards a modified version of the SCD if poss.

I note that you said a page or so back that you get a pounding heart if you eat too many carbs. So do I! What do you put that down to? I've always figured it must be a blood sugar thing, but haven't thought too much about it.

My big dilemma with the SCD, as much as any diet I've tried previously, is how to get enough calories to survive, especially as many calorie rich foods upset my system. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be appreciated.

Sx

[AliB]

Hi Ali

I'm not on the SCD coz I know I would lose weight doing it (I'm borderline underweight usually) and that would not be good being pregnant. However, I do want to clean my diet up as much as practicable in the circumstances and would lean towards a modified version of the SCD if poss.

I note that you said a page or so back that you get a pounding heart if you eat too many carbs. So do I! What do you put that down to? I've always figured it must be a blood sugar thing, but haven't thought too much about it.

My big dilemma with the SCD, as much as any diet I've tried previously, is how to get enough calories to survive, especially as many calorie rich foods upset my system. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be appreciated.

Sx

Hi Susie

I don't know that you would experience weight-loss on the SCD. I haven't and I wish I could! I do think that the SCD helps the body to settle to it's optimum weight level although it may fluctuate a little initially (anyone else had problems with weight loss on the SCD??).

We are so programmed to assume that if we don't get enough carbs we will starve to death! That is not the case as many perfectly health communities around the World who exist on this kind of diet can testify. Within the meat, fish, poultry, veg, fruit, honey and yogurt is essentially all we need for sustenance. Because we are also used to eating a lot of food our bodies have adapted to that but we can exist on much less food than the SAD/SED supplies, as long as it is good stuff and can supply us with enough nutrients.

You know those huge people who can't stop eating? That is because they not only tend to stuff themselves with nutrient dead food, but because of the damage to their guts, whatever nutrients they are getting is going straight through. Because the body is not getting what it needs they are compelled to keep eating.

The important thing is that we should ensure that our bodies are getting the needed nutrients - supplements may help but there are other necessary compounds and inter-reactions within the food that our bodies need that are not nutrient-supplied (if your local library can get it for you, have a read of 'In defense of food' by Michael Pollan - it is a real eye-opener).

I wish I knew all this years ago - I might be a lot healthier and so would my kids!

I still am not sure about the pounding heart thing but I suspect it is due to my weak digestion. If the digestion cannot cope it is obviously going to impact on the rest of the body. It's weird - it's not necessarily a 'pounding' heart but more as if my whole body is 'throbbing'. I can 'feel' it right through from my head to my toes. As I had eaten some naughty carbs the other night, I had a job sleeping because of it banging away - my ears often go all 'poppy' with it too. Eventually I got up at some point and 'evacuated'. It settled down after that - still there but much quieter. So it's obviously linked with the gut/bowel somewhere.

[mftnchn]

Hi Susie!

I initially lost some weight...at about the 2nd week or third, but have since been stable. Also, I am still a bit over an ideal weight.

Mainly I think it takes more effort to prepare foods especially at first, so it is easy to skip or not eat so much because it is too much effort. So I think good planning and putting extra food in the freezer can help.

[ShayFL]

I have put on 8 (much needed) pounds on the nearly SCD diet. I do eat sweet potatoes now and again and a few other things, but 90% SCD.

[covsooze]

Thanks for the replies

With the weight thing, I'm speaking from my experience of doing the candida diet, although I appreciate the SCD is not the same, it's fairly similar. When I've done that, I've truly eaten masses, despite the extra work involved in prep, but have still lost weight. I'll have to give it some thought. I've obviously got some absorption issues going on there.

[mftnchn]

Susie, the fruit and honey might help versus pure candida approach. Nuts seem to help, too.