Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[Ms Jan]

Looks tempting, Pele. But unfortunately I can do neither honey nor vinegar. But yesterday I had raw carrots for the second time in one week - and no problems . It's the first time in several years that I can eat carrots, I used to have a strong intolerance to them (even tested positive by bloodtest). So this must mean that the SCD is truly starting to heal my guts

[mftnchn]

Jan, that's great news.

Pickles sound yummy but I'm not much of a dill person. Maybe I'll make sweet pickles or some relish . It would be nice to have something to put on my ground beef patty.

I'm going to retry my chicken carrot soup in a day or two. I'll limit it to 1/2 C twice a day and see if that's okay before eating more.

[mysecretcurse]

Can you guys help me? I am interested in this diet but it seems really complicated to me. All this stuff about making your own yogurt and this "dry curd" cottage cheese really confuses me. I don't know where to get this cottage cheese and I've never even heard of it. One of the websites says you can find it at wal mart but I looked everywhere and couldn't find anything. Where do you get it? What brand is it? Also I don't understand how to make the yogurt. Is there no way to make it without some fancy yogurt maker? I don't have money for anything like that so can I just skip the yogurt part of the diet?

[chatycady]

Can you guys help me? I am interested in this diet but it seems really complicated to me. All this stuff about making your own yogurt and this "dry curd" cottage cheese really confuses me. I don't know where to get this cottage cheese and I've never even heard of it. One of the websites says you can find it at wal mart but I looked everywhere and couldn't find anything. Where do you get it? What brand is it? Also I don't understand how to make the yogurt. Is there no way to make it without some fancy yogurt maker? I don't have money for anything like that so can I just skip the yogurt part of the diet?

Yogurt is the most important part of the diet. You can read about it on her website.

There are many ways to make the yogurt. I bought the yogurt maker as I work full time and it's much easier. Heat the milk, cool it, add starter and drop it in the maker. There are recipe's online that work also. My sister makes her's in the oven - uses a 60 watt light bulb. Or my other sister made it with a heating pad. I've also read some use their crock pot.

I use yogurt instead of the dry curd cottage cheese. I had problems with the cheese. I substitute dripped yogurt in the recipe's that call for dccc. I can't tolerate much of the almond flour yet, so don't make bread. I stick to the basics. Meat, eggs, yogurt, fresh veggies and fruit. The yogurt is a staple. I eat at least 3 cups a day. It is very satisfying and I don't feel deprived. Nothing better than homemade yogurt and fresh raspberries!

[fig girl]

Hi Michelle.

I have been doing some research on toxins and the fact that fat is a toxin store.

Some like me may well have a weight problem - these days I find it difficult to shift weight and I definitely have a lot of toxins floating about in my body at the moment - my lymph glands keep swelling up which is a sure sign.

I think that sometimes even slim people can have issues with toxins. Whereas some bodies will hive toxins the liver can't deal with off into fat cells, others may not work so well in that department, but still not be able to eliminate toxins very well.

Even in animals toxins will be stored in their fat cells and as the long cooking draws out a lot of stuff from the carcase including the bones and fat as well as the meat I suppose it is possible that you could be getting unwanted toxins from that source.

I am not sure that even 'organic' meat and veg isn't contaminated in some way - it's almost impossible to escape it these days. Maybe they are not given drugs or anything and graze on pasture, but what about any supplemental feed?

I haven't had the white skin on my back but I have had a very itchy back for years (and it used to be spotty) and am now convinced that it has been linked to my liver and its struggle to cope. I reckon that as you age and the skin thickens and becomes less pliable it is less effective as a detoxifying organ. It means you don't get the spots any more, but it also means that the toxins have one less way of getting out.

The fact that your back issue cleared up after going gluten-free does suggest that not only did the removal of gluten and wheat products and other high-carb stuff lower the toxic burden, but lowered it enough that your liver has started to be able to deal with the toxins better.

I am doing as much as I can to avoid placing my body under more burden. I use very little in the way of chemicals and try to keep my food fairly organic, but I am sure I could do more in that line. I have realised that my liver started to struggle back when I hit puberty - I was 15 which was when the fatigue started - I was a podgy tired adolescent, and have been a fat tired adult all my adult life.

Something stressed my liver - maybe it just wasn't up to the job from the start, or maybe I was exposed to something as a child - I haven't a clue. I used to get a lot of colds and childhood illnesses when young, so my body wasn't very good at dealing with stuff even back then and it has been struggling ever since.

Sometimes I wish I could unzip myself and have a really good look!

Hey Ali,

I wish i could unzip myself and take a look also! I believe i have a lot of toxins also and i think you're right, i'm sure my liver is functioning better than it used to....still not great but better since being on the SCD. I have dark circles under my eyes, have allergies although they've gotten better since i'm eating healthier but the last 2 weeks grasses are high around here and i've been sneezing, runny nose and stuffy at times but not nearly as bad as it has been in past years. My face will break out still occasionally. I think I've been tired all of my adult life as well....funny how you think of things that you can now relate to gluten. I think i've been this way all of my life (if not all - the majority of it) and maybe that's why it's taking me so long to heal.

I try to eat organic also but when i can't get it i use a combination of vinegar, grapefruit seed extract, baking soda and water and i spray it on them and let it soak for about 10 - 15 min. and then rinse. Hopefully that gets a lot of the toxins off.

I received my colonoscopy/endoscopy prep instructions in the mail and it says to take Miralax with gatorade and then 4 tablets of dulcolax. I called the Dr's office today to see if she would prescribe an alternative. I've done some research on Miralax and i really don't want to burden my body with more toxins (i think it's an ingredient in antifreeze!). I've come a long way...i still have a ways to go but i sure don't want to un-do the progress i've made so far. I haven't researched the dulcolax yet. I've read that taking magnesium citrate 2 days before is good and to do a clear liquid diet for 2 days before instead of 1 day before will help. They're supposed to call me back tomorrow. Of course i'm not going to use the gatorade either but maybe fix the SCD legal electrolyte drink with it (i haven't been using honey but i will if i need to....would much rather have to use it than the miralax).

I'm supposed to have a colonoscopy every 3 years but i kind of wish i'd waited until 4 years to have it done now! But, i know i'd just be going through the same thing next year so i might as well go ahead. I've never had an endoscopy so i figured i'd better go ahead and have her take a look in case i have something else going on..she might as well go in the other end too.

I made some chicken stock using just organic chicken breasts - boneless and cooked it just long enough to get done. I know it's not as nutritious as the bone-in but maybe i'll tolerate it better....so far so good but i've only eaten a tiny bit of it the last 2 days. I found some Knox gelatin also and i'm going to make a small amount of it with just water and see how i tolerate it...i guess even if i have to make it with just water it'll be something to eat. Ugh...so far it'll just be water and chicken stock it looks like. I'll be starving i'm sure but the procedure is on a Mon. so at least i can just lay around the house because i'll probably have no energy.

[fig girl]

Peas are easier to digest than the other legumes in the pecanbread list. I do okay on them.

Hi Sherry,

I've been wanting to try some peas also so i'm glad to see you can tolerate them. I had bought a bag of the small green peas - frozen and organic for when i want to try some new things again. That would be nice if i can tolerate them. I don't even think about the legumes either....i'm sure i'd be in a mess if i tried them.

[fig girl]

Can you guys help me? I am interested in this diet but it seems really complicated to me. All this stuff about making your own yogurt and this "dry curd" cottage cheese really confuses me. I don't know where to get this cottage cheese and I've never even heard of it. One of the websites says you can find it at wal mart but I looked everywhere and couldn't find anything. Where do you get it? What brand is it? Also I don't understand how to make the yogurt. Is there no way to make it without some fancy yogurt maker? I don't have money for anything like that so can I just skip the yogurt part of the diet?

/quote]

Hi mysecretcurse and welcome!

I was overwhelmed with the diet at first also but loved the fact that you use very little ingredients for recipes (i have a lot of intolerances so i really use very little ingred.) so it's really not that hard....just time consuming since you make everything but after a while it isn't bad at all. I had so much more energy and that helps a great deal in having to prepare all of your food. The food is really good and healthy. Do you tolerate dairy? If not, maybe hold off on the yogurt and just do other intro foods for a while and just take probiotics in pill form. Or you can try making the non-dairy yogurt using coconut milk or almond milk...instructions for them are also on the breakingtheviciouscycle website and the pecanbread.com website i believe. As chatycady said though the yogurt /probiotics are important. You've come to a great place - everyone is very knowledgeable and helpful and we all share our experiences with the diet. Good luck and i hope it helps you like it helped me! It's been a slow progress for me but i've never felt better!

[fig girl]

Looks tempting, Pele. But unfortunately I can do neither honey nor vinegar. But yesterday I had raw carrots for the second time in one week - and no problems . It's the first time in several years that I can eat carrots, I used to have a strong intolerance to them (even tested positive by bloodtest). So this must mean that the SCD is truly starting to heal my guts

Hi Jan,

I tried a few raw carrots yesterday in my salad also and so far so good! So glad they were ok for you too...that's wonderful! Yay for us!

Hi Pele,

The pickles sound really good but i can't do honey or vinegar either (although i may be trying honey soon in the electrolyte drink). I had seen a picture of some pickles yesterday on no more chrone's and they looked so good. And Sherry to be able to put them on a hamburger patty....yum! One day!

Oh and forgot to mention i went a week without the goat yogurt and did feel better (less brain fog). I tried a little again last week and the brain fog was back and i just felt not as good overall so i think i need to omit it for a while. Darn, i sure love the yogurt. When i try it again i'll get some raw goat milk to make it with - i've been using the store bought so the addiitives could be part of it maybe. I'm going to ferment some carrots soon to eat to get more of the probiotics. Then i'll try the cabbage.

[mysecretcurse]

Yogurt is the most important part of the diet. You can read about it on her website.

There are many ways to make the yogurt. I bought the yogurt maker as I work full time and it's much easier. Heat the milk, cool it, add starter and drop it in the maker. There are recipe's online that work also. My sister makes her's in the oven - uses a 60 watt light bulb. Or my other sister made it with a heating pad. I've also read some use their crock pot.

I use yogurt instead of the dry curd cottage cheese. I had problems with the cheese. I substitute dripped yogurt in the recipe's that call for dccc. I can't tolerate much of the almond flour yet, so don't make bread. I stick to the basics. Meat, eggs, yogurt, fresh veggies and fruit. The yogurt is a staple. I eat at least 3 cups a day. It is very satisfying and I don't feel deprived. Nothing better than homemade yogurt and fresh raspberries!

What's "the starter"? I looked on the website but am still really confused.

[mftnchn]

Welcome, mysecretcurse,

I find the yogurt easy to make, but many do find it overwhelming at first. You don't need a yogurt maker. Just a way to keep it warm. I've been creative about that. My current method is a small hand warmer plugged in under a large pot with a warm water bath. My yogurt is in plastic 1 qt containers down in the water bath. I've also used a rice cooker.

DCCC is also known as farmer's cheese. If you mention what part of yhe country you are we might be able to make more suggestions. In Portland, Oregon I find it in Albertson's and it is made by a local dairy called Alpenrose. It is right with the cottage cheese, but just a different color label and is called dry curd cottage cheese.

If you decide to do a few days of intro (which is recommended), I'd read the information and make a plan for your food, preparing it up ahead. You can get some die off symptoms the first few days, so it is nice to have food on hand. Also it is normal to have huge cravings right at first, so having enough safe foods to just eat when you need to helps. It is also normal to have stool changes as your system cleanses itself.

I made the chicken carrot soup, made jello, bought Dccc, and made yogurt (I had made it before so was fine with doing it). I did beef patties, but chicken or turkey is fine. Ground meat is easier on the digestion. I did 5 days like this, and it was fine. But just 1-2 days is okay too. It just gives you a jump start.

We'll help you all we can!

I don't know if you have read BTVC, if not, your library may have a copy. It really helps to read the book.

Sherry

[lonewolf]

Hello!

My son was just diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and I'm thinking about trying the SCD for/with him. He's already gluten free and needs to go dairy free totally.

I'm wondering if any of you do this for your whole family. I have 4 kids and when school starts I'll be working full time too. I can't be making two sets of meals. Is there a way to make one main meal and let everyone else kind of add to theirs without making it impossible to follow?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Ms Jan]

Welcome to the new ones here.

Mysecretcurse,

I've done the SCD without the yoghurt or any other dairy for now 6 mths with very good results. I've been taking lots of probiotics though (you can find SCD legal ones on the pecanbread site). Also my composition of foods seem different than most people on this thread, since I can't yet digest eggs, meat or fish, except for chicken whereas I have no problem with most raw vegetables and non-sugary fruits. Also, I haven't been able to have any of the baked SCD foods yet, so I stick with raw nuts for a filling snack.

This just to say that you can adapt the SCD in a way that fits your intolerances or likes/dislikes, and it'll still work. And once you get into it, it's really rather simple. Just go for whole, natural unprocessed foods, and when you cook, keep it basic, particularly in the beginning.

Lonewolf,

I don't have children myself, but my Boyfriend has just the opposite intolerances of mine, so we cook only a few things together, fx chicken, which he then eats with potatoes or rice, while I take mine with a salad or steamed vegetables. And this of course, could be done with all meats & fish. Perhaps you could also add nuts or, if he can digest it, some of the SCD baked bread, to your son's dish so that he doesn't go hungry. If you look at the recipes in the BTVC book, there're also many ideas for meals that the whole family might go for.

Good luck to both of you

[Ms Jan]

Hi Jan,

I tried a few raw carrots yesterday in my salad also and so far so good! So glad they were ok for you too...that's wonderful! Yay for us!

Hi Pele,

The pickles sound really good but i can't do honey or vinegar either (although i may be trying honey soon in the electrolyte drink). I had seen a picture of some pickles yesterday on no more chrone's and they looked so good. And Sherry to be able to put them on a hamburger patty....yum! One day!

Oh and forgot to mention i went a week without the goat yogurt and did feel better (less brain fog). I tried a little again last week and the brain fog was back and i just felt not as good overall so i think i need to omit it for a while. Darn, i sure love the yogurt. When i try it again i'll get some raw goat milk to make it with - i've been using the store bought so the addiitives could be part of it maybe. I'm going to ferment some carrots soon to eat to get more of the probiotics. Then i'll try the cabbage.

Hi Fig Girl,

Wonderful - yes, these small discoveries of progress are so encouraging.

I tried the SCD yoghurt only once, like two months ago. Loved it, but got the worst brainfog in a long time. So I haven't ventured into it again. Same when I have tried to taste any of the SCD legal cheeses. Think dairy is often the culprit for non-gluten brainfogs. I therefore stay away from dairy altogether. (Hope that it'll change one day as I particularly miss the cheeses!). Maybe if you do the yoghurt from cocnut milk, it won't give you brainfog.

I think I need to increase my intake of probiotics, and will do so when I get back to the US in a month and can order the SCD legal ones. Are you taking any probiotic capsules, or relying solely on probiotic foods?

Jan

[mysecretcurse]

Bummer. Looks like this diet is way too complicated for me, I wouldn't be able to follow it even if I wanted to (I don't have a steady home or job right now, I sorta live on the road). Bummer. Maybe if I ever work out a stable living situation I will try it then.

[mftnchn]

Yes it is very hard to do on the road, though not impossible. If you go to the same areas all the time, you might learn some safe restaurants. For example, I once went to a Mom and Pop place and it was almost empty. Since they weren't busy the cook steamed salmon and some veggies for me, didn't put anything on them. They brought me butter, salt and pepper. I had a muffin or almond bread type thing with me and had a wonderful meal.

If you travel in your car, you can do a lot with a nice cooler. Its a little like camping .

Starter can be special purchased starter, a SCD safe probiotic (acidophilus works well) or a few tablespoons of your previous batch of yogurt.

[mftnchn]

Liz, I don't have children at home, but I think it would be doable. Give yourself some time to become accustomed. The meat and vegetables could be SCD compliant, for everyone. Sauces in your recipes might be more challenging, but you can start the trial period with more simple fare like roasted meats or ground meat patties. You can serve your pasta or bread or rice to the others, and an almond muffin or a second more filling vegetable like squash for your SCD child. Fruit for dessert is the easiest.

If you have a food processor, you can grind your own almonds and then just mix up the muffins from there. I put them in a square glass pan rather than make individual muffins as they tend to stick. Get creative on the flavors, cinnamon and raisin is really tasty. Almond crackers are great, but I'd wait until you adjust before you tackle too many things like these.

Nuts and raisins, veggie sticks and fruit are good snacks.

Desserts can be for everyone too, although the almond flour and honey is more expensive. Make the muffins sweeter for a dessert, they taste like cake. Egg custard is another dessert you can make.

If you have a freezer, when the apples come in you can make a whole bunch of applesauce and can or freeze. Use that whenever you wish. A colander and sieve makes this easier. I used to have one that attached to my Kitchen Aid mixer, wonderful for making applesauce.

The places where it might be challenging is sauces, etc. For example, you can't used purchased tomato sauce, so need to boil down tomato juice for your sauce and ketchup. But again, do a lot at once and put it up, either can or freeze. There's some pretty easy ways to make tomatos for sauce, and now is a good time to do it. (For example, core the tomatos and stack them "hole" down and fill up a large pot, with a small amount of water. Boil until soft and the skins slip off. Let cool, and pour out the juice (good for soup, etc). Once they are cool enough just pull off the skins. The rest makes a great tomato sauce. Blend, if you wish, season as you wish. Or just cook them and run through the colander and sieve.)

Do you have a juicer? If you do, you can make up juice that you can be sure is SCD compliant. For everyone or just for your SCD child. There are a few purchased juices that are okay too. It is a cinch to make your own jello from juice, using gelatin and adding honey if needed. It tastes MUCH better than commercial jello.

Some children do eventually add some SCD compliant dairy back in. Especially goat milk yogurt. On pecanbread, the kids start with 1/4 tsp and work up, after an initial period without. This might be worth a try.

There are some SCD online groups for UC and other conditions. One of these might help too but I'd start with pecanbread as there is tons of info there about kids.

Hope this gives you some ideas. If you need to start with intro and very soft foods, it will be more time intensive at first and then improve over time.

Sherry

[AliB]

Hi Mysecretcurse,

The diet does sound daunting but actually its just like anything - once you get into the routine it is pretty easy. The hardest part is getting your head around the food choices and what you can do with them.

We are programmed these days to just 'open a packet and stuff it in' but the diet is more 'grass roots' than that.

It is not that difficult. Fresh meat, fish, poultry, eggs and salad are not difficult to put together - if you can cook a chicken and boil an egg then you are half way there.

The important thing is to try and eat food that has not been processed, adulterated, modified or had any other extremely dubious process done to it.

It is the high-carb, high-sugar food that is doing much of the damage and most of that has been 'fiddled with' in some way or another. Try to eat as organic as you can - I know it is a bit more expensive (which is criminal, as everything should be naturally organic!) but even if you can have some things that have not been sprayed or dosed liberally with chemicals, or given growth hormones, antibiotics or any other harmful drugs, or not been laced with nitrates, nitrites, sulphites, sulphates or anything remotely chemical then you will be doing your body a big favour.

Our livers have an awful lot to contend with these days. The lower the burden we place on them the easier they can deal with all the toxins and the better we are for it.

I and the many others who are following this diet have finally woken up to the damage that our food industry is doing to us all.

[pele]

Hello!

My son was just diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and I'm thinking about trying the SCD for/with him. He's already gluten free and needs to go dairy free totally.

I'm wondering if any of you do this for your whole family. I have 4 kids and when school starts I'll be working full time too. I can't be making two sets of meals. Is there a way to make one main meal and let everyone else kind of add to theirs without making it impossible to follow?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Liz

You might want to check out

Open Original Shared Link

This is the yahoo group that is very oriented towards UC. And they make me really appreciate this forum where things are celiac-oriented!

[pele]

Bummer. Looks like this diet is way too complicated for me, I wouldn't be able to follow it even if I wanted to (I don't have a steady home or job right now, I sorta live on the road). Bummer. Maybe if I ever work out a stable living situation I will try it then.

Hey! Don't quit before you start. This is a very simple diet. Eat whole foods, meaning meat, eggs, fish, fruits, veggies, nuts, honey, yogurt, hard cheese and nothing else. What could be simpler than that? Many of us are dairy free and therefore do not eat the yogurt. The diet still works.

I have to say that cooking is very easy on this diet, no fancy sauces, no breading, just toss some chicken or beef on to cook, a few vegetables on the side and you're done. All you need is a refridgerator and stove, so yes, some advance planning is necessary when traveling.

If you choose to make yogurt, you can do it with glass jars submerged in warm water over a heating pad. No fancy yogurt maker required.

[pele]

Oh and forgot to mention i went a week without the goat yogurt and did feel better (less brain fog). I tried a little again last week and the brain fog was back and i just felt not as good overall so i think i need to omit it for a while. Darn, i sure love the yogurt. When i try it again i'll get some raw goat milk to make it with - i've been using the store bought so the addiitives could be part of it maybe. I'm going to ferment some carrots soon to eat to get more of the probiotics. Then i'll try the cabbage.

Ah hah! My experience exactly with dairy, and why I am dairy-free. I did a dairy challenge after about 7-8 months and still got the brain fog. It is so not worth it.

I have yet to start the pickles. It's been too hot and I've been too busy. But soon.

[mftnchn]

I've cut way back on dairy since starting to use the fermented cabbage juice for probiotic food.

Unfortunately I still have enough various symptoms from various causes that it is truly hard to discern a mild reaction from something. I haven't noticed improvement cutting back dairy or problems adding it back in except once or twice mild bloating after the yogurt. But even that is suspect because I bloated on safe foods earlier that day too. So for now I'll keep using small amounts. I was 10 months totally DF when I first went gluten-free, so its not like I haven't tried it.

By the way everyone, the cabbage juice is easier to make than the yogurt. No temps to monitor. Just wash the cabbage, tear up into the blender add the water and blend, add a little of your previous batch of juice, and let it sit. 24 hours later, strain it, throw away the cabbage and make your new batch.

[lonewolf]

Thanks for the responses. I'm still trying to figure out if this will work or not. I'll look into the other SCD group from the link. I think I need to check out the book at the library to get all the info first.

[pele]

Thanks for the responses. I'm still trying to figure out if this will work or not. I'll look into the other SCD group from the link. I think I need to check out the book at the library to get all the info first.

Liz

While you are waiting for the book you can check out the website and get much of the same info:

Open Original Shared Link

I think once you get going you will find it is easy and simple to prepare SCD for the whole family. Some combo of meat, chicken, fish, eggs with fruit or vegetables at every meal. Snacks can probably be tailored to each person's requirements, but in general fruit and nuts make good snacks. The money you are no longer spending for bread and chips and such can go toward things like steak and avocadoes.

[mysecretcurse]

Hey! Don't quit before you start. This is a very simple diet. Eat whole foods, meaning meat, eggs, fish, fruits, veggies, nuts, honey, yogurt, hard cheese and nothing else. What could be simpler than that? Many of us are dairy free and therefore do not eat the yogurt. The diet still works.

Yeah, you are right, I follow a diet somewhat close to this anyway, except minus the yogurt (no dairy at all) and I do eat rice and beans still, and potatoes sometimes. I guess that means I don't do the diet, haha. No way am I giving up rice! It's never done me wrong.

[mftnchn]

I'm thinking that there must be a reason you are considering SCD--some symptoms? From the perspective of SCD, the sugars and starches (including potatoes, rice and some beans) are not broken down, so perpetuate the gut damage. Its a matter of timing when you re-introduce these foods. There are some safe beans on SCD.

One of our thread members does use rice, so there is some variation with what works.

My suggestion is that if you are having symptoms leading you to consider SCD, that you give it a fair trial, without the starches.

There are some tests out there that can tell you if you are not digesting the sugars and starches. In fact, that is why my doctor put me on SCD. Look for a test for stool residues, not just fat (i.e. fat malabsorption), but also proteins and sugars. Sugars and starches should be broken down and absorbed in the small intestine, so if you are excreting them--it indicates a problem.