Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[DMarie]

I had read of the problem of the temp being too hot in yogurt makers too. I knew that wouldn't be good!

I will need to do some fine tuning with the dimmer. By the time I got up this morning, my water temp had gone down to around 90. Turned it back up. Had to give up on the small crock pot as it has an automatic timer on it and it and the dimmer do not work together. Would love to find a heating pad WITHOUT auto shut off. Everything has timers on it!!

When I moved my larger crockpot insert off the heating pad and into the crock pot for the night (after Artgirl tipped me off about where low really was on the dimmer) - the water jostled the jars a little. So who knows? Around 2:00 this afternoon I will carefully remove the jars and put them in the fridge for a few hours. Then I feel certain I am going to want to drip it (if it is thin - as I want to be able to add either a little bit of honey or some frozen blackberries that I am going to reduce in a pan so that it is like conserve (or maybe it is preserves).

April - I am glad to read of another person with success with the heating pad method! I will perserve with these methods. I don't need another appliance (or to spend the $$), if what I have will be more than adequate. Plus - I can make more yogurt at once than with a yogurt machine. If this turns out right, I know my husband will like the yogurt - and we will really go through it!

Put some chicken on the stove to make my chicken broth. By late this afternoon I will have chicken soup! It will have celery in it though (because my husband will be eating) - but I figure I can just avoid eating the celery, though it will be well cooked. Plus onions and carrots (which will also be well cooked).

I am feeling much more settled about this diet. For starters, I know it would be more healthy anyway, even if I weren't looking for the healing properties of it. Also, there is still alot to eat out there (okay, after one gets to a latter part of the diet) Even through the holidays. I am not one who gorges through the holidays - but I do like to enjoy a cookie here and there, and some dessert with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I will miss egg nog, but I'll live. I don't really care about alot of the foods and can be just as happy with other foods. MMM...will have a wonderful batch of turkey soup AFTER Thanksgiving as well!

[kschauer]

Wow, I have just read all 42 pages of this thread in the last two days! Great info and I'm in! I spent the better part of today curled up wanting to cry so I have to do something. I think the culprit is SOY, I had more than normal in some chips this week, but I still don't feel good even being gluten free for a year. Going to order the books and start cutting out corn and rice and sugar now. I have a few questions though:

Not sure on how I can manage the yogurt - there is not a heating pad to be found in this country (they use hot water bottles) I have not seen a yogurt maker or a crock pot. They do have rice makers, but I don't think I can run them for 24 hours. I have a trip to the states and UK coming up, so the real yogurt will have to wait. Right now I eat plain yogurt with honey everyday, but I looked at the ingredients and there is a preservative included and it does not specify the type of cultures used. Should I continue to eat this or stop this as well? If it is okay to continue to eat, could I use this as my starter?

Regarding the milk component of the yogurt, the milk here is not fresh, it is the kind that is in containers (not canned) on the shelf, can I use this? They also have powdered milk here.

How important is this curd cheese? I do not believe I can eat that.

On the introductory soup, do you leave the chicken parts in, or do you take those out with the onion, etc? So is it basically pureed carrot in chicken broth, or does it have chicken, too?

Some people mentioned a test to see if you are not digesting carbohydrates properly, what is the name of the test?

Thanks!

[mftnchn]

Wow, I have just read all 42 pages of this thread in the last two days! Great info and I\'m in!

Not sure on how I can manage the yogurt - there is not a heating pad to be found in this country (they use hot water bottles) I have not seen a yogurt maker or a crock pot. They do have rice makers, but I don\'t think I can run them for 24 hours. I have a trip to the states and UK coming up, so the real yogurt will have to wait. Right now I eat plain yogurt with honey everyday, but I looked at the ingredients and there is a preservative included and it does not specify the type of cultures used. Should I continue to eat this or stop this as well? If it is okay to continue to eat, could I use this as my starter?

Hello and welcome!!!

In Asia, the rice cookers have a \"keep warm\" selection. It will stay on 24 hours. It is too hot for yogurt but I have a way to make it work Let me know if you are interested. Another thing here are little gel filled hand warmers that you can plug in to warm and then unplug. I keep mine plugged in and it is just enough to keep the water bath warm under my large pot. Do you have a gas oven with a pilot light? Or an electric with a light that you can put in a big enough bulb for the right amount of heat?

For starter, you can try the yogurt. I can\'t remember all the details but I know that my MD told me that we should avoid the chickory, NOS and inulin that is in most yogurts, for at least the first three months, and that some organisms are more prone to mutate which is not good. If I were you I\'d try to get the Kirkman acidophilus when you are in the States. One bottle will last a long time, since you only occasionally need fresh starter.

Regarding the milk component of the yogurt, the milk here is not fresh, it is the kind that is in containers (not canned) on the shelf, can I use this? They also have powdered milk here.

We have that milk here too. I have used it for yogurt and it works fine. I have also used powdered milk. Double strength powdered milk makes a very thick yogurt, but the SCD info says not to do that. The main problem is whether the milk had additives. Perhaps you can call the companies and inquire about the processing.

How important is this curd cheese? I do not believe I can eat that.

Its fine not to use it, it did add more variety to the intro for me, but I cannot get it here in Asia (I did intro while in the USA). I have yet to do it, but I want to drip some yogurt and try in recipes.

On the introductory soup, do you leave the chicken parts in, or do you take those out with the onion, etc? So is it basically pureed carrot in chicken broth, or does it have chicken, too?

I think the recipe indicates to puree the carrots and then put the chicken meat back in. However, personally, I puree it all. I cook mine with fresh ginger and no onion. Then I debone the chicken, puree the carrots, ginger, and chicken meat with some of the broth. It makes a thick cream soup. Then I freeze it in containers. To eat it, I heat up a portion (becomes very creamy again) add salt, then whatever else. My fav is to add cinnamon, a little honey (just brings out the flavor), cooked fruit (usually applesauce or peaches) or raisins. I then add some yogurt. It\'s excellent with ground almonds or cashews sprinkled the top, and that adds to the flavor too. Oh also sometimes I add curry. This is so good I can eat it twice a day and not get tired of it.

On another webite I learned that drinking a lot of broth is very good for healing. http://www.gapsdiet.com/INTRODUCTION_DIET.html

Some people mentioned a test to see if you are not digesting carbohydrates properly, what is the name of the test?

The test I had is from Rosmed. There isn\'t much info about it on the internet though. I believe there are other labs that test similar things. I just took a quick look at Doctor\'s Data and they check for residues in their comprehensive stool analysis at least. Genova doesn\'t check for carb residue or sugar, at least in the two or three panels I looked at.

Check out the comprehensive stool analysis and the digestive function tests in the various labs.

Sherry

[ShayFL]

For those wanting a commercial yogurt starter with only Acidophilus and no fillers. Just whole milk and active acidophilus. I found Erivan yogurt today at Whole Foods:

Open Original Shared Link

[AliB]

Wow, I have just read all 42 pages of this thread in the last two days! Great info and I'm in! I spent the better part of today curled up wanting to cry so I have to do something. I think the culprit is SOY, I had more than normal in some chips this week, but I still don't feel good even being gluten free for a year. Going to order the books and start cutting out corn and rice and sugar now. I have a few questions though:

Not sure on how I can manage the yogurt - there is not a heating pad to be found in this country (they use hot water bottles) I have not seen a yogurt maker or a crock pot. They do have rice makers, but I don't think I can run them for 24 hours. I have a trip to the states and UK coming up, so the real yogurt will have to wait. Right now I eat plain yogurt with honey everyday, but I looked at the ingredients and there is a preservative included and it does not specify the type of cultures used. Should I continue to eat this or stop this as well? If it is okay to continue to eat, could I use this as my starter?

Hi 'K' (what's the K for? We are all pretty much on first name terms on here!), welcome to the thread.

I think in a way that we may be getting a bit too worried about the temperature. Whilst 110 degrees may be the optimum, a little either way is not going to make a huge difference. If you live in a hot country, just leaving the yogurt out on the table or in a warm place will culture it. It is not an exact science. My Mum used to put hers in the airing cupboard overnight - she never worried about the temperature and it always came out good. Getting too hot is worse though than getting too cold. Overheating will kill the bacteria but I don't know how hot - too cold will just slow down the culture. People have made yogurt for thousands of years without yogurt makers, crockpots or heating pads! They just leave it in a warm place.

We have a problem finding warm places here in the UK which is pretty cold most of the year these days, but I am sure you don't have that problem in Chile! When I started I would heat the oven to about 50 degrees celcius and leave the yogurt in there overnight, then heat it up again in the morning to the same temp and leave it for another 4 or 5 hours, then do that again. It always turned out ok. If it gets cold there at night perhaps you could do that overnight then take it out when the day heats up again.

Regarding the milk component of the yogurt, the milk here is not fresh, it is the kind that is in containers (not canned) on the shelf, can I use this? They also have powdered milk here.

Carton milk should be ok just heat it to boiling before using. You can add powdered milk to make it creamier but add it before boiling so that it is sterilised.

How important is this curd cheese? I do not believe I can eat that.

It is not crucial. Elaine suggest having cultured curd cheese made with probiotic bacteria rather than lactic acid as an extra source of good bacteria, and as an extra food option but if you can't get it then it is not important. I can only find one source of it over here and it comes in a 2 liter bucket which would take me so long to get through it would go off. I did buy one and I still have at least half of it in the fridge but I daren't open the lid! They do a half size pot but it is almost the same price - how daft is that! I won't buy it on principle!

On the introductory soup, do you leave the chicken parts in, or do you take those out with the onion, etc? So is it basically pureed carrot in chicken broth, or does it have chicken, too?

You can leave the chicken in and whizz it all up together. You need some protein. One way would be to cook the chicken for a little while, just long enough to be able to get all the meat off, strip the chicken then put the bones in a saucepan and boil them for a while. Meanwhile put the chicken pieces into another pan and add your carrots and boil that for a while separately. It means using 2 pans but that way you dont have the problem of trying to extract all those tiny little bones from amongst the meat, but still get the goodness from the bone stock which can be strained into the pureed chicken meat and carrots. I like to just fry off my chopped carrots first in a little olive oil or butter (for those who can tolerate it) or ghee, to caramelise them and bring out a bit more flavor.

As far as the stool test is concerned, we can't get that over here, but I would just feel that if you have any problem digesting carbs then you can pretty much guarantee that you have sugar in your stool anyway! I have found soy to be a problem, but as it is not legal on SCD then you should have no more problem with it.

I hope this info helps a bit. If you can get hold of the BTVC book through Mail Order you would find it very useful, but failing that the BTVC website and Pecanbread are helpful.

regards, Ali.

[DMarie]

Hi Kschauer! Welcome - I too am just getting started on this journey. Everyone on the board has been very helpful.

I just have to say - I actually made yogurt! I know - not really that big of a feat - but it seemed it at first. Best thing is - it tastes really yummy. I just added a little bit of honey and it was the best. Very tart, but with the honey very tasty. I cooked down some blackberries with a little honey and had it that way as well. Even my husband liked it!

I have printouts of the directions for coconut yogurt - which I will be trying. Does it get as thick as the regular yogurt? I actually used 1/2 whole milk, 1/2 of half and half since I had a carton of it.

Ali - good to hear about the temperature when making the yogurt, because I worried over that all day long yesterday. Yet I looked up yogurt on Recipezaar - and people noted just wrapping their bowl in towels while the yogurt fermented and putting it in the oven, or on a counter. All in all the crockpot method worked, using the dimmer as suggested by Artgirl. But next time I won't worry so if the temp drops some below the preferred temp.

Now just waiting on my books to arrive. Amazon is usually pretty fast. Off to Pecanbread to read again about what is allowed on the intro, since I have the chicken soup ready.

[mftnchn]

Dawn, its great to see you making progress. It does get easier!!

[AliB]

Mia - I was intrigued when you mentioned telling your doctor about the SCD and him going very quiet. Has he tried it himself since then?

[ArtGirl]

Welcome to the thread, Kschauer. Hoping you have great success.

mftnchn - thanks for the tip on the yogurt - nice to know one doesn't have to be so precise!!

I HAVE A QUESTION

I've been thinking about the probiotics and what happens in the gut, etc. (I've had way too much time to ponder things)

My understanding is that the SCDiet, because only simple sugars (honey and from fruits/vegetables) are consumed, prevents any sugars to make it to the lower gut for bacteria to feed on and multiply. The into kills off ALL, both bad and good. Then the good bacteria is introduced via yogurt or probiotic capsules. Am I correct so far?

If one continues on the SCDiet, consuming only simple sugars and not eating anything with the more complex sugars derrived from grains, it appears to me that there would be nothing in the lower gut for even the good bacteria to feed on. If this assumption is correct, then one needs to consume the good bacteria on a daily basis in order to replenish the good bacteria in the gut. Correct assumption? or flawed!

I'm only asking about this out of curiosity and wanting to understand the reasoning behind the emphasis on all that yogurt.

Also, I'm finding that I am not handling the coconut yogurt well - is it the coconut??? is it the culture itself?? If I eat the c. yogurt in the evening, the taste/tartness stays in my mouth all night and I can still "feel it" in the morning. Anyone find this happening? And, I'm experiencing some bloating and D and will need to find out if coconut is a problem or if the bacteria is (maybe too much too fast?)

I guess I can forget the yogurt for a while and just take the probiotics in capsule form and see if I handle it okay. I certainly don't want to stop ingesting the good bacteria, especially if my assumption above is correct.

[DMarie]

I have a few questions. What is allowable to drink? I know 100% grape juice (Welch's recommended). Water I am sure. I really like my diet soda (yes, I know - not the best - but I don't drink it all day long every day) - but I think that is not really recommended and if drank should be minimal, later on in the diet.

I am normally constipated. I take magnesium supplements (1000 mg daily) plus use 2 tablespoons of Metamucil (sugar free) daily. I figure that Metamucil is out. I think my magnesium is okay, but have to look further. I upped my magnesium to 1500 mg last night since I knew there would be no metamucil today. I would expect that I can lower this as I go further into the diet. So far okay today (had a decent bm). Any suggestions? Or is this a time things? I did see some reference to muffins that are good to eat for constipation (recipe given on the BTVC website, I think). But it uses almond meal - which I would be happy to use - but trying to avoid the nuts right now since that is what is recommended at first.

I noticed Melatonin is on the illegal list. Does anyone know why? I use that every night to sleep half decently. Is there something else that is allowable? If not, how bad is it to continue to use something such as the melatonin? I have to sleep - I cannot be up for hours in the middle of the night.

I browsed through the book BTVC over the weekend at the bookstore. If I remember right, there was no set guideline for how many days on each stage of the diet (everyone is different). I am doing the intro for at least 1 day, will try to go tomorrow as well. I feel great today! Just hungry and thinking it can't very well be good if I inhale a whole chicken every day! I actually ate an omelette this morning with chicken breast in it. No problems what so ever (I have not eaten eggs by themselves for 3 or 4 weeks now and only a couple times in a baked item).

So - I have set aside my usual snacks since according to the diet these are harder on digestion (nuts, apples, uncooked carrots). Even nut butters are a later stage. As is something like a salad. How long should I forgo these items? And when I want to eat something different - do I only add one thing new at a time? (that is a little depressing - I am thinking it would take a very long time to add in a variety of foods if one has to wait days in between adding new items).

Lastly - I have seen some recipes (SCD) that use canned tomatoes or canned pumpkin. I have canned pumpkin at home. The ingredient on the label says it just has pumpkin. With stricter labeling guidelines - wouldn't they have to list starch if any was added? Also, I see that canned fruit in their own juices is legal. Does this mean fruit that I can - or does this mean canned fruit from the store? Also, same question about canned green beans. The label says they contain green beans and water. But not okay?

Is it possible that I could eat stuff such as nut butter right now and not have it be detrimental? I mean, if I ate a tablespoon of it and had no reaction, but that is for a later stage and I haven't sat for a certain amount of time at a given stage - is that still detrimental?

Thanks!

[AliB]

Welcome to the thread, Kschauer. Hoping you have great success.

mftnchn - thanks for the tip on the yogurt - nice to know one doesn't have to be so precise!!

I HAVE A QUESTION

I've been thinking about the probiotics and what happens in the gut, etc. (I've had way too much time to ponder things)

My understanding is that the SCDiet, because only simple sugars (honey and from fruits/vegetables) are consumed, prevents any sugars to make it to the lower gut for bacteria to feed on and multiply. The into kills off ALL, both bad and good. Then the good bacteria is introduced via yogurt or probiotic capsules. Am I correct so far?

If one continues on the SCDiet, consuming only simple sugars and not eating anything with the more complex sugars derrived from grains, it appears to me that there would be nothing in the lower gut for even the good bacteria to feed on. If this assumption is correct, then one needs to consume the good bacteria on a daily basis in order to replenish the good bacteria in the gut. Correct assumption? or flawed!

I'm only asking about this out of curiosity and wanting to understand the reasoning behind the emphasis on all that yogurt.

Also, I'm finding that I am not handling the coconut yogurt well - is it the coconut??? is it the culture itself?? If I eat the c. yogurt in the evening, the taste/tartness stays in my mouth all night and I can still "feel it" in the morning. Anyone find this happening? And, I'm experiencing some bloating and D and will need to find out if coconut is a problem or if the bacteria is (maybe too much too fast?)

I guess I can forget the yogurt for a while and just take the probiotics in capsule form and see if I handle it okay. I certainly don't want to stop ingesting the good bacteria, especially if my assumption above is correct.

Others have asked this question. Some bacteria are avid carb feeders, others aren't. Most of the good bacteria will happily exist via the 'specific' carbs provided within the diet, the voracious beasties will die back as their 'food' the undigested carbs will no longer be available to them.

Some don't cope with the yogurt immediately. It could be that there is a bit of a battle going on down there between the goodies and the baddies. You might be better off not having the yogurt for a while then try it again in a few weeks.

Why do you think you wouldn't be able to have dairy yogurt? Bearing in mind that the whole point of the 24 hour yogurt is so that not only will the amount of bacteria be radically increased, but also the lactose is also generally completely digested and the bacteria also changes the structure of the casein by pre-digesting it. Although I could not cope with dairy, I have been fine with the yogurt. Yes, I had some bloating to start with and still occasionally get it now, but it is better.

Some do seem to cope better with just probiotics, but the reason i prefer the yogurt is because it gets right in to the whole gut, from the mouth down. As some of the rogue bacteria often lives in the mouth (halitosis heaven!), the goodies can get at them too!

If Candida is a particular problem, then it is also best to restrict ALL sugars, even honey and fruit, for a while to get the little beggars under control first. I know it feels like ultimate deprivation but we have to look at the long-term benefit. As humans we naturally desire the 'quick-fix' option. Unfortunately in this situation there ain't one.

You are right that the goodies need to be regularly replenished, at least until they have managed to repopulate the gut properly and the digestion is working properly. Many cultures consume yogurt on a daily basis all their lives and live well on it.

[ArtGirl]

Thanks for answering my questions, Ali.

Why do you think you wouldn't be able to have dairy yogurt? Bearing in mind that the whole point of the 24 hour yogurt is so that not only will the amount of bacteria be radically increased, but also the lactose is also generally completely digested and the bacteria also changes the structure of the casein by pre-digesting it. Although I could not cope with dairy, I have been fine with the yogurt. Yes, I had some bloating to start with and still occasionally get it now, but it is better.

Well, it's because of my casein intolerance, but, if what you say, the casein isn't a problem because it's pre-digested, I may try some making some milk yogurt and see what happens.

I'm also thinking that I've tried to progress too fast along the stages of the diet. I'm going to back off of the yogurt for a couple weeks and then eat only a small amount and build up. I'll try making some cow's milk yogurt. I think I'll order some probiotics in capsules and take them first, though.

So, Ali, can you eat cheese? Or is it only the cultured milk in yogurt.

Most of the good bacteria will happily exist via the 'specific' carbs provided within the diet, the voracious beasties will die back as their 'food' the undigested carbs will no longer be available to them.

For a long time (years) I have noticed undigested food in my stools. Almost everything I eat will show up partially undigested or not at all. Does this feed the bad beasties? Was just wondering.

[ArtGirl]

An interesting video...

VIDEO: CROHN'S BOY PAYS IT FORWARD WITH SPECIFIC CARBHOYDRATE DIET STARTING TIPS

Monday, October 20, 2008

In this video, "Crohn's Boy" explains common SCD mistakes. It's invaluable to someone starting the diet and gets the message across that because a food is "legal", it's not a reason to throw caution to the wind

Open Original Shared Link

[ArtGirl]

..

[AliB]

I have a few questions. What is allowable to drink? I know 100% grape juice (Welch's recommended). Water I am sure. I really like my diet soda (yes, I know - not the best - but I don't drink it all day long every day) - but I think that is not really recommended and if drank should be minimal, later on in the diet.

I am normally constipated. I take magnesium supplements (1000 mg daily) plus use 2 tablespoons of Metamucil (sugar free) daily. I figure that Metamucil is out. I think my magnesium is okay, but have to look further. I upped my magnesium to 1500 mg last night since I knew there would be no metamucil today. I would expect that I can lower this as I go further into the diet. So far okay today (had a decent bm). Any suggestions? Or is this a time things? I did see some reference to muffins that are good to eat for constipation (recipe given on the BTVC website, I think). But it uses almond meal - which I would be happy to use - but trying to avoid the nuts right now since that is what is recommended at first.

I noticed Melatonin is on the illegal list. Does anyone know why? I use that every night to sleep half decently. Is there something else that is allowable? If not, how bad is it to continue to use something such as the melatonin? I have to sleep - I cannot be up for hours in the middle of the night.

I browsed through the book BTVC over the weekend at the bookstore. If I remember right, there was no set guideline for how many days on each stage of the diet (everyone is different). I am doing the intro for at least 1 day, will try to go tomorrow as well. I feel great today! Just hungry and thinking it can't very well be good if I inhale a whole chicken every day! I actually ate an omelette this morning with chicken breast in it. No problems what so ever (I have not eaten eggs by themselves for 3 or 4 weeks now and only a couple times in a baked item).

So - I have set aside my usual snacks since according to the diet these are harder on digestion (nuts, apples, uncooked carrots). Even nut butters are a later stage. As is something like a salad. How long should I forgo these items? And when I want to eat something different - do I only add one thing new at a time? (that is a little depressing - I am thinking it would take a very long time to add in a variety of foods if one has to wait days in between adding new items).

Lastly - I have seen some recipes (SCD) that use canned tomatoes or canned pumpkin. I have canned pumpkin at home. The ingredient on the label says it just has pumpkin. With stricter labeling guidelines - wouldn't they have to list starch if any was added? Also, I see that canned fruit in their own juices is legal. Does this mean fruit that I can - or does this mean canned fruit from the store? Also, same question about canned green beans. The label says they contain green beans and water. But not okay?

Is it possible that I could eat stuff such as nut butter right now and not have it be detrimental? I mean, if I ate a tablespoon of it and had no reaction, but that is for a later stage and I haven't sat for a certain amount of time at a given stage - is that still detrimental?

Thanks!

Elaine suggests either grape juice or fresh unsweetened pure apple juice (the cloudy type), commonly known as 'cider' (not the alcoholic type!). Water, of course, and a few other well-diluted pure fruit juices (no sugar) - pineapple, tomato, V8, Orange, etc.). Personally I prefer to well dilute juices. They are very strong and acid if taken neat. I am so used to having them dilute that I now only need an inch or two in the bottom of a glass topped up with water, otherwise I find it so sweet. It is more refreshing that way, too. My son used to drink (much to my annoyance as it was quite expensive) a glass of neat juice, then complain a few minutes later that he was thirsty! Neat juice is very high in carbs and certainly best avoided if you are diabetic. It is a rapid blood sugar booster.

You may well find that the first few weeks of SCD puts your bowels through a mangler while your body starts to sort itself out! Mine took about a month to settle down, but now, after having constant D for years I have pretty normal bowel movements. I remember Pele telling me that it would eventually settle down - and she was right.

Can't help you with the melatonin thing - i don't know why. What I will say though is that you should find as your body starts to settle that you start to sleep better. It is usually the digestion that keeps people awake, but if you are not eating the foods that trigger problems and it all starts to heal, you will suddenly realise that you have slept all night and the duvet is still on the bed when you woke up!

You can't run before you can walk. The idea of adding foods in gradually is not to overwhelm the gut with foods it cannot handle. Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey. It has undoubtedly taken years for your gut to get in this state - it will not recover overnight. Even if it takes a year, what is that compared to a lifetime? Just concentrate initially on the foods that are gentle on the digestion. So what if you have chicken and carrot soup for the next 3 weeks? You can keep the soup going but start to add in a few more gentle foods over those 3 weeks and then gradually phase it down. Banana, cooked string beans, squash with butter and some nutmeg, fish, meat, eggs, cooked fruit, gradually other cooked veg.

Later nuts can be added in, certain cheeses if tolerated. Within the 'confines' of the diet are enough foods to create endless tasty and enjoyable recipes. (Note - I couldn't tolerate Baking Powder initially so just used baking soda. I think that the tartaric acid was the problem. I haven't had it since so am unsure how I would react to it now).

Elaine was dubious about canned goods as she had found that sometimes sugar or corn syrup was added but not listed on the label. I think the labelling laws have tightened up a lot since 1994 when the book was written, but there may still be situations where ready prepared ingredients are bought in to add to a food. whilst the 'end' company may not have added anything and can therefore justify in their own eyes a 'pure' label, they have no control over what may have been added at an earlier stage outside their jurisdiction, after all, I don't suppose that 'melamine' was added on the label as an ingredient in the 'pure' milk in China!

If you feel that you can eat a 'pure' canned food with certainty then by all means give it a try.

I asked Naomi Devlin how she improved on the diet and she replied "I've been lucky, it took me about six months to sort things out. I was cavalier at the beginning and didn't cut out all the harder to digest foods. When I got rid of peanuts/peanut butter, coconut, pulses, seeds, dried fruit, honey, alcohol, cheese, butter and yogurt - things calmed down pretty fast.

Now I eat all of the above except pulses and seeds, which I intend to try again in a few months.

I'm pretty good at giving things up, but even so I found it hard to cut my sweet cravings. I got round this by eating a lot of slow cooked food, roasted vegetables and very ripe bananas. A weak spleen is generally to blame for the sugar cravings and eating slow cooked and aromatic food helps strengthen the organ (energetically). Having regular massage and exercise also helps.

The key - as Elaine Gottishall says herself - is fanatical adherance. Even a little bit of something that feeds yeasts, bacteria and remains undigested in the gut will cause inflammation. The cycle of inflammation needs to be broken for your gut to start healing properly.

I would suggest taking capryllic acid, using coconut oil instead of butter, and for cooking (as it is anti-fungal), eating lots of SCD yogurt, taking a good probiotic (three-lac is candida specific and SCD legal) and maybe a course of digestive enzymes with each meal.

Once your energy starts to come back your will power will increase, just hang on in there for now!"

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[fig girl]

Hey everyone,

I'm feeling much better after cutting out the squash, nut butter and flour and cooked fruit for the last week. I had added too many new foods too fast and ended up not knowing the cause of my returning sore stomach and back pain. After a few days on foods that i know i can eat (scd goat milk yogurt, ripe bananas, carrot/chicken soup, well cooked and de-seeded green beans, well cooked carrots, broccoli, spinach and asparagus and raw avocado with lime juice - also all meat and fish broiled, baked or even cooked on top of the oven in a pan with just salt, pepper and coconut oil or olive oil). I've made a better plan and i've written down what new foods i'm going to try this week - i'm figuring on Sunday's and Thursday's i'll try a little of a new food and that'll give me 2-3 days to see how i do on them. I might need to scale it back to one new food per week but i'll try 2 first. Over the weekend i made 5 quarts of scd goat milk yogurt to hopefully last for 2 weeks so hopefully i'll start making it every other weekend. I made a big pot of chicken/carrot soup and steamed some green beans, carrots, and asparagus to have to take for lunch and eat for dinner throughout the week. I made some of the eggless almond flour bread (on pecanbread.com - Mia this is real close to your brownie recipe - i only put 2 pureed pears, almond flour, baking soda, salt and scd legal vanilla) and froze most of it but ate a little yesterday and so far so good. I tried some pecan butter that i had made Fri. night (only a teaspoon) and had gas and a rumbly tummy about 2 hrs. afterward so that'll need to wait a while. I remembered though that when i first introduced the nut flour i used the blanched almond flour that i ordered from Lucy's Kitchen so i used that for my eggless bread and so far so good - i ate very little and will be going very slow.

I also baked some acorn squash for Thursday to try. This new plan i think will work better for me - i've been on the SCD for almost 2 mths. and just haven't planned my new food introduction very well in the last 2-3 wks. so i hope this will work better for me.

Dawn and ArtGirl - hang in there....as others have said it does get better. And ArtGirl my tummy was making a lot of noise and i had a little bloating and gas when i first started the goat milk yogurt (and i started with a little and went slow) but as Ali and Pele said it should settle down after a short while. But i would probably do what you said on cutting it out for a while and add it back in a little at a time. I felt a lot better (lot less joint pain and brain fog and no more sore stomach, more energy so i knew it was doing me some good). I don't know if I'm lactose intol. or casein intol. but dairy bothered me so i'm still avoiding it but the goat yogurt is doing ok for me.

Welcome Kschauer and i wanted to let you and Dawn know (in case you needed) that my hubby found me a heating pad at Walgreen's that doesn't have the auto shut off - it's Walgreen's brand and was only about $13.00. I had looked at Walmart and Kmart but couldn't find one and he had stopped by Walgreen's and i asked him to look and they had one...yay! I already had one that didn't have an auto shut off but with my new big pot i kind of needed two to sit it on (it's pretty big!). I've probably spent what i would have spent on a yogurt maker (with new pot and heating pad) but my goal was to make big batches at a time less often. With the big pot i kept the heating pads on high most of the time and then towards the last couple of hours i turned it to med. and it stayed at 105 - 110. When i used the smaller pot i could keep the pad at med. - maybe a few times having to turn it to high for a short while. We can maybe use the big pot for cooking outside also (frying a turkey and Mia's sauerkraut recipe!).

Oh and Sat. night i had a very small salad with just lettuce, olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice and i was ok with it so yay! Looking forward to eating salad again! I know that was 3 new foods this weekend(i had eaten a very small salad 2-3 wks ago also and it didn't bother me so i kind of figured it would be ok) but starting this week just 2 foods per week...i'm stickin' to my plan.

Sherry - how many times do you use 1/2 cup of your previous batch of yogurt before starting with new probiotic capsules? I'm thinking i read 2-3 times? This batch this past weekend i used 1/2 cup from the previous batch for the first time.

I hope everyone else is doing well and your tummy's are calm and quiet!

[fig girl]

This great site may have been posted before but i wanted to share it - it has some nice recipes that i want to try soon and hopefully if i can tolerate them i'll make them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I want to try the sugar plums ( i found some unsulphured, unsweetened apricots at Whole Foods) and the Candied Butternut squash sounds yummy too - i found some raw hazelnuts at Trader Joe's. The stuffing recipe sounds really good too! It has a lot of good recipes! Oh and the butternut pecan pie and cranberry recipe sounds so good too!

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I saw some fresh turkeys at Publix this past weekend - for those of you having turkey for Thanksgiving is this the kind you're going to get? I think i read Honeysuckle and Perdue are gluten free but for SCD we probably need to buy the all natural, fresh turkeys don't we? If so i could go ahead and get a fresh, natural one and freeze it until ready to thaw and cook. Thanks for any info!

[fig girl]

An interesting video...

VIDEO: CROHN'S BOY PAYS IT FORWARD WITH SPECIFIC CARBHOYDRATE DIET STARTING TIPS

Monday, October 20, 2008

In this video, "Crohn's Boy" explains common SCD mistakes. It's invaluable to someone starting the diet and gets the message across that because a food is "legal", it's not a reason to throw caution to the wind

Open Original Shared Link

Thanks ArtGirl for posting this - i had started doing what he did and consumed too much of the nut butters and flours and was eating the squash every day - too much too soon! Also, i had mentioned i had used an onion in my chicken/carrot soup a couple of weekends ago and i know that messed me up. He mentioned garlic too - I didn't do well with garlic since my stomach started bothering me and even after i went gluten-free - maybe once i heal completely or just a little more i'll be able to add them back in to my diet. I do better eating smaller amounts more often so i can't wait to be able to add raw fruits and nuts back into my diet - they're such a good, quick, easy snack!

[ArtGirl]

Fig Girl - that's a good report. You seem to have made a good working plan. I need to do the same kind of thing and be more deliberate about this diet if it's going to help me isolate troublesome foods.

Another symptom with the coconut yogurt, besides eventually having gas and D, was that almost immediately after eating it my throat would form a lot of phlem. I never had that happen when eating only the coconut milk, so that's one of the reasons why I suspect the culture - and that I used a cow's milk yogurt as a starter - so it could likely be just the introduction of casein.

I ordered the SCDophhilus probiotic from giprohealth.com which should be here in a few days (the shipping for that one bottle was $15 because it has to be kept cold - I hated to do that for just one bottle, but I don't know if I'll ever buy it again and didn't want to have more stuff to throw out). I'll take just a half capsule to start with in perhaps a week or so, and see how I react to that. It's non-dairy and SCD legal so there shouldn't be anything in it to bother me.

Tonight I had some raw celery with cashew butter on it. I know, I know, I said I would back up and go slow, but I just HAD to have something crunchy. So far, no reaction and no stomach pain - I've always been able to eat this before so was hoping there'd be no repercutions.

Tomorrow I make another batch of soup - with turkey legs - I like turkey soup better than chicken soup and will get back on the wagon. I have run out of soup and that's part of my problem.

[ArtGirl]

Does anyone start out 100% compliant with this diet?

It seems everyone on this thread has either added too many foods too soon or has cheated early on to their detrement. But then they go back to the beginning and get more serious about it. My high regards to anyone who follows the process completely from the get-go.

[GermanMia]

Ali - no, my doctor didn't try the SCD herself (it's a lady) - she is so busy she hardly seems to have time to sleep at all - starts at 7.30 in the morning and leaves at about ten in the evening... She admits that she has no time to busy herself with dietary issues - but she told me she thought my approach was reasonable so I#d do what I think is good for me.

I made some tests now and found that another of my problems is fructose malabsorption. So that explains something. I wondered why I have problems with sauerkraut - never had that before - but sauerkraut is very high in fructose. Also I should cut carrots, peanuts, apples, pears, raisins and peppers from my diet. Little bit honey should be okay. But I read that coconut (milk and cream) is not good either. Maybe those of you who have strange problems should try to avoid the things high in fructose for a while, too. As I never had problems with any kind of fruit or veggies before, I suppose this maldigestion will go away when everything else heals.

Tomorrow I'll have an endoscopy, and maybe the results of the blood tests are in then, too. Today I'm going to deliver a stool sample. So that all together may give me a picture - so glad I started doing those tests, because I never would have found out about the fructose.

[AliB]

Thanks for answering my questions, Ali.

Well, it's because of my casein intolerance, but, if what you say, the casein isn't a problem because it's pre-digested, I may try some making some milk yogurt and see what happens.

I'm also thinking that I've tried to progress too fast along the stages of the diet. I'm going to back off of the yogurt for a couple weeks and then eat only a small amount and build up. I'll try making some cow's milk yogurt. I think I'll order some probiotics in capsules and take them first, though.

So, Ali, can you eat cheese? Or is it only the cultured milk in yogurt.

I think going too fast is a mistake a lot of us make. We think, because the diet is restricted we have to include everything on the diet, but in reality even some of those foods are best left until a later stage once the gut has started to heal. I know I have fallen into that trap. It would have been difficult for Elaine to specify what should happen when, because we are all so different and have different levels of damage. IT is as much about learning to read your own body and look for the signs, as anything.

I can eat a little cheese now. I didn't have any dairy at all initially apart from the yogurt, then I had some curd cheese. Now I can have a little cheddar or swiss cheese and seem to be ok with brie. I bought some cultured creme fraiche yesterday and had some last night but had a lot of gas, so maybe that was too much too soon.

Again, I undoubtedly would be at a better stage if I had done things properly from the off and not allowed illegal stuff to creep in. It is way too easy to do that. 'Crohn'sboy' was saying on his blog that he had put himself back 6 months by not following the diet properly and I would say the same for me. There has been good improvement but not as fast as it might have been.

For a long time (years) I have noticed undigested food in my stools. Almost everything I eat will show up partially undigested or not at all. Does this feed the bad beasties? Was just wondering.

The fact that you had undigested food in your stool does indicate that your digestion has been struggling for some time. The thing is, you can see (trying not to be gross!) bits like sweetcorn or mushroom, etc., but you can't see the undigested carbs. It is that that feeds the beasties. If what you can see is there, then you can bet your bottom dollar that what you can't distinguish, is also there.

[AliB]

Ali - no, my doctor didn't try the SCD herself (it's a lady) - she is so busy she hardly seems to have time to sleep at all - starts at 7.30 in the morning and leaves at about ten in the evening... She admits that she has no time to busy herself with dietary issues - but she told me she thought my approach was reasonable so I#d do what I think is good for me.

I made some tests now and found that another of my problems is fructose malabsorption. So that explains something. I wondered why I have problems with sauerkraut - never had that before - but sauerkraut is very high in fructose. Also I should cut carrots, peanuts, apples, pears, raisins and peppers from my diet. Little bit honey should be okay. But I read that coconut (milk and cream) is not good either. Maybe those of you who have strange problems should try to avoid the things high in fructose for a while, too. As I never had problems with any kind of fruit or veggies before, I suppose this maldigestion will go away when everything else heals.

Tomorrow I'll have an endoscopy, and maybe the results of the blood tests are in then, too. Today I'm going to deliver a stool sample. So that all together may give me a picture - so glad I started doing those tests, because I never would have found out about the fructose.

Hi Mia. What are the tests you have done to find out about the fructose malabsorption? Is this something you have worked out yourself by what response you get, or is it an actual test kit procedure?

[GermanMia]

Hi Ali,

no, it was a hydrogen breath test at the doctor's. The tricky thing about fructose malabsorption is that it's hard to figure out by trial and error. It always depends on the amount of fructose containing foods you take in - one carrot can be okay, then the next day you have two carrots and one apple which is much too much fructose - but you can't figure out whether it's the apple or the carrot or the mixture or whatever. Well, if you know that there could be such a thing, you can do some testing yourself: Just dissolve 20-50 gramm fructose in one large glass water, drink it and wait if your gut starts to protest... I drank that stuff and had cramps half an hour later!

[mftnchn]

I followed it pretty carefully from the beginning. Although not too symptomatic, I knew from testing about severe malabsorption and carb digest problems. I made one exception 2-3 times, with making smoothies from fresh blueberries.

Also I have followed the constipation protocol of having one almond flour muffin a day. I have moved beyond that now and occasionally make a treat, and don't eat a muffin every day. Part of that is having trouble finding safe almonds. I would like to follow Elaines' constipation protocol to try the whole thing but I can't get some of the stuff here. No sugarless prunes, no prune juice, no safe orange juice, etc.

It really varies from person to person, but I have followed the stages on pecanbread.com fairly well though not absolutely.