Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[lbd]

You could try a different nut meal maybe? Perhaps something in the grinding of the almonds is releasing something your body doesn't like? You could try hazelnuts - they make a nice "flour" meal too and taste similar to almonds. They grind nicely if frozen.

AliB, you should be congratulated for always presenting such a cool, calm explanation of the merits of the SCD!

My daughter is in London for a semester abroad and she complains of the bone-chilling cold in the UK, even though it is much colder here. She said she has had only one sunny day there since New Year's. I told her to make sure she takes her vitamin D daily, that I sent alone with her! Funny, when we visited Scotland and England two years ago, we just happened to hit the hottest streak for 400 years! It was over 100F most of the time we were there!

Laurie

[DMarie]

This topic has been busy lately!!

I am doing pretty well with sticking with SCD legal foods. Things that I have that are off SCD are primarily confined to onion and garlic powders (which I sometimes use), bacon on occasion (I cannot afford SCD legal bacon, even if I found it - I do like Hormel Naturals, which have no nitrates/nitrites - but do have turbinado sugar), and very occasionally some tamari sauce used in my chicken stir fry. I do try to purchase my supplements to be SCD specific - but I cannot get into big expense ordering them via the internet. If they are SCD legal - great. If not, oh well. Also, I have not gone to the expense of having all my medications compounded. So again - it is what it is.

Other than that my biggest problems are eating legal foods I know I shouldn't. Like cashews. Or too much cheese. I have done better for the past week or so - but my problem becomes snacking. It would be so easy (and filling) to be able to have a handful of nuts and some cheese for a snack. Veggies/protein just don't stick with me without some fat. I also have to watch how many almond or pecan flour goodies I eat. I try to reduce the honey as much as possible in those items, and I don't go hog wild with them.

I am finding I like soups (alot!). Not so much the plain chicken soup, but I do like chicken or beef soup with a variety of cooked veggies in it. I prefer that for breakfast and for snacks, because it does seem a little bit more filling than some other choices.

Oh, and I tried making homemade BBQ sauce - from tomatoes!! I don't have a food mill (really need one of those) so ended up pressing the cooked tomatoes through a sieve. Tiring, but it worked. I didn't think I had that much tomatoe juice/pulp from 5 lbs of tomatoes, and thought that this would boil down, just like canned tomatoe juice does, in order to thicken. Great I thought...I will hardly have any sauce - I don't know why the recipe talks about canning it! Much to my surprise, it does thicken without greatly reducing in volume! So I did can it. But am now worried about that. I have never canned anything! I used mason jars, new seals, the rings have been used before (making yogurt). I have a tall stock pan. I processed the jars in there with boiling water (4 pints). I went for 40 minutes, even though the instructions said 15 minutes (paranoid). Now I have it in the fridge, because I am still not sure it would be okay in the pantry. Anyone know the answer to that one? Should I quit worrying?

Now I can't wait for tomatoes to be on a good sale again and to can tomatoe sauce!! I think it will be better than boiling down tomatoe juice. I should start looking around to see if there is somewhere not to far away where I can get fresh picked tomatoes at a good price.

[AliB]

You could try a different nut meal maybe? Perhaps something in the grinding of the almonds is releasing something your body doesn't like? You could try hazelnuts - they make a nice "flour" meal too and taste similar to almonds. They grind nicely if frozen.

AliB, you should be congratulated for always presenting such a cool, calm explanation of the merits of the SCD!

My daughter is in London for a semester abroad and she complains of the bone-chilling cold in the UK, even though it is much colder here. She said she has had only one sunny day there since New Year's. I told her to make sure she takes her vitamin D daily, that I sent alone with her! Funny, when we visited Scotland and England two years ago, we just happened to hit the hottest streak for 400 years! It was over 100F most of the time we were there!

Laurie

Thanks for the confidence boost Laurie You know what they say - cool, calm and collected on the surface and paddling furiously under water!

It has been particularly cold - yes, definitely bone-chilling, here this Winter. The real cold doesn't really usually start until at least December or even January, but it hit early this year and has outstayed its welcome. We had freezing weather at the beginning of November and most people have found it hard going. We're just not used to it, and we are never prepared for it.

The biggest problem is that it is rarely the same two days running (except for the freezing weather this year!) so we never have a chance to acclimatise properly. By the time you get used to the cold it's turned mild and is pouring with rain! Looks like not only did we not have any Summer to speak of, the Winter is going to be extremely long too - more like 'Winter and not-quite Winter' for the whole year!)

I remember going to a slideshow years ago about someone's trip to Alaska. He showed a photo of a group stood in short sleeve shirts and summer dresses. It was -10 degrees! Apparently when it gets up to -10 out comes their summer wear! They must be very hardy souls!

We are just pretty wimpy over here. We don't like it too cold, we don't like it too hot, we moan about the rain - do you know it is the biggest topic of conversation over here - the weather! If you took the weather and our health out of the equation, goodness knows what we would talk about!

I have got some ground hazelnuts so might try those - interestingly though our littlest grandson didn't touch his blueberry pancake so I scoffed it after he had gone home - I was ok with it then, so I am wondering if it was because they were hot when I first ate them. I have always found 'straight from the oven' baked goods hard to digest, so maybe there is something different in the chemical make-up when they are hot that I can't cope with. I am ok with normal hot food, it is only baked goods I can't deal with hot. Strange. It was just as nice cold, but kind of misses the point.

[lbd]

T We don't like it too cold, we don't like it too hot, we moan about the rain - do you know it is the biggest topic of conversation over here - the weather! If you took the weather and our health out of the equation, goodness knows what we would talk about!

Haha, that's priceless. My daughter's biggest adjustment has been to some differences in culture. She had to get over the lack of smiles from counter people and thank you's (which may just be in London, because when we were in Scotland, everyone smiled!), but she is adjusting now to that and the weather and loves it there. I'm sure she is not missing the 1/4 inch of ice on top of snow we got yesterday

I don't know if any of you follow the Dr. Fine thread, but there was a post that discussed a reply to a letter sent from some folks on this forum about his research. I thought it was very interesting that it mentioned that for those that did not find relief with a gluten-free diet only, the SCD diet was recommended and that some people may have intolerance of all grains.

That's pretty cool...

Laurie

[AliB]

Haha, that's priceless. My daughter's biggest adjustment has been to some differences in culture. She had to get over the lack of smiles from counter people and thank you's (which may just be in London, because when we were in Scotland, everyone smiled!), but she is adjusting now to that and the weather and loves it there. I'm sure she is not missing the 1/4 inch of ice on top of snow we got yesterday

I don't know if any of you follow the Dr. Fine thread, but there was a post that discussed a reply to a letter sent from some folks on this forum about his research. I thought it was very interesting that it mentioned that for those that did not find relief with a gluten-free diet only, the SCD diet was recommended and that some people may have intolerance of all grains.

That's pretty cool...

Laurie

Well done that man - we need all the support we can get! Just out of interest did it mention when the reply was received? It did start to look at the thread but only got as far as the first page....

Nobody smiles in London! They reckon that London is the loneliest place on the planet. We used to live there and I couldn't wait to get out of it, but then I am a country bumpkin at heart...

I sent a few parcels out recently from an Ebay batch and inadvertently got the London address house number wrong on one of the parcels. The chap emailed to ask where his parcel was and it transpired I had addressed it to No.26A instead of No.36A. when I suggested he go to the house and enquire, you'd have thought I had asked him to go to Timbuctoo and back! He didn't know his neighbour just a few doors down. I know it is hotel and apartment-land where he is but isn't it so sad that no one knows their neighbours.

We live in a small village and everyone knows everyone else (and most of their business too - you can't keep much a secret here - the Welsh talk very loudly!!). We are 'johnny-foreigners' having moved from England across the border into Wales but the natives are friendly (mostly). Until your ear is tuned in, you just have to hope that you are nodding in the right places.

A few 'Diolch yn fawr's (thanks very much)', Never! (as in 'well I never') and the odd well-timed 'how's your father/brother/sister/aunt/mother/second-cousin-twice-removed?' and you'll get along famously! A typical conversation will go like 'oh, and you remember Gwladys Jones? You, know, the one who is Bethan Roberts' cousin's uncle's sister-in-law?" I get left behind in most of these conversations as I have either never met most of them and wouldn't know them from Adam or they are long dead!

It makes life interesting. Our grandsons go to the village school. I am just waiting for them to turn into a couple of little Welsh boys! Oh and a neighbours pigs got out the other day and rampaged through our garden foraging for bulbs, making a heck of a mess on the way - then they headed for the recreation ground - the park keeper was not best pleased with the bomb site that greeted him and we still have a crater two foot wide that I haven't attempted to try and patch the lawn back into yet - what's even more annoying is that there weren't any bulbs in that bit anyway so goodness knows what they were digging for! It certainly wasn't for victory, I know that much..........

We do actually love Wales and the Welsh. They are very friendly and we have no yearning to move back across the border. Rather here than London any day.......

Sorry, got a bit off-topic there.......SCD, SCD, SCD.

[rinne]

Genltleheart phone and spoke with someone in Dr.Fine's office, she seems well satisfied with the conversation she had and it is well worth the read.

I think it is wonderful news that Dr.Fine refers to the SCD on the Faqs page, SCD, SCD, SCD.

I am happy for those who can simply drop gluten and feel better and I am glad that I committed myself to that diet long enough so that I know it just doesn't work for me. I really hope to see the SCD promoted more.

Unfortunately some of the promotion is apparently disappearing, I just has an email telling me that the Wiki page on Ulerative Colitis had been changed and the SCD erased. Fortunately, it will be restored and I suspect that it will continue to be restored no matter how many times it is erased.

[pele]

So I did can it. But am now worried about that. I have never canned anything! I used mason jars, new seals, the rings have been used before (making yogurt). I have a tall stock pan. I processed the jars in there with boiling water (4 pints). I went for 40 minutes, even though the instructions said 15 minutes (paranoid). Now I have it in the fridge, because I am still not sure it would be okay in the pantry. Anyone know the answer to that one? Should I quit worrying?

Quit worrying. Tomatoes are canned the same way as fruit--processed in boiling water. If the BBQ sauce was hot when you put it in the jars--even better. If you added honey and/or vinegar, better yet as these act as preservatives. I make homemade chutney by cooking down peaches or apples, adding honey, spices and maybe vinegar. I just put it in sterilized canning jars and stick it in the fridge, where it will keep for weeks, but I eat it first.

[GermanMia]

Ali,

I enjoyed your off topic conversation about Wales and the Welsh Being German with a Romanian father and a German mother who dreamed of being Italian (she studied there and spoke Italian like a native), I have no roots at all here in old Germany but somehow feel home in - Great Britain. No idea why but from the first English lesson at school I had a passion for that island... so I'm always delighted to read about it... And anyway, it's nice to have your SCD-days enlightened with something off-topic

There seem to be many people who don't tolerate freshly baked goods. My mother-in-law told me that twenty years ago a doctor told her not to eat fresh bread but freeze her rolls and then reheat them on the toaster.

And I have realized that for me sometimes it's the combination of foods which bothers me, not the foods themselves.

[mftnchn]

Now I can't wait for tomatoes to be on a good sale again and to can tomatoe sauce!! I think it will be better than boiling down tomatoe juice. I should start looking around to see if there is somewhere not to far away where I can get fresh picked tomatoes at a good price.

Dawn, try pressing down on the top of the flat lids of your canned sauce. If it moves up and down, then it isn't sealed well, and you do need to refrigerate and use up more quickly. If it is solid and doesn't move up and down, you have a good seal and the long water bath would have killed all the bugs adequately, so you should be fine putting it on the shelf in the pantry. Congratulations!

[chatycady]

You might try a LARABAR! I bought a couple. I read somewhere they are SCD Compliant. The one I ate had bananas, almonds, and dates - that's it. They also make an apple pie bar. They are kinda expensive. $1.70 each but it sure was good!

I cheated and ate one corn curl (gluten free) one day. No reaction, so the next day I ate 2 corn curls. Dumb! Diahrrea. I follow the diet closely, but gave into temptation.

[chatycady]

Is there a legal canned tomato juice I can buy. I will can tomatos this summer, but until then, I sure could use some tomato juice.

Anyone find any?

Thanks

chaty

[julirama723]

Hey all, I think I might be joining you...sort of.

I read the thread from time to time, and I've read the last few pages, but did not have the gumption (or free time) to start from page one.

I'd been feeling better since going gluten-free, even better since going gluten-free and dairy-free, and just kept improving when I eliminated all grains, soy, and a few other random foods here and there. During Christmas vacation, when I was home and away from work (I'm a teacher) was the BEST I'd felt in years, I finally felt like my old self! In fact, I had said I was going to start an elimination/bare bones diet at the start of the new year, but I felt so fabulous (and had lost about 10 pounds!) that I didn't feel the need to.

Upon returning back to work, I've had a set-back of sorts, and it seems like it doesn't matter what I eat, I keep feeling poorly and I've been having LOTS of GI problems. I'm not sure if it's a CC issue or leaky gut or candida or all three. I'm starting to wonder if there's something here in the school building that's keeping me ill. All I know is that I have to start from square one again.

I don't have any SCD books, but I've been visiting the pecanbread site and BTVC site as well. I have a copy of The Yeast Connection which I've gone through a few times. I think the gluten has done a number on me and now I'm reacting to everything remotely carb-y.

I'm an Atkins girl, and like you Ali, never had any major problems until I re-introduced grains. That was like opening Pandora's box. I thought it was simply a blood sugar issue or perhaps because I was close to my goal weight that I stopped losing weight and started having lots of difficulties (I was within 10 pounds of my goal weight after having lost 100!)

So since I'd like to progress eventually into the SCD (because I've eliminated almost all of those illegal foods already!) I thought I'd join the rest of you. I'll be starting with an anti-candida diet: No gluten, no grains, no dairy, no nuts, no fruit, no soy, no alcohol, no fermented/dried/aged/pickled foods. Basically I'll be eating veggies, meats, eggs, oil, possibly mayo (even though it has vinegar), and drinking water. Taking anti-fungals and probiotics, too. Though I've yet to find probiotics that DON'T contain sugar, lactose, or grains!

So thanks in advance for letting me crash your thread. Any advice you have will be much appreciated!

[rinne]

Crashers welcome.

I'm sort of one myself.

That is wonderful that you felt so great over the holidays, I am wondering if you might be experiencing some die off of bad bacteria but I really don't know. Anyone else?

[julirama723]

Rinne, thanks for the welcome!

I've done the anti-yeast plan once before (when I thought my problem was only yeast--the other possible problem was celiac but I thought "pfshhh, I'm not celiac, I'm GAINING weight, not losing it!) and had a REALLY bad die-off. It was like the migraine from hell combined with the hangover from hell. There's a chance it could be a die-off though. We all know how symptoms can change from day to day and incident to incident!

Now I'm starting to react to foods that I used to be able to eat with no problems (even since going gluten-free.) I can't eat apples anymore. I can't eat bananas anymore. I can't eat lima beans anymore. Sigh.

What's happening is this: About 1 week after school started, I got glutened. This I know for sure. That was 3 weeks ago. I still have not felt well since, even though my gluten symptoms abated. I've been extremely fatigued, lethargic and have a mean case of brain fog. (It was so bad yesterday I just stood there and stared at my 4th graders for about 10 seconds before I could remember what we were working on.) After some meals (with supposedly safe/gluten-free meals I've prepared myself) I get the normal gluten symptoms, but the D doesn't appear until the next day (while I'm at work!) I also had a bad incident a week ago--migraine on Wednesday, headache and lethargy on Thursday, D on Friday, migraine on Saturday with D, explosive/watery D on Sunday, D on Monday. Tuesday the D cleared up but I was left with aching insides and I still don't feel so hot.

I guess I'm being impatient (since it's only been 3 weeks) but I don't know why I'm getting this HORRIBLE D, esp. the bout last weekend was remarkably debilitating. I couldn't leave the house, I had to be near the bathroom at all times. My normal gluten problem is C--everything gets sluggish and slow and clogged up.

So input is very welcome. If this is a die-off, I will be relieved! That means I'm doing things correctly. I guess I am just very confused because I was feeling absolutely amazing just a month ago!

[rinne]

I suppose you could have a bug of some sort, or cross contamination (sometimes products change), or environmental issues at work, but it does sound like a die off, hopefully it will pass quickly.

Have you had your doctor check your vitamin and mineral levels?

[AliB]

Hi Juli - I know where you are coming from on the backward step thing. I find that when I alter my diet fairly radically I feel great for a short while but then I seem to, for no explicable reason, go back downhill again.

As Rinne says, it could be die-off but my theory is that it could also be a little more sinister than that. I feel that it may well be to do with microbes in the gut - bacteria, parasites or yeasts that initially take a knocking back but then regroup, find an alternative food source and then come back with a vengeance.

Have you been tested for Helicobacter? It might be good to just get that checked out - if only to eliminate it.

Some seem to recover fairly rapidly but others take longer and again I suspect that it may be that for them it just takes some time for the body to adapt - for the gut flora to rebalance and for certain processes to start working again. Obviously we are all different and will respond at different rates.

I do have more energy - running up the stairs is something I am able to do with impunity generally now - I could not have done that a year ago, and I suspect my tiredness would remedy a lot if I only could get in to the habit of going to bed earlier! It has been a slow process but I am much better than I was back then and I see progress all the time.

I wasn't until I cheated and had the indian take-away last weekend, and got the pain and discomfort back in my stomach that I realised it had gone. I rarely get the back pain any more either. The less stressed my digestion is, the more energy I have.

I have just been reading Jason Vale's Slim 4 Life book and in it he talks about the fact that most people fall asleep after a huge meal. The body just has to shut down as it can't cope with anything other than digesting the food. Before I started all this research I had never equated my lack of energy with my digestion but it all makes sense now.

I would get so fatigued sometimes, it was all I could do not to lay down in the street - probably after having yet another choc bar that I was compelled to eat yet knew it would make me feel sick afterwards! Duh! (That was probably triggered by my blood sugar yo-yo-ing even back then! Of course the choc bar was the best thing (not) that I could have had to remedy that as it would have set the cycle going all over again.)

I know that Brenda (feelingbetter) said that it took her a good year to start really getting her energy back - she has now adapted from the SCD to more raw food and I suspect that is good move as the raw fruit and veg supplies us with so much nourishment and live enzymes to help the digestion and support repair. I am trying to move more that way myself - it is still the SCD in essence but focusing more on raw and less on cooked food.

My stomach would not have coped with it back then but it is fine now, so that tells me a lot.

[mftnchn]

Hey all, I think I might be joining you...sort of.

I read the thread from time to time, and I've read the last few pages, but did not have the gumption (or free time) to start from page one.

....So thanks in advance for letting me crash your thread. Any advice you have will be much appreciated!

Welcome, Julie. No problems, 80+ pages is overwhelming. Just jump right in.

I have several thoughts about what you are describing.

First it could be a long term reaction to gluten; I've read on the board some people have weeks of symptoms. Second, it sounds like your digestion isn't handling too much at least right now. BTVC talks about one important principle of the SCD being to start with easily digested foods and then add according to what you can handle individually.

So I think you might do the SCD intro approach for several days. I'd try making chicken soup, boiling all the parts and bones for a long time so that you get all the good out of the bones, and the jelly like connective tissues and stuff. All of this is very nutritious and provides the building blocks for intestinal healing. I boil a chicken and a bunch of carrots and some ginger root for at least four hours. Make your own jello with Welches 100% grape juice or other SCD safe juice. BTVC says 1-5 days of intro. Its boring for a few days. But some of the foods you are eating are hard to digest.

Intro helps also with killing off more bad bacteria, but it also gives your gut the rest it needs to settle down. Some of the folk who have other digestive disorders and are very sensitive, say that on SCD whenever they have a flare they go back to the intro. One said she just does meat for 1-3 days and things settle down very well and she always breaks through to a new level of wellness.

Third, Elaine describes that the 2-3 month mark is a common point for people to have a healing crisis and have a lot of symptoms. Elaine didn't know why this happens, just that it fairly consistently happens.

I've gone through a lot of healing stuff, and in fact have been just recently. I've also had mainly C, but last week three days of D and a very sensitive stomach but no flu symptoms. I am sure it is more of the healing process.

By the way, BTVC is very worth the read, and might be available in your local library.

[Gentleheart]

Well, I guess this is it. I'm going to try a strict version of the SCD for as long as it takes to see if I can finally make some progress. I have several books and think I understand the concept pretty well. But I am hoping that some of you can answer some practical questions for me as I work on my own personal diet and menu plan.

What makes this diet a little harder for me is that I am also intolerant to dairy and eggs and almonds and apear to be one of those super sensitive people on top of it. That is what made me abandon trying SCD in the past. I just assumed that it would be too difficult when I was intolerant of so many of the primary ingredients. But maybe there are some of you who have the same restrictions and have still made it work.

I don't want to sound like a baby, but I sure would like to have some kind of "bread" or "cracker" or "muffin" or something in that category. I have tried making several of the recipes without using eggs (I used plain gelatin instead) and they honestly came out pretty badly. I ground pecans into flour for most of them. Sometimes I tried walnuts. But the texture was always wet, gummy and seemed undone no matter how long they baked. The taste was still fair, so I ate them anyway. I can't waste those expensive ingredients. But I wouldn't say I would look forward to them every day either.

Since I can't have almond flour, which other nut flour works second best all around? And do you all buy the commercially ground nut flours which have some of the oils removed or do you grind them yourselves just short of turning to nutbutters? I could see where the commercial nut flours might be better for avoiding the gummy problem. Also, what companies do you buy the commercial nuts flours from that are not also sharing equipment with soy or peanuts?

Another thread recently mentioned the "Famous Onion Bread" that is supposedly a great dehydrator recipe from the raw food folks. It looks pretty SCD legal, except for perhaps the sunflower seeds and sounds like it might work. Does anyone have experience with that particular recipe? I do not have D. So I'm hoping that I can add sunflower seeds legally right from the beginning.

I intend to follow all the rules and be strict with this. Otherwise I won't know if it really worked or if I just messed it up by not doing everything right. But in the book it seems that alot of "maybe" legal foods are held back until the D stops. For those of us who don't have that problem, can we just begin with ALL the legal foods? What is your viewpoint on that?

The SCD yogurt seems to play a huge part in the success of this diet. I am fairly sure it is totally off limits to me. So has anyone had any success with making their own coconut milk yogurt? And where do you get canned coconut milk without guar gum in it?? Otherwise, what probiotics capsules have you found that are free from all the major allergens, including milk?

Lots of questions. Sorry. And I will probably have many more before I'm done. But hopefully my questions might help someone else who is just now going to start this as well. Thanks so much for helping all of us.

[lbd]

Hi Gentleheart,

I am only doing a modified SCD routine, but I might have some suggestions for you. Can you eat hazelnuts? If you freeze them first, you can make a nice nut flour from them. The freezing seems to avoid some of the gumminess.

I don't eat dairy either, but I made the yogurt with raw milk (boiled first, then greek yogurt culture added at 122F, then sit overnight in a thermos for up to 24 hours, mostly for my husband to use. I have eaten it twice this week with no problems, but I think I will try it with coconut milk next anyway or stick to small amounts infrequently. I used an organic coconut milk last week in another dish, but of course, I don't know the name of it, but it did not have guar gum, so you might look in the organic section of your store if it has one.

I found a list of egg substitutes:

2 tbsp cornstarch = 1 egg

2 tbsp arrowroot flour = 1 egg

2 tbsp potato starch = 1 egg

1 heaping tbsp soy powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg

1 tbsp soy milk powder + 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg.

1 banana = 1 egg in cakes.

1 tbsp milled flax seed and 3 tbsp water = 1 egg. Light, fluffy cakes!

Unfortunately most are not SCD friendly. The more experienced here could tell you which ones are. I know banana is. What about arrowroot and flax seed anyone?

Good luck!

On another note, I found a wonderful resource today about 45 minutes from my house. There is an Amish farm that raises Tamworth pastured pigs, pastured chickens, beef, and bison called Spring Water Farm. They also have raw milk, kefir, fremented vegetables of all kinds, homemade sauerkraut, local made cheeses, lard, eggs, butter, etc,etc. You go up to the house and an Amish girl about 12 years old leads you into the "store" which is a building with a huge walk in fridge and a walk in freezer. You mark a list of what you want, she goes and gets it, weighs everything, adds it up on a calculator, you pay, and off you go. I felt like I had hit the jackpot. I am lucky to have so many orchards around and my own gardens for produce, but it was hard to find good pastured chicken and pork. I got enough chicken and pork to last us a good while in the freezer! And a beautiful ride through the Amish countryside to boot!

Laurie

[Gentleheart]

Thanks, Ibd. If I could have one thing added back to my diet, it wouldn't even be gluten. It would be dairy. But I just can't. I seem to be solidly allergic to all aspects of dairy. I ate it for years because I didn't know any better. I think it's one thing I must avoid to get an accurate result out of this experiment.

I heard somewhere else too that hazelnut flour was a good substitute for almond. I will look into that. Thanks! And I know I've also seen coconut milk without the guar or anything else added. I just can't remember where or what brand it was. I don't have health food stores nearby, but I'll try to find it.

[julirama723]

Rinne--Do you think it's a yeast die-off then? It's got to be something, it seems I have always gotten migraines as "withdrawal" from something (like a certain food.)

I had everything checked in November, and the doc said I was "disgustingly normal." And I was, too, everything was smack-dab-in-the-middle of normal. The only thing that is abnormal is my IgA--I found out last week that I have a Selective IgA deficiency. I do not have a history of diarrhea (which is typical) but I do get sick easily and tend to stay sick longer.

Ali--I have not been tested for H. pylori, but I do think I should look into it.

I have never had a problem with raw foods that I know of. Ironically, it seems the veggies that I eat raw are the ones that don't give me problems! It's the higher carb/starchy ones (as well as fruits) that have been giving me grief as of recent.

mft--I plan on getting BTVC because I really need to learn more about it before I embark on it fully! It mostly makes a lot of sense to me, but some things seem strange, like drinking grape juice (albeit diluted) when sugar just promotes yeast growth. Not that I'm sure I have a yeast issue (I keep forgetting to do the spit test in the morning.) I need to do more reading on what the intro entails, what foods are OK and which are not. From what I've read, it's basically the chicken soup, right?

I guess I need to get the book, huh?

I will keep you posted on my progress...

[mftnchn]

Well, I guess this is it. I'm going to try a strict version of the SCD ... I am hoping that some of you can answer some practical questions for me as I work on my own personal diet and menu plan.

I don't want to sound like a baby, but I sure would like to have some kind of "bread" or "cracker" or "muffin" or something in that category.

Hi Gentleheart,

I can't help with the alternate nut flours, but have seen recipes using cashew flour. April recently mentioned making wonderful muffins with walnut flour which her family likes a lot better than the almond flour.

Coconut milk yogurt has been made by posters on this thread very successfully and some make their own coconut milk. There was a nice discussion awhile back with Ali, Shay and others. Maybe search this thread??

I don't have my probiotic bottle with me but I think the Kirkman acidophilus I use is dairy free.

In terms of the C and the intro part of the diet, the information does focus more on D than C. However, Elaine did make some comments about C. There is a C protocol, posted on the pecanbread.com site. Elaine said that both C and D are from inflammation in the intestine so the approach is similar (not more fiber like is the conventional approach).

C is my major problem too. I have found that focusing on the more easily digestible foods has been very important. In the 6+ months on the diet, I am now much better, but still have periods of C, and sometimes D, and sometimes wonderfully normal.

Based on my experience, I would recommend that you do intro, since you are very sensitive and the C indicates a lot of problems too. Even if you only do 1 day, I think it gives you a jump start toward healing but do 3-5 if you can. My suggestion is to plan and prepare your intro foods ahead of time. You might feel poorly the first week or two (first week for me) as there is die off. I think if you make yourself lots of broth, boiling your bones and getting the good marrow, jelly like connective tissue, etc. boiled into your broth. This is really nutritious and contains building blocks needed by the intestine. After this intro, add one food a day perhaps, so you can tell if you can't tolerate something. Refer to the chart at pecanbread.com to get an idea of what are the more easily digestible foods.

On the SCD recipe thread, Ali posted a cracker recipe that doesn't have egg as I recall??

[mftnchn]

Juli,

I think the idea of the juice is that monosaccharides get absorbed high in the small intestine, so don't reach the lower areas where the yeast is a major problem. However, the book does say that if you have a big problem with candida the fruit and honey may need to be curbed for awhile.

On intro, chicken carrot soup, homemade jello, dry curd cottage cheese, ground meats are allowed, as I recall. That's probably not the whole list. I'd do lots of homemade broth and drink it in place of water even, its so good for healing.

[pele]

Gentleheart--I agree with you about not missing gluten, but missing dairy.

I have tried making coconut milk yogurt from Natural Value canned CM, no guar gum. Trader Joe's also carries CM with no additives. I heated the coconut milk, added a tbsp of honey and stirred the contents of 4-5 probiotic capsules into it and fermented it for about 10 hours. No lactose, so 24 hours is not necessary. It tasted great but didn't thicken much and I couldn't tell how well the probiotics grew. I usually just take probiotic capsules or drink kombucha.

As far as baked goods-that is a problem without eggs or dairy. I do eat eggs, but really don't bake a whole lot. I would suggest just eating adequate quantities of other legal foods so you are not hungry.

When I started the diet I did not have "brisk D" so I went ahead and ate things that are legal only after D is gone. I feel the diet has worked well for me although things are not always perfect.

I guess my feeling about whether or not to do the diet if you can't eat everything on it is ths: What is your other choice? Keep eating stuff that may be toxic to you and may be preventing healing because you can't eat dairy, almonds or eggs? In other words, if you can't eat those things, you are willing to eat poison? You are already not eating dairy, almonds or eggs. Now you are going to stop eating sugar, grain and other things that are most likely bad for you. So eat good things. Treat yourself to whatever you like that consists of whole, natural healthy food.

[rinne]

Hey all, I think I might be joining you...sort of.

........

Taking anti-fungals and probiotics, too. Though I've yet to find probiotics that DON'T contain sugar, lactose, or grains!

So thanks in advance for letting me crash your thread. Any advice you have will be much appreciated!

Wonderful.

Also, the probiotics must be SCD compliant. I am amazed at what I am learning about them.

Hi Juli - I know where you are coming from on the backward step thing. I find that when I alter my diet fairly radically I feel great for a short while but then I seem to, for no explicable reason, go back downhill again.

As Rinne says, it could be die-off but my theory is that it could also be a little more sinister than that. I feel that it may well be to do with microbes in the gut - bacteria, parasites or yeasts that initially take a knocking back but then regroup, find an alternative food source and then come back with a vengeance.

.....

Good points, the die off comes later, mmmmm..... I'm at the two month point.

I tend to think that once our digestive system has collapsed, everything is a challenge to digest and the trick is to maximally take care of ourselves by not challenging our digestion. Easier to say than do sometimes, especially because it becomes so hard to identify the problem because everything is a problem.

I think it is best in the beginning to stay with a simple diet.

Rinne--Do you think it's a yeast die-off then? It's got to be something, it seems I have always gotten migraines as "withdrawal" from something (like a certain food.)

I had everything checked in November, and the doc said I was "disgustingly normal." And I was, too, everything was smack-dab-in-the-middle of normal. The only thing that is abnormal is my IgA--I found out last week that I have a Selective IgA deficiency. I do not have a history of diarrhea (which is typical) but I do get sick easily and tend to stay sick longer.

Ali--I have not been tested for H. pylori, but I do think I should look into it.

I have never had a problem with raw foods that I know of. Ironically, it seems the veggies that I eat raw are the ones that don't give me problems! It's the higher carb/starchy ones (as well as fruits) that have been giving me grief as of recent.

mft--I plan on getting BTVC because I really need to learn more about it before I embark on it fully! It mostly makes a lot of sense to me, but some things seem strange, like drinking grape juice (albeit diluted) when sugar just promotes yeast growth. Not that I'm sure I have a yeast issue (I keep forgetting to do the spit test in the morning.) I need to do more reading on what the intro entails, what foods are OK and which are not. From what I've read, it's basically the chicken soup, right?

I guess I need to get the book, huh? smile.gif

So maybe not die off, but I noticed within a few days of the diet that the C was gone and there have been a few days that I almost thought of D but not quite, still a significant change for me who has always had C.

Good advice by all, how are you feeling today?