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Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)


AliB

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AliB Enthusiast

As far as constipation protocol goes, I picked this up from Donna Gates' website - it seems that too much serotonin is as bad as too little for triggering C, which is why I asked if you were on any meds, DT.

As Anti-depressants raise the amount of serotonin in the body, if you are on those then it is possible that magnesium could make the C worse.

I am just playing with ideas here and clutching at a few straws, especially with so little to go on but I will post the link anyway as there may be other ideas on there that would help. There are some good suggestions.

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darkhorse Apprentice

I have to say that the amount of knowledge of the people in this thread is amazing. I have a nurse friend who has been trying to help with my ongoing stomach issues and she keeps wanting me to try different doctors, procedures and medications. She was really surprised that the diet changes have been working so well for me. I find if really funny that I have learned more from this forum than I have ever learned from a doctor. You guys are amazing!

I am curious about appetite, though. I have been on the SCD for one week and it was a rough transition let me tell you. The first few days I was craving sweets like nobody's business. Then the next few days were spent being constantly hungry and feeling like nothing filled me up. Now, I seem to have no appetite. At certain points in the day I decide that I should eat something, but I am not getting hunger pangs or grumbly stomach telling me to eat. It's weird and I was just wondering if this is a normal type of transition. Am I not hungry because I am eating more nutritious food, or does it have to do with the baddies in my intestines dying off?

I was feeling like I wanted out of this diet and didn't know if I would be able to make it more than a couple weeks, but now that my hunger and craving issues seem to have gone away I am actually pretty content to keep at it.

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AliB Enthusiast

Could be a bit of everything that is contributing to the feelings of satiation. If you are not giving the beasties their food then they have no choice but to die back and if they are no longer demanding to be fed (FEED ME, SEYMOUR) then they won't be grumbling any more and hopefully, neither will your tum!

Certainly the more nutritious the food the more content the body. My old great-grandpa apparently had a saying that the more rich the soil in nutrients, the less of the vegetables the caterpillars would need in order to 'morph'. I guess the same principle works for us too.

If you analyse the diet of those huge people who have a compulsion to eat, virtually all they have is 'dead' food. Their bodies are craving nutrients and all they are eating is rubbish.

There is actually a school of people out there who believe that the less food you need to get your nutrients from, the more likely you are to live a long and healthy life. Certainly overeating is a big factor in the overwhelming rising tide of obesity and diabetes, etc., both of which contribute to ill health and a shortened life span so there has to be some logic in that concept.

As so many diseases and illnesses seem to be related to deficiencies, and our Western diet - compared to other more healthy communities around the World - is nutritionally deficient (funny isn't it how we always associate malnutrition with third-world countries!!!), there has to be a definitive link in there somewhere. We are eating far more food now than ever before yet we are still malnourished...........go figure.

It is so good that you have had a good response so quickly. And thank you for your appreciation for the forum and our little thread (flattery will get you everywhere!). :D

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mftnchn Explorer

Darkhorse, I think that is a pretty common transition. I experienced something very similar. I allowed myself to eat grape juice, jello, and even a teaspoon of honey often those first few days just to make it through. Eventually I also found I didn't feel hungry all the time.

Seems important to follow a meal schedule with at least something nutritious. The body can move into "starvation mode" which probably isn't the best. It could also be that the low appetite is a transitional thing and will settle as you continue on the diet.

I think most of us have struggled to find answers from many sources, and that's why we stick around here and try to support each other and help any newbies that find us and want to give SCD a try. ;)

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pele Rookie

Darkhorse

I think your appetite changes are to be expected. You are no longer gumming up your insides with grains and sugars and that is a huge change. If you are hungry, remember, there are no restrictions on quantites eaten.

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Ms Jan Rookie

Hi Darkhorse,

Glad to hear that the diet is already working for you. :D It seems you're really on the right track.

I had major changes in my appetites early on as well. I do believe it's a combination of factors doing it: like Ali says, the killing of some bugs is surely part of it, and the other getting better nutrients in less amounts of food. And then, it does show how much of standard hunger is simply a craving for foods we're addicted to, like carbs and sugar. A human being can actually live on very little food as long as it's the right food. It's all a question of quality instead of quantity.

But it is important to eat something to keep nourishing the body, even when you aren't hungry. When I began the SCD I also began considering food differently, almost like a medicine, or like an essential fuel that I have to get right on an every day basis. And little by little I've learned which foods do what to my body, so that I can make sure I get sufficient energy and means to heal my guts at the same time.

Yes, this thread is amazing. :D I've learned so much here - and the encouragements of other people and their experiences have kept me going through some of the rough patches.

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dtgirl Rookie

I am not on any medications and have never taken anything long term. The last anti-biotic I had was over 8 years ago. I am not sure about the magnesium thing.. things that give other people a BM constipate me. When my diet is very low carb or just ALL protein and fat, no bubbles, nothing. I am 24 and this has been going on my entire life. The gut is strange indeed :huh:

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AliB Enthusiast

Carbs have been an issue for me for as long as I can remember - I too have struggled with them pretty much all my life. I was told at least 25 years ago that I should eat low-carb and I did - kind of.

Although I was a skinny child I was a plump adolescent and never really got rid of it. The weight shot up with my first pregnancy and steadily grew from there. Fatigue hit when I was about 15 and I have been dragging myself around ever since.

I have managed to lose about 3 stone and do have more energy now - it is fantastic to be able to run up the stairs - something I haven't been able to do for at least the last 15 years or more. I could still do with losing another good 3 stone, but at least I'm heading in the right direction.

Candida apparently can restrict weight loss, so getting that under control is a big factor, and that means not only restricting the carbs for Candida control but also because for those of us who do have weight issues, we cannot process them properly. I suspect the Candida is behind that too. I also have long-suspected that the high-carb, high-sugar Western diet is a huge contributor in putting the whole lot out of balance in the first place.

The fact is, of course, that that is the point - we are all out of balance. The worst problem is that we are all out of balance in different ways and that is why what works for one person will not always work for another. Whilst I seem to be low in magnesium you may well have a surfeit for some reason, but because that is something our esteemed Medical Profession just doesn't ever check for we have no way of knowing what we are out of balance with! The other problem too is that often deficiencies of certain vitamins or minerals can present with identical symptoms so that doesn't always help either.

Whilst, for instance, thyroid issues perhaps may appear to be due to a deficiency in iodine, it may also be due to a deficiency in some other element that prevents the body from absorbing the iodine. Just not enough is known about all this and most of it is trial and error.

What is a logical argument in this, is that, as Jan mentioned, we need to be getting as good quality food as we can manage. The body is very good at taking what it needs if we give it the right tools. I mean, you don't hear say, the Masai complaining of thyroid issues or diabetes. They go about their business, stop for a few handfuls of nuts and berries and carry on. Nutrition sorted.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, a group of 'Westernised' overweight diabetic Canadian Maoris were returned to their land and ancient ways as an experiment. Within a few weeks they were no longer diabetic. The key was good quality fresh natural food untainted by this system's commercial greed.

Sorry, I digress, going back to the carb thing - it is undigested carbs that feed the rogue bacteria and microbes in the gut so that would likely explain why you don't get the bubbles when you avoid carbs.

Initially you will probably have to restrict your food base to the foods that you, and more importantly your body, can cope with and then just gradually reintroduce other legal foods as your gut begins to heal.

It is a shame you can't afford to get any colonics done as they can be very instrumental in removing a lot of the rogue beggars, as I found out - I am saving up right now for the next one. I am having to make sure I replace them with good bacteria from yogurt and probios so they don't fill it all up again!

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dtgirl Rookie

Ali, you are so helpful, thank you. Fiber and carbs always have caused me major C, bloating, fatigue. I love your point about different people being out of balance in different ways and I think that may be my issue with magnesium for whatever reason. Right now, all I am eating is meat and I had some boiled carrots today and feel fine. Colonics are 150usd here!

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mftnchn Explorer
As to cashew nuts, it might be the mold that gives you problems. I can digest most nuts without any problems, but just tried cashews and immediately got a brain fog. And I read somewhere that cashews are particularly moldy.

Jan

Could be. But Elaine says it is one of the hardest foods to digest, and I think that is the main problem.

Sherry

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GermanMia Newbie

Hi all,

I was very busy lately so somewhat lost track of the thread...

Cashews are the nuts highest in sugar and starch: Per 100 g they contain 1,525 g glucose, 13,725 g sucrose and 15,250 g starch

Maybe it's helpful if I post the sugar and starch contents of other nuts, too:

Macadamias have no sugars and starch at all.

Walnuts: 6,890 g sucrose, 3,710 starch

Hazelnuts: 1,054 g glucose, 6,324 g sucrose, 3,162 g starch

Brazil nuts: 1,420 g sucrose, 2,130 g starch

Pecans: 0,222 g glucose, 1,998 g sucrose, 2,220 g starch

Coconuts: 0,143 g glucose, 4,637 g sucrose

Almonds: 3,700 g sucrose

I saw a cardiologist one week ago to check if my very low blood pressure and the murmur are caused by some valve deficiency but luckily everything is okay. Only my pressure is ridiculously low, so I still feel ridiculously low... The good thing is that my last flora analysis told me that the gut flora is back to normal, yay!!!

Then yesterday I found another very interesting thing:

First of all, since I take additional zinc and Vit. D3, avoid histamine and take anti-histaminics, my PMS has gotten MUCH better. But the thing itself hasn't gotten better. During the female cycle the gut mucosa can change, too, so the flora is inhibited and foods you normally do fine with suddenly make trouble again (bloating). So far so good, but sometimes it got so bad that I suddenly had the worst cramps, couldn't breath with pain and even threw up because I got so sick. That's just what happened yesterday. I had a SCD-yoghurt smoothie with cranberries, lime juice, stevia and coconut flour, and as soon as it was in my stomach I got cramps and threw the whole thing up. The smoothie was away but I still just couldn't walk with pain and felt nauseous and shaky. Then I remembered that some days ago a lady told me that she has made great experiences with zeolite for cleansing. It's a lava mineral which absorbs all kinds of toxins from the gut. I knew I had some of that stuff sitting in my cupboard for ages - never knew what to do with it - so I just swallowed a glass of water with zeolite - and immediately felt better!!

Now I'm taking zeolite thrice a day and feel great with it. Although my gut was so much better and the flora seems to be restored, I can feel the detoxing effect of that stuff. Maybe it's because it is said to remove excess histamine from the gut, too.

But anyway I think this would be a great addition to SCD to help the cleansing process.

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AliB Enthusiast

I just picked this interesting bit of information up from a diabetic forum.

Open Original Shared Link

I have to say that during the last set-back it was taking the coconut oil that seemed to make a big difference to my digestion.

I have never jumped on the 'low-fat' bandwagon - simply because I felt that it was wrong to exclude fats from the diet, but this article has reinforced that belief, and made it pretty clear that I ought to be including more good fats in my diet to go along with the low-carb and lower protein. Interesting.

I have 'done' Atkins in the past and have always seemed to respond better to low-carb, but although I need some protein (I get a headache without enough) maybe I don't need as much as I thought.

The advantage of coconut oil if one has problems digesting fats is that although it is a saturated fat, it does not work in the body in the same way as an animal fat and does not apparently need bile for digestion.

If fish and 70% fat is good enough for those extremely healthy and hardy Inuit then maybe its good enough for us too!

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Ms Jan Rookie

Thanks Mia and Ali for some very interesting information. :)

Might very well explain why I can't digest cashew nuts.

And as to the fat/protein - it hits straight on something I've wondered about, since it seems that most of you eat a lot of meat, whereas I get sick from anything but a little chicken. Yet, I've not seemed to loose energy due to a lack of protein. So now I understand it must be that all the oils I'm ingesting supplying the energy my body needs.

Mia, your getting sick from the yogurt mix - have you thought whether it could be caused by mixing the different food items together? Each one will require a different enzyme to be broken down, so it could be that your body simply can't handle the mix whereas it might be able to deal with them one at a time.

My own experience is that I do best eating each food item on its own - with half an hour in between before I start on other foods. I don't keep this religiously, but to the extent possible - and I try at least to make sure to first have the fruit/vegetables as they are the fastest to be digested, and thereafter chicken or nuts etc. It might be a little boring to eat foods one by one like that, but it has surely helped my digestion a lot.

The zeolyte effects sound great, will try to get hold of some.

Jan

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mftnchn Explorer

Interesting comments. I have been reviewing the GAPS site again, because of my persistent problems with bloating (worse the last weeks), and there is an emphasis on animal fats I noticed. I think I am going to try the GAPS intro for a couple of days to see if it helps the bloating. Its SCD compliant, just a slightly different approach.

Also, I'm experimenting with seeing a Chinese medicine/massage practitioner. He's treating the acupressure points for my digestion. The jury is still out on whether this will help.

But, for those of you with C or difficulties with elimination, you might try this: Three fingers below the belly button is an acupressure point for the intestine. Just press down firmly and rub a little to find the tender point. My Chinese friend says in the morning before she gets out of bed, she rubs this 100x one way and 100 x the other way. I could only manage 50 (hand and arm fatigue) but I noticed today it did seem to have a very positive benefit.

I do think my C is an intestinal motility problem. Never hard and dry BM's like before gluten-free.

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pele Rookie
I saw a cardiologist one week ago to check if my very low blood pressure and the murmur are caused by some valve deficiency but luckily everything is okay. Only my pressure is ridiculously low, so I still feel ridiculously low... The good thing is that my last flora analysis told me that the gut flora is back to normal, yay!!!

My blood pressure is low, too. I get it checked and they say"OOh, wonderful!!" and I ask them if I am still alive. I am wondering if I am not producing enough aldosterone, one of the adrenal hormones. I'm going in next week to find out more. Mia, did you ever get checked for aldosterone?

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dtgirl Rookie
My blood pressure is low, too. I get it checked and they say"OOh, wonderful!!" and I ask them if I am still alive. I am wondering if I am not producing enough aldosterone, one of the adrenal hormones. I'm going in next week to find out more. Mia, did you ever get checked for aldosterone?

They say the same thing to me. My BP is so low that I am having a hard time doing light jogging. Every time I stand up I almost pass out (I HAVE passed out before). My eyes kind of go fuzzy/black and I have to hold onto something for balance. Apparently this is great :rolleyes:

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AliB Enthusiast

When I started the SCD I was on Blood Pressure tablets and had been for about 6 years or so. Within a few weeks I started getting dizzy on standing and realised that my BP was lowering. I spoke to the Doctor and she said to keep taking them, but I didn't like the dizziness so after a week or so I stopped taking them.

I haven't needed them since.

I do think there is something in this fat intake thing. I am re-reading a book I bought years ago called 'Eat Fat and Grow Slim' by Dr Richard Mackarness. He was a 'break the mould' UK physician who worked out of a 'Mental' Institution and found that he was able to successfully treat many of his patients by changing their diets.

The first issue of the book was in 1958 (groundbreaking!) but the copy I have is a re-issue from 1974. He followed his diet protocol along the same lines as the 'Banting' method from the 1800's, of eating low-carb but higher fat with protein.

He quotes research done by a Dr Blake Donaldson of New York who managed to 'slim fat patients and cure their complications, including arthritis, high blood pressure and heart disease' by putting them on a diet of unlimited fat meat, water, an occasional baked jacket potato and black coffee! In 1962, Dr Donaldson said in a interview that in his opinion flour was 'evil' and that his 'stone age' diet was 'perhaps 6000 years old and twenty years ahead of its time'. He also said, 'I think this will be a popular idea in twenty years; that flour is a bad thing for 80% of the population'.

Sadly it has taken considerably longer than twenty years to get even anywhere close to becoming 'popular', and even though he is probably absolutely right that 80% of the population cannot cope with flour (well certainly not in its current form), his viewpoint was so far ahead of its time that even now in 2009, society, and those who are supposed to be looking after its health still haven't twigged!

One very interesting quote I picked up was about diet testing done by a doctor in the Indian Medical Service, Sir Robert McCarrison in the 1930's. He noted the difference in health between the different 'tribes', the Hillmen - Sikhs, Pathas and Hunzas; and the people of the plains - Madrassis, Bengalis and Kanarese. He concluded that the differences was due to diet so tested his theory on rats.

His results were convincing. Rats fed on the diet of the Hillmen - stone-ground grain, milk, pulses, meat, fesh veg and fruit did very well and had no disease. Rats fed on the plains diet - predominantly bleached stripped processed rice, miniscule meat, very few vegetables and copious sugar, ended up dying early, particularly of respiratory and digestive disorders.

He also tried feeding rats on a typical English working-class diet of white bread, margarine, sweet tea, boiled cabbage, boiled potato, tinned meat and tinned jam. 'Not only were the rats badly proportioned', he reported, 'their coats lacked gloss, they were nervous and apt to bite their attendants, they lived unhappily together and by the 60th day of the experiment, began to kill and eat the weaker ones among them'. The comment concludes - 'not too unlike the behaviour of some people in the over-crowded and poorly-fed ghettos in our big cities today'!

I would venture to add that because a not dissimilar poor diet is not now confined to the ghettos, those attitudes sadly are spreading way out to become endemic within society as a whole, and as a result life has become very cheap.......

It is difficult to enfathom the effect that food has on people, and that it can either uplift or depress, calm or antagonise, anger or relax, and a host of other moods and emotions.

One thing I noticed when I was researching the raw food diets was the sense of peace and well-being that many said they experience on the diet. A heightened awareness of others and a feeling of being more 'in touch' with people. Interesting.

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GermanMia Newbie

Jan,

no, I only reacted to the yoghurt mix during my period. Normally I do fine with it, but as evidently the gut mucosa changes during the period, I then can't manage things which normally are okay. By the way the amount of fruit in that smoothie is totally ridiculous: five blueberries and ten cranberries and about 1 tbs. lime juice...

Pele,

my aldosterone is totally normal. The whole endocrinology is okay, so that's evidently not the problem. As I've always done a lot of sports, my blood pressure never was more than 100 to 70. I had that orthostatic thing all my life (eyes going fuzzy and black and nearly passing out), but now my pressure is between 85 to 50 and 90 to 55, and even the doctor admits that this actually isn't fine any longer. I now try to avoid absolutely EVERYTHING that could contain or producec or provoke histamine. Histamine widens the vessels so lowers the pressure. When I was at the hospital for three days, I nearly starved because first I had to do lots of tests before eating anything, and then they couldn't manage to get me food low in fructose, so I barely eat anything. But funny enough, my pressure was okay then, so I thought maybe it was the food. Now I try to figure out kind of new elimiation diet which is gluten-free, low in fructose and low in histamine but high enough in calories so I don't become thinner. I suppose this is no longer SCD - I'm really sorry because SCD is the closest thing to what I'd like to feed on, but seemingly impossible for me.

Ali,

I'm feeding on lots of virgin coconut oil currently. I got to know the man who distributes that stuff in Germany and he gave me some booklet with research about it. It doesn't bother the pancreas and can help improve fat digestion.

By the way I found an interesting book: Good Calories, Bad Calories, written by Gary Taubes. He tries to clear all the myths about low-fat, low-calorie, high carb diets. Most interesting.

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dtgirl Rookie

German Mia,

I have similar issues as you. Fructose is my number one offender. My BP is so low, but I do play a lot of sports so doctors always say it is a good thing. I get dizzy and light headed constantly. I went jogging last night and could barely breathe. When I sit and then stand up, everything goes fuzzy. I am going to a rhemoutologist, though I am not too confident in what he will say. What does your diet consist of mostly? I am eating a lot of meat and oils presently. No fruit.

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GermanMia Newbie

Hi dtgirl,

I tried a diet of meat, fish, SCD yoghurt, almonds and some chard and zucchini but lost too much weight - Atkins is working wonderfully... So I skipped the almonds and added in some tapioca, rice and millet, brown rice syrup (just a little, but I'm fine with it), flax seed and mozzarella - that's the only cheese I can have at the moment. Also I tolerate very small amounts of cranberries, lime juice and blueberries. My intestines are quite happy with that - flora is back to normal, no bloating (except during period), regular BMs. Only my blood pressure still is so low and my muscles don't work properly. I used to be a very good sprinter but now I can barely jog, let alone sprint. Just like the muscles were numb. The same with the arm muscles - they are exhausted as soon as I've brushed my teeth! That is completely ridiculous.

Breathing is no problem during the jogging, but the leg muscles.

What do you think the rheumatologist should look at? I'm grateful for every idea!

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dtgirl Rookie
Hi dtgirl,

I tried a diet of meat, fish, SCD yoghurt, almonds and some chard and zucchini but lost too much weight - Atkins is working wonderfully... So I skipped the almonds and added in some tapioca, rice and millet, brown rice syrup (just a little, but I'm fine with it), flax seed and mozzarella - that's the only cheese I can have at the moment. Also I tolerate very small amounts of cranberries, lime juice and blueberries. My intestines are quite happy with that - flora is back to normal, no bloating (except during period), regular BMs. Only my blood pressure still is so low and my muscles don't work properly. I used to be a very good sprinter but now I can barely jog, let alone sprint. Just like the muscles were numb. The same with the arm muscles - they are exhausted as soon as I've brushed my teeth! That is completely ridiculous.

Breathing is no problem during the jogging, but the leg muscles.

What do you think the rheumatologist should look at? I'm grateful for every idea!

GermanMia,

Your diet is very similar to mine: meat, cooked/peeled zucchini, fish, some eggs, brazil nuts, avocado, oil. I do find I lose weight very quickly and had to change my training around to suit my diet. I can eat a little bit of blueberries and lime/lemon juice. I will try some mozzarella in a few weeks and see how that goes. My muscles are the same! My legs feel VERY heavy and it is hard to put my arms over my head. I used to teach a bootcamp but that is not possible right now. My muscles feel very, very weak and heavy. I do not know what the rheumatologist will do, my endocrinologist referred me to him. I think drs just pass me around because they don't know what to do with me. Basically I have become my own dr lol.

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AliB Enthusiast

Hi Mia. How long have you been taking the Coconut oil?

I have come very rapidly to the conclusion that I should be doing exactly the opposite of what the 'experts' suggest! The consensus at present is low-fat, high-carb, but I know I do better on the opposite to that and always have done.

Fortunately I never jumped on the low-fat bandwagon - or the margarine one, either and continued to eat butter whenever I wanted.

One interesting point in the book and that I have picked up elsewhere is that Stefansson, who lived with the Inuit for some years went through a situation where he was getting very little fat and only lean meat and became quite sick. As soon as he was able to eat more fat he became well again.

Not only is low-fat fashionable, but so is lean meat and the compunction to cut every bit of fat off it. It is not fat that causes fat. It is carbohydrate that causes fat. The body apparently burns fat far more efficiently than carbs and carbs eaten along with fat goes straight on the body as 'reserves'. Without fat the 'elimination' system doesn't work properly, neither is the body able to dispose of toxins as efficiently.

I am going to keep going with the low-carb, medium protein and higher fat regime and see how it goes. As the SCD is pretty low-carb anyway it is not much of a deviation.

Both my husband and I have always noticed that on the occasional foray into a cooked breakfast (without toast or bread) we are always far more satiated and can keep going for a lot longer until we need to eat again than on a 'normal' breakfast.

Yes, Gary Taubes book is very interesting - I don't have it but have read the article from the New York Times which outlines it. Open Original Shared Link

One thing I did pick up on while I have been researching is that eating more protein necessitates taking more water as protein needs water to metabolise properly - that would explain why Robert Atkins diet advocates a higher water intake.

Another interesting thing I picked up is about exercise. Commonly it is felt that many people are obese because they don't exercise enough. That may well be true, but what Richard Mackarness was saying is that exercise, and the desire to do it is relative to health. He pointed out that his dogs don't run around all the time. They may run into the garden if something attracts their attention, but otherwise they are generally resting.

He noted that as our health increases due to being better dietary balanced then our energy levels increase and we naturally exercise more by being more active.

I have found that as my health has been improving. I can now walk up our 17 flight front steps and sometimes even run. It has even improved over the last few weeks since I have been taking the coconut oil etc. I have gained a little weight back but feel in a way as if I have been building muscle mass rather than fat.

Before all this happened I was very weak. The weight didn't help and losing 3 stone has certainly been a factor, but I also feel as if my muscle strength has improved too. I now have no problem walking down to the village shop and back, whereas before I would have had to take the car down (all 500 yards!). Now I have more energy, I have more motivation to move.

I don't know what to say about the low blood pressure. I did a little research but haven't come up with anything so far. Weak muscles suggests a lack of oxygen which may indicate a deficiency of something - are you getting enough magnesium and calcium?

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pele Rookie

Ali

Michael Pollan, in his book In Defense of Food, also discusses the low-fat hype, and how it doesn't work and is not backed up by science.

Also, Ali, thank you for mentioning the benefits of raw food. I have been eating raw vegetables since starting the SCD and have always found them easy to digest, maybe even easier than cooked vegetables.

Mia and dtgirl--

I am curious about this blood pressure thing. I don't trust the endocrine testing of mainstream medicine. If they don't recognize adrenal fatigue, how will they recognize aldosterone deficiency? I am quite certain my own probelm is endocrine related. I would love to know what you two figure out about yourselves. Here is a link to an article about aldosterone from stopthethyroidmadness.com

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GermanMia Newbie

Ali,

I increased my coconut oil intake drastically one week ago, and I must say since increasing it plus taking that zeolithe powder I feel more satisfied after eating. Before I always felt hungry, no matter what and how much I eat, but now I feel full with normal sized portions and stay satisfied for hours.

But I have to admit that I changed some more things during the last days. Besides taking more coconut oil I completely banned everything containing or provoking histamine. Also I take high doses of anti-histaminics because of severe hay fever. I take the zeolithe and two homeopatic remedies, i. e. arsenicum album D 12 and crataegus tincture.

One week ago I had smoked salmon, smoked roast beef and mature cheddar within 30 minutes - and afterwards I thought I'd collapse. My heart was racing and my blood pressure went down to 80 to 45 - I felt absolutely terrible. So I thought okay, that was the histamine bomb - smoked stuff and mature cheese. That was last sunday. Since monday I only eat millet porridge, some rice noodles, mozzarella, steamed chicken, chard and zucchini, SCD yoghurt smoothies with cranberries, blueberries and some stevia, flax seed muffins, butter, coconut oil, flax seed oil and olive oil. I had that period-related vomiting on wednesday, but otherwise felt great concerning my intestines, and for the last three days my blood pressure seems a little better. Yesterday I jogged 30 minutes and had the feeling that my muscles did better. Not sure - I always have days which are better, I'll have to see if this stays like that or even improves :-)

Magnesium and Calcium are okay - only things which weren't okay were zinc and vit. D3 which I started substituting four weeks ago.

I think that fatty meat is better then lean meat because it contains more micronutrients. Lean meat mostly is protein - but fat stores fat soluble vitamins which we need.

Concerning the fat metabolism, rest and exercise: I think like dogs and wild hunters like lions etc. we are programmed to be economical. In the beginning of human being we had to run around all day to gather our foods, so our body looks out for every minute it can rest to save energy. With walking around all the time, the metabolism is in a mode to burn fat. But now that we sit on desks mostly, this mechanism doesn't work any longer. You need not exercise like mad as some suggest. You only have to bring the metabolism back to that fat burning, all day walking around mode which you achieve by walking half an hour per day. Mind that our ancestors didn't run at high speed - they wouldn't have lived to our days. They walked around steadily but so that maybe they could still talk to one another - and that's what we have to imitate to bring our metabolism back to that fat burning stage.

By the way - I figured out that when I have a cheddar craving I can kill that by taking one tablespoon flax seed oil!

Pele - I totally agree with you. The problem is that the ranges for normal test results are too broad. They don't look if you're at the lower or upper end of that range but only if you're WITHIN the range. My DH is a physician himself and he told me that it's the same with blood pressure. They're so anxious about HIGH blood pressure that they don't look more closely as long as the pressure is not high - just because they see "okay, it's below 130, so it's not dangerous, it's good!"

I had a look at my test results (made the blood test for cortisol and aldosterone - thanks for the link!), and I have to say that they're not at the end of any range but perfectly in the middle. Not high, not low, but evidently balanced. Only thing I'm not sure about is the thyroid because the level is "normal", but low. But anyway it's the question if that's a cause or a consequence. The hen or the egg...

I'll see what happens if I continue that low histamine track.

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AliB Enthusiast

I am sure that a deficit of zinc and particularly D would have an impact on the muscles, and possibly even the BP.

To quote from the Vegetarian Society's site, 'Zinc has a range of functions. It plays a crucial role in growth and cell division where it is required for protein and DNA synthesis, in insulin activity, in the metabolism of the ovaries and testes, and in liver function. As a component of many enzymes, zinc is involved in the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and energy. Our body contains about 2-3g of zinc. There are no specific storage sites known for zinc and so a regular supply in the diet is required. Zinc is found in all parts of our body, 60% is found in muscle, 30% in bone and about 5% in our skin.'

One indicator of zinc deficiency is fatigue and I know that it is an essential factor in immune support.

I was also reading in a BMJ note that low vitamin D can be associated with muscle weakness. It can lead to bone demineralisation. Again it is oil based - fish, namely the oily ones like salmon, mackerel and sardines, and cod liver oil capsules are a good source. Amazing isn't it that sailors would get rickets from a lack of vitamin D when they were surrounded by an ocean full of fish! But it is not surprising if all they had was ship's biscuits and grog and it didn't occur to them to catch any fish.

I also picked up links that low D can also be a possible link to high blood pressure but how true that is I haven't a clue. Of course, there is always a possibility that a deficiency can affect the blood pressure in either direction, simply because the body is not getting enough to make things work properly.

Interestingly though low D and zinc also seems to be linked to adrenal insufficiency and that can lead to low blood pressure so although your tests appear to be 'normal' it is always possible that there is a subclinical deficiency going on. The fact that your body is producing enough cortisol doesn't mean that the adrenals aren't struggling to keep the levels up. Vitamin C is a good adrenal support too and is needed for healing and repair.

It's interesting that your cheese craving is satiated by the flax oil - just perhaps the craving is actually for oil or oily food, not specifically cheese! Again, apparently a craving for salty and fatty food can be an indicator of adrenal insufficiency - sometimes the body actually does crave what it needs..........

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