Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[DMarie]

Dawn - the coconut cream can be reconstituted to make coconut milk. And it tastes good by the spoonfull too.

Not straining def. makes a thicker yogurt. But it separates and there is liquid at the bottom once it does. I like it though.

Does it separate before or after straining? I was thinking that straining makes a thicker yogurt, not straining makes thinner.

I like to make my yogurt in 2 quart batches. To start with 2 quarts of coconut milk, how much coconut cream would I need to use? (just trying to compare cost with making the coconut milk myself - balanced out with the convenience factor. ) If I make my own coconut milk, do I add the coconut water back to the milk?

This is all so foreign, but sounds delicious!

[aprilh]

Are there any legal gums or candies? Any kind of candy I can make with honey that would be safe? Or any products that are ready-made that I can look for while I'm in London or the states? The SCD sites seemed to be geared more to baked goods that I could order.

There are some recipes on how to make candies from honey. They sounded very yummy!

I understand what you mean about the illegals, I am not planning an illegal feast by any means, but if something is overlooked, or I do cave in to those mashed potatoes, what then? Back to intro? I think I don't understand how much or how little can upset the balance and cause more inflammation.

I think it depends on the person and how upset your system is. Some may be able to get right back in the boat. Others may have to go back to intro...

I think you have to play it by ear and see how you feel.

Art Girl (or anyone who knows )- does it really take almost 1/2 cup of gelatin to make this? I have only seen gelatin in those little packets. Where do I find gelatin in bulk?

[ShayFL]

I use a whole coconut, but I cut the brown part off of the white meat. Straining would make it thicker if you ate what was in the strainer and not the watery part. I like it unstrained.

I know nothing of making it from cans or reconstituted coconut milk. Just fresh coco.

[aprilh]

Shay - what do you do with coconut cream? How do you make whipped coconut cream? Does a little of this go a long way? I went to the website you posted - and they are doing like a BOGO - two 16 oz jars for the price of one. Shipping is just $9 - so doesn't seem to bad. But - want to make sure I know what I can do with this.

I just opened that site. That is a great price! I have been looking for coconut cream but could not find anything pure. I am going to order some!

[DMarie]

Okay, so I am full of questions today as I research ingredients and think about what tasks I want to work on this weekend! I bought 2 coconuts at lunch - so Friday I plan on draining them and cutting out the white meat to make coconut milk, which I can then turn into coconut yogurt!

Dry Curd cottage cheese - can't find in my area. Is this the same as Farmer's Cheese? It seems I see it referred to as that on some internet references - just wasn't sure. Is any farmer's cheese okay to eat (if this is dry curd)?

Turkeys - is there something in particular that I should be looking for? Or if it is gluten free - is that legal? I am looking at Butterball fresh turkeys (not frozen). Ingredients say turkey (as opposed to the frozen one - it has other ingredients listed). Actually, as I type this, thinking this is the stupidist question! But - there are so many little caveats it seems to foods - thought I would check as to what others were doing.

[mftnchn]

Farmer's cheese is supposed to be the same as dry curd cottage cheese.

[AliB]

Well, I have to say that I will be having a green smoothie for breakfast every day I reckon. This evening I walked down the road to a friends' house, nay I actually briskly marched to my friend's house about a quarter mile away, and then later I walked back! Wow. I haven't enjoyed energy like that for quite a while. If I ever have enough energy to do that it's more of a measured plod.

I am hoping that the smoothie will get the tubes working better too. I had gone from constant D before the diet to lately being pretty sluggish. Yesterday was a bad day. Not only was my head on a different planet but I had the most awful backache for several hours too and could hardly move. It's all down to the tubes.

If I can get the balance right between the SCD and the Alkalizing Diet I reckon that would do for me.

[GermanMia]

Ali - that sounds pretty reasonable. The problem with SCD is that you are always tempted to eat too much proteins without enough raw fruit and vegetables. So that makes the body acidic.

Sherry,

I read something that made me think of you: You are taking antibiotics for years now, and I just saw that the intake of antibiotics can disturb the histamine metabolism so that you can become histamine intolerant. Did you ever look in this? Because histamine intolerance can explain *very* much.

[ShayFL]

GermanMia is right. I initially felt so much better SCD, but then I started to feel "acidic". My body just felt "acid". Hard to explain. Anyway, I added more raw fruits in and within a few days, that nasty feeling went away.

I recently had some Indian curry (homemade) and then the next day pepper steak and all of that spice really threw me for a loop. My digestive system is still trying to calm down.

I dont complain much. Not my style. I just work my way through problems, then come in and help other who might have the same issues.

Right now I am studying Ayurveda. I am VERY Pitta dominant. So I am tweaking the diet, and so far it is helping. I've eliminated the spices (hot) that are not good for my dosha. And I am diluting the yogurt with water like is recommended for Pitta. I am also avoiding the fruits, veggies and meats that aggravate my constitution according to Ayurveda. A BIG IMPROVEMENT in the last 3 days!!

I know it sounds a bit of voodoo. But it is one of the oldest healing practices known to man. And once you study it, a lot of it just makes sense.

[kkcarlton]

Hi All,

The SCD was recommended to me and I was wondering if I have to buy the book or is the list of foods somewhere online? I think I am already avoiding everything I am supposed to since I live on protein, veggies, and fat mostly. Occasionally I'll have 1/4 to 1/2 of a sour apple, and sometimes I have some raw nuts (which I should probably soak).

So, do I need the book or is all the info online?

Also, does the book take candida into consideration? I see people talking about using honey, eating fruit, etc. and I thought all those were out with candida overgrowth.

Thanks,

Kristina

[ShayFL]

www.pecanbread.com will get you started.

[GermanMia]

Also, does the book take candida into consideration? I see people talking about using honey, eating fruit, etc. and I thought all those were out with candida overgrowth.

Thanks,

Kristina

Hi Kristina,

welcome

Concerning candida - the thing is that candida alway is a consequence of bacterial dysbalance, not the other way round. So first you will never get rid of a candidiasis if you don't change the bacterial milieu to normal. As soon as the milieu is back to normal, cadida will disappear because it can't exist in the normal gut flora. So you can try to kill it with nystatin, but it will return if the gut flora isn't normal. And the gut flora can't become normal if you don't properly digest what you eat or if you eat something that you can't properly digest. What really can become dangerous is to try starving the candida by cutting all kinds of sugars and starches from your diet. You won't starve the candida but it will become systemic - it's metabolism can change so that it starts to feed on protein and attack organs. And that's *very* nasty. So best thing you can do is to avoid everything you're system can't digest so that you starve the wrong flora which lives on undigested carbohydrates (as described in the book). While the bad bacteria starve, the normal flora can return and grow stronger. The stronger the normal flora gets, the less comfortable gets the milieu for the candida (that's the simple explanation but a medical fact ). In the end the candida will be gone if the flora is in balance and stays that way.

Mia

[kkcarlton]

Great - thank you. Incidentally I just got my order of probiotics. I stopped taking probios last year because I kept having such a strong reaction to them. That was stupid.

Maybe getting rid of the gut dysbiosis will help with my hormonal imbalance, too.

Edited:

OK, I looked at the list of foods on pecanbread.com. I was told with food intolerances I need to be on a 4-day rotation diet to avoid getting more food intolerances. But this diet does not allow many foods in the beginning stages and I would be eating the same food several days in a row. That's not a problem?

[GermanMia]

Kristina, you could do what quite a lot of us have done: Skip the intro and jump fully into the SCD by just avoiding illegal foods. Personally, I made up my own "intro" by choosing the food I thought would be best to start with (what I knew would agree with me) and then started with this for two weeks. After those two weeks I started adding more foods step by step.

E.g. I started with chicken soup, zucchini omelette, boiled eggs, bananas, pumpkin porridge, almond muffins, cooked salmon, beef patties, green salad and yoghurt.

Just choose what you think is most easy digestible for you and then go on.

Mia

[pele]

Hi All,

The SCD was recommended to me and I was wondering if I have to buy the book or is the list of foods somewhere online? I think I am already avoiding everything I am supposed to since I live on protein, veggies, and fat mostly. Occasionally I'll have 1/4 to 1/2 of a sour apple, and sometimes I have some raw nuts (which I should probably soak).

So, do I need the book or is all the info online?

Also, does the book take candida into consideration? I see people talking about using honey, eating fruit, etc. and I thought all those were out with candida overgrowth.

Thanks,

Kristina

Hi Kristina

breakingtheviciouscycle.info

is the official website and has much of the information that's in the book.

[pele]

Kristina, you could do what quite a lot of us have done: Skip the intro and jump fully into the SCD by just avoiding illegal foods. Personally, I made up my own "intro" by choosing the food I thought would be best to start with (what I knew would agree with me) and then started with this for two weeks. After those two weeks I started adding more foods step by step.

E.g. I started with chicken soup, zucchini omelette, boiled eggs, bananas, pumpkin porridge, almond muffins, cooked salmon, beef patties, green salad and yoghurt.

Just choose what you think is most easy digestible for you and then go on.

Mia

Thank you, Mia, for mentioning this again. Elaine did not "require" an intro. She made certain recommendations for people with severe diarrhea and other people have formulated intros for autistic children. I am constantly amazed at how many people on this forum are so concerned with following a certain introduction to the diet. I would say only do an intro if you have severe diarrhea or if you need that kind of structure to stay motivated.

Also, fruits and nuts are allowed on the diet, and as others here have mentioned, those with constipation probably need to eat more fruits and vegetables.

One of the truly helpful aspects of the SCD is that once you have eliminated all of the illegal stuff, it is much easier to figure out what works for you and what does not.

So, to all the newbies who are wondering what to eat: get rid of the illegals, and take it from there. As you heal, your body will let you know what you are doing right or wrong.

[pele]

:

OK, I looked at the list of foods on pecanbread.com. I was told with food intolerances I need to be on a 4-day rotation diet to avoid getting more food intolerances. But this diet does not allow many foods in the beginning stages and I would be eating the same food several days in a row. That's not a problem?

I went to a lecture by a functional medicine MD last week and he talked about food rotation, so I am curious. And I immediately worried because I eat eggs every day!

In my unofficial, non-medical opinion, it is probably fine to not worry about rotation in the short run. It is more important to get the illegal starches and sugars out of the diet. Once that is done and you feel pretty stable, then rotation will probably be easier. It should also be more enlightening since your system will no longer be bogged down with a gazzilion different ingredients (if you eat processed foods), it'll be easier to tell how a particular food affects you.

Keep in mind, please, that pecanbread.com is a site for the SCD and autistic children. Autistic children may require an intro to the diet that is stricter than that necessary for non-autistic adults.

[kkcarlton]

Thank you all for the info. As far as I can tell I don't eat any illegal foods. I eat protein, veggies, fat, and sometimes nuts. Only sour apples and not every day and usually not a whole apple at once.

[pele]

Thank you all for the info. As far as I can tell I don't eat any illegal foods. I eat protein, veggies, fat, and sometimes nuts. Only sour apples and not every day and usually not a whole apple at once.

It sounds like you are already on a good diet--better than I was when I started the SCD! What kind of protein do you eat?

[kkcarlton]

It sounds like you are already on a good diet--better than I was when I started the SCD! What kind of protein do you eat?

I rotate chicken, beef, lamb, venison, ostrich, pork, salmon, turkey, and sometimes other fish like flounder or orange roughy.

[mftnchn]

Elaine does mention intro in BTVC, suggests at least 1 day, and max 5 days. The purpose as I understand it is to begin with easily digested foods when the system is very upset. Both diarrhea and constipation can be signs of the same problem, according to Elaine (may not be in the book, but posted in her email correspondence online at least).

That said, Elaine doesn't have a strict protocol with stages like on www.pecanbread.com. She says to avoid the illegals, do at least one day of intro, and beyond that, check each food as you introduce it and avoid what doesn't agree with you. In BTVC she does suggest waiting for several hard to digest foods. For example, legumes, start three months into the diet. Nuts are harder to digest as well, especially cashews.

Yogurt/probiotics are very important as well. Kristina, you don't mention dairy, so you may want to look into the alternative non dairy ways to make yogurt. Also, check your vegetables with the legal/illegal list to make sure you aren't using starchy ones.

The rotation diet is designed to help with preventing food intolerances by limiting exposure to the foods. Its a good practice, however it does not address the underlying reasons for why a person is so prone to this. Dysbiosis does help to explain why this happens. The SCD can help to correct the dysbiosis, and stop the food proteins from leaking out into the system in ways that allow the formation of antibodies.

Kristina, I think you could choose to do a modified day or two of intro, then start adding foods. Work back into your rotation as you have enough foods to do so. BTVC says if you react to a food as you add it in, keep it out and retry in a month to three months. Many times you can add it back in after a period on the SCD.

You can also choose to just jump into the full diet; you won't have the full advantage of the elimination diet aspect of the SCD. Your symptoms can be your guide, and you need to make the best decision for yourself.

Sherry

[AliB]

Hi Kristina.

I agree with Mia concerning Candida - you have to get the gut into a position where it can no longer support the 'nasties'. Following the SCD is a good way to get going - it is not a 'Candida' diet as such as it is designed to help the gut heal but along with that is the need to get the gut flora 'normalised'.

The Introduction Phase is primarily for people whose digestion is so bad they are frightened to eat anything and commonly suffer with acute diarrhea. If your gut can cope with some food and D is not an issue it is possible to skip that bit and enter the diet relatively full-on.

What Elaine did say is that if Candida is an issue, you may prefer to limit the fresh and dried fruit and honey for a while until the Candida is under control, however some find that upping their fresh raw vegetable intake helps to get it under control quicker. It seems, from the research I have been doing that the higher the amount of raw food, the better the control. But we have to be careful because not everyone can cope with raw food too soon.

[fig girl]

Shay - i haven't made my raw goat yogurt yet - i think i will tomorrow night. I called the farm and asked them about the goat milk and it sounds good and she said their whole family drinks it all of the time and uses no antibiotics, etc. so i think it'll be ok. She said they make goat cheese and heat it to 185 making that and i searched a little on-line and it sounds like that may be the process with raw goat cheese. I'd like to heat it to just 110 to keep the enzymes for the yogurt but would heating it to 180-185 be safer especially since it'll be my first time consuming raw milk? I know i'm worrying about this too much but i've been so careful about adding new foods and am feeling better so i don't want to blow it and make myself really sick.

Dawn - If you have a Publix near you check with them on the Friendship Dry Curd Cottage cheese - i found it at a Publix near me - i called them first to check because it's about 20 min. away. They had fresh young turkey breasts also and i looked at the frozen and they seem to be illegal with the added ingredients. I would think the fresh would be ok but i'm not sure - i think i will ask them before buying one to see if anything is added. I bought cornish game hen and i think i'll cook me one of those to take for Thanksgiving (thanks Shay for the idea!). Let us know how your coconut yogurt turns out - i have 2 brown coconuts in the fridge and i hope they keep a while. I want to try making coconut milk and yogurt sometime soon.

Ali- Glad the green smoothie gave you some energy - before starting scd i would juice with green veggies and carrot and it would give me more energy also. I'll try juicing again once i introduce more raw (i've just introduced a small salad and and i'm doing ok with it thank goodness). My back was hurting on Sun. i believe because i had added steamed broccoli to my carrot soup and didn't process it enough or didn't steam it enough and i ate it Fri. and Sat. A little while after my back started hurting i had a bm and instantly my back pain went away...sorry, tmi - i saw tiny bits of broccoli in my poo so i'm pretty sure that was the problem

kkcarlton - welcome! I hope you feel better on the diet and that it will help with your hormonal imbalance. I have low estrogen (dx w/POF - which i'm pretty sure has a lot to do with being gluten sensitive) and use the vivelle dot patch and take prometrium about 10 days per month and am hoping i will be able to eventually stop using those. The main reason i take the estradial is for bone health and to help with joint pain and fatigue but maybe that was more caused by the gluten but i don't know. I sure hope so - i'm going to ask my Dr. when i go to my yearly appt. in Dec. about slowly tapering off of it soon especially if i continue to do well on scd. Have you ever soaked nuts before eating - i may try it before making some nut butter soon. On eating the same foods every day - i've had to do that pretty much since i started the diet as cooked fruit, eggs and nuts bothered me so i'm having to go slow and add about 2 foods per week. Eating foods every day that i can easily digest haven't been a problem for me - it's actually helped me to feel much better and is easier to add a new food and know if it's ok or not.

[mftnchn]

I'm experimenting today with a raw veggie smoothie in the mornings like I used to do. It's the first raw I have tried since starting SCD. I want to see what symptoms I have and what it does to the constipation and bloating issue.

Also I think I am not getting enough probiotic in the yogurt alone. Need to figure out what to do about that.

Sherry

[kkcarlton]

Thank you all for your kind welcome and for all the suggestions. I will look into the SCD some more. There are many foods I don't tolerate but I find it almost impossible to identify exactly which ones they are. I never noticed an actual reaction to gluten. I don't have diarrhea but am constipated however it's the same now as it was when I did eat gluten and I haven't eaten gluten on a daily basis in years anyhow.

My two biggest hormonal symptoms are abdominal distention and fluid retention. Those are also two very common reactions to food for me - definitely for dairy and some others. I would love to just eat chicken every day because I like it and I don't get tired of it, but I do get concerned about becoming intolerant to it. I haven't seen any improvements in my health over the least year or so and I think part of the issue is the gut dysbiosis and also adrenal fatigue. I am not sure why my hormones are so messed up. I don't seem to get more than 2 days without abdominal distention and fluid retention. Plus I gained weight and it's really hard not to gain anymore. My metabolism is really sluggish right now and I hate it.

Sorry to vent...I am just so tired of feeling this way. You'd think with eating protein, veggies, and fat and not having excessively high calories I shouldn't be gaining weight.