Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[ShayFL]

How awful Ali!!! Food poisoning maybe? I hope you are all better now.

[Guest Jsn7821]

How illegal is cabbage? Red and white? I read that you should avoid it if it gives you D - but I generally have good BMs.

I have been under the assumption all squash is fine... Is that correct? Like delicata, butternut, pumpkin, and spaghetti squash.

Why are some carbs OK (in fruits and stuff) while others aren't? Blahh, maybe I just need to buy the book, I keep telling myself I'm not "technically" following the diet so I haven't bothered to read about it - but I haven't strayed from it in the last few weeks and I feel great...

[mftnchn]

Ali, that is scary! I've been going through something like this too, but not nearly so severe. Hope this is the end of it for you.

I feel like my digestive system has gone from being "dead" to being "sensitive." Hopefully this is just the healing process. After weeks and weeks of constipation, now I'm back to going right away in the mornings, with still some evidence of spasm (ribbon like stool quite often). But I am having nausea and lots of cramping too, and today diarrhea in the early afternoon. After the diarrhea at least the pain stopped. Recently the pain has continued for several hours.

I'm trying to just hang in there for a couple more weeks until I finish the parasite herbal treatment, to see if things settle down. I know I need this treatment.

Maybe I'll try just jello, carrot soup, and make some cheesecake and see if the really soft stuff works better.

Sherry

[mftnchn]

Also Ali, when you are up to it, I need some help with your cracker recipe (I posted on the recipe thread).

Sherry

[kkcarlton]

How illegal is cabbage? Red and white? I read that you should avoid it if it gives you D - but I generally have good BMs.

I have been under the assumption all squash is fine... Is that correct? Like delicata, butternut, pumpkin, and spaghetti squash.

Why are some carbs OK (in fruits and stuff) while others aren't? Blahh, maybe I just need to buy the book, I keep telling myself I'm not "technically" following the diet so I haven't bothered to read about it - but I haven't strayed from it in the last few weeks and I feel great...

Cabbage is legal unless it still gives you D and gas according to the legal/illegal list.

Some carbs are allowed because they have monosaccharides (one molecule sugars) while other carbs, the ones that are not allowed have disaccharides (two molecules - like lactose), and polysaccharides (many molecules - like starch and cellulose). The premise of the book is that our bodies cannot digest the di- and polysaccharides so these saccharides end up in your colon (or intestine) undigested and the bacteria feast on them.

I thought I didn't need the book because I felt I was already avoiding all the foods that are illegal but I was mistaken. The book really helped to clarify things and also why having bacon cured with sugar on occasion is NOT a good idea and might be hindering my healing process. If you can afford it I would get the book and read it.

All, what I don't understand is that some veggies have disaccharides, like broccoli for example. Open Original Shared Link Not sure if this link will work but 100 grams of raw broccoli is listed with 0.21 grams of maltose (a disaccharide). Is it because it's such a small amount?

Also, I have been titrating up on my probiotic. I take Natren Healthy Trinity and the recommended dose is 1 per day but I figured it wouldn't hurt to take some more considering the bacterial overgrowth I have. Well, the more I have the worse my bowel movements are getting. I never had D but deal with constipation instead. I take 1,000 mg magnesium citrate at night for this and it works well. But when I take 6 probios I have a hard time having a bowel movement the next day and it's very hard making it very painful.

Another thing is bowel transit time. It seems to take roughly 48 hours from the time I eat food to be passed. I have one bowel movement in the morning. It feels like I am emptying out pretty good, but on the days I do a coffee enema (sorry if this is getting too graphic) I always do two clear water enemas first and there's always more coming out. Here lately I have not been able to hold the coffee enema the recommended 12 minutes because there's STILL more coming out.

So, those of you following the SCD, have you found that your bowel transit time has increased? Can you even tell if you don't have undigested food in your stool which I still have even though I take HCl? Do you have more than one bowel movement a day?

I am still not strict on SCD. I didn't cheat horribly yesterday but did have a little bit of ham. Sunday is my husband's birthday and we are going to Dave and Busters. I'll do my best to order legal food. January 1st I am starting a bowel/liver cleanse for 7 days or 10 if I can make it that long and after the cleanse I will start with the intro phase of SCD. I figure it will be perfect to start with some broth and soft cooked chicken after fasting 7 days. I am now on day 39 of non-stop abdominal distention. I went from a flat stomach one day to looking like I am in the early stages of pregnancy the next day and it has just stayed that way.

Thanks a bunch!!!

[DMarie]

Ali - that sounds scary. I hope that you are feeling better.

Things are going okay for me. I have gone off diet a few times over the past couple of weeks, but now am back on. The mucous had gotten somewhat better - but I really think that coincided with when I started the Neem (from Organix - Thera Neem). I had been taking 2 a day. Then this past week I had a potatoe one day and some chili, plus some terriyaki the day prior. Had a bad day with much increased mucous. Right after that I decided to add more Neem (as the bottle says 1 or 2 capsules 2 x daily). No major problems - but mucous dried up more. Could have been because I was eating right, but both times I noticed a rather significant improvement with the mucous - seemed to be after adding or upping the Neem.

I have tried many recipes over the past several days. I want to see if I can scan in a recipe I have for crackers and then copy/paste it in the SCD recipe section (the instructions are multi-stage and kind of long - but the crackers turned out well. If I can't scan - I will get busy typing to share ). I made SCD Peanut Brittle, which was good - but a nut - which I have to back away from - that is my main problem with "cheating" and I need to remember it isn't helping.

Meanwhile, I decided I want to read up on making my own soaps, cleaners. I have read articles before, and I know it was not difficult at all. It just seems natural to start looking at what else I can clean up in my life.

Along those lines - has anyone ever tried a deodorant crystal? I know that isn't the right name - but I know it is a crystal and used in place of deodorants. I switched quite some time ago to a deodorant that does not have any aluminum in it (because the antiperspirants made my under arms itchy and I knew aluminum was not what I wanted to be absorbing) - but have always wondered about those crystals.

[kkcarlton]

On another note I had a bit of a fright yesterday.

On going from having raging D with the IBS before going gluten-free and then SCD I am now going a bit the other way. I don't know why. I have been having the smoothies and thought that the extra fiber would get things moving - maybe I just am not having enough water with it - I don't know, but anyway, I got up yesterday morning to get ready to go out.

I went to the loo and did a BM (sorry if this is too much info but it is relevant!).

I went and woke my son who was supposed to be coming with me then as I felt a bit uncomfortable went back to the loo. Within a few minutes I felt sick and very light-headed, and had an awful colic pain come on right down in my lower abdomen.

I staggered out again and called my husband who was still asleep, but couldn't wake him so had to call my son to go and get him. When my son saw my white face he leapt out of bed and ran to get Terry up.

I had gone back to the loo again and the next thing I knew was that I was bent double with Terry banging me on the back to try and wake me. It was the first time in my life I have actually fainted! I knew I was going to go and could do nothing to stop it.

I was only out for about a minute or so but it frightened the life out of us all and Terry was just about the call an ambulance as it looked as if I was having a fit as I was jerking and snoring very loudly!

I don't know if it was the pain and shock or whether something in the colon had cut off the blood to my brain, or what. I spoke to the Doc who said that colic pain can do that. I used to get it a lot when I was younger, but never was dizzy or faint - just in an awful lot of pain.

When I came round I sat up and promptly threw up all down my nightie. I did eventually do more BM's and it all settled but it was very unnerving.

Quite what triggered it I don't know. I had had quite a bit of vit C over the previous days to boost my immune system and keep the horrible bug at bay that my husband and quite a lot of others around me have. I also took some magnesium for 2 or 3 days. And some Goldenseal and Echinacea.

I would be very happy to not ever have a repeat of that!

Ali,

That sounds scary. Are you feeling better today?

[kkcarlton]

Meanwhile, I decided I want to read up on making my own soaps, cleaners. I have read articles before, and I know it was not difficult at all. It just seems natural to start looking at what else I can clean up in my life.

Along those lines - has anyone ever tried a deodorant crystal? I know that isn't the right name - but I know it is a crystal and used in place of deodorants. I switched quite some time ago to a deodorant that does not have any aluminum in it (because the antiperspirants made my under arms itchy and I knew aluminum was not what I wanted to be absorbing) - but have always wondered about those crystals.

Dawn,

I have one of those crystals and I like it. I can't tell a difference in sweat/BO with that one or regular deodorant. Also, I make my own lotions, salt scrubs, body butter, and eye cream for that very reason. Not so much SCD, but just trying to get rid of chemicals and xenoestrogens. I started making them back in 2003 I think. I use shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil, etc. and grapefruit seed extract, Vitamins C and E as natural preservatives. I usually leave mine unscented but once I started selling it I started adding essential oils and I have several "scents" now.

[AliB]

Hi all, thanks, I'm fine now and things are generally back to normal.

Sherry I have answered your question about the crackers on the recipe thread.

Dawn, I have a crystal too and would not use anything else now. They can be a bit expensive but last for ages - I bought my last one over 5 years ago and it still has at least another 2 or 3 years worth in it!

I paid about

[mftnchn]

Also, I have been titrating up on my probiotic. I take Natren Healthy Trinity and the recommended dose is 1 per day but I figured it wouldn't hurt to take some more considering the bacterial overgrowth I have. Well, the more I have the worse my bowel movements are getting. I never had D but deal with constipation instead. I take 1,000 mg magnesium citrate at night for this and it works well. But when I take 6 probios I have a hard time having a bowel movement the next day and it's very hard making it very painful.

Another thing is bowel transit time. It seems to take roughly 48 hours from the time I eat food to be passed. I have one bowel movement in the morning. It feels like I am emptying out pretty good, but on the days I do a coffee enema (sorry if this is getting too graphic) I always do two clear water enemas first and there's always more coming out. Here lately I have not been able to hold the coffee enema the recommended 12 minutes because there's STILL more coming out.

So, those of you following the SCD, have you found that your bowel transit time has increased? Can you even tell if you don't have undigested food in your stool which I still have even though I take HCl? Do you have more than one bowel movement a day?

I am still not strict on SCD. I didn't cheat horribly yesterday but did have a little bit of ham. Sunday is my husband's birthday and we are going to Dave and Busters. I'll do my best to order legal food. January 1st I am starting a bowel/liver cleanse for 7 days or 10 if I can make it that long and after the cleanse I will start with the intro phase of SCD. I figure it will be perfect to start with some broth and soft cooked chicken after fasting 7 days. I am now on day 39 of non-stop abdominal distention. I went from a flat stomach one day to looking like I am in the early stages of pregnancy the next day and it has just stayed that way.

Thanks a bunch!!!

I think there are a few foods allowed that have only a small percentage of the wrong kind of carbs, at least that is what I remember.

I would say that overall my bowel transit time has increased. This is still an issue for me. I still see undigested food but much much less than when i started SCD. After weeks of constipation again, now I have gone the other way. I'm waiting to finish the Humaworm I am taking, I have one more week. Maybe things will settle a bit after that. Bsides this, I had increased magnesium, buffered C, prunes, and started oil pulling. I also do coffee enemas, it is the best detox I have found for the lyne disease symptoms. With that I find that sometimes I have a lot more stool with it, and other times none at all.

But it was interesting that after I started the oil pulling, things got really bad for a few days, then started to improve. One day in the morning I had BMs maybe 6-7 times, with significant amounts. It was like things were clearing. AFter that my bloating and distention was much better. Now I am noticing it just off and on in the day instead of all the time.

I've also stopped all the raw food. I have been having a lot of cramps and some loose bm, and some nausea. I just can't handle the raw.

At this point I am going to wait and see what unfolds as I finish up the anti-parasite treatment.

[AliB]

So Sherry you think that the oil pulling is helping? Does your mouth feel better - less plaque etc.? Did you have a problem with halitosis and has it helped that? I am interested in the outcome because of having a mouth like a sewage pit every morning which is pretty obviously to do with Candida or its ilk.

How long have you been doing it so far?

Shay, weren't you doing it too? Any result yet?

[DMarie]

So Sherry you think that the oil pulling is helping? Does your mouth feel better - less plaque etc.? Did you have a problem with halitosis and has it helped that? I am interested in the outcome because of having a mouth like a sewage pit every morning which is pretty obviously to do with Candida or its ilk.

How long have you been doing it so far?

Shay, weren't you doing it too? Any result yet?

Actually, there is a thread on Oil Pulling - where various people (including Shay and Sherry) are recording their results. Many are saying they are seeing some results, especially with regard to the teeth/mouth feeling cleaner.

[mftnchn]

I'd say yes for sure on the cleaner teeth and less plaque. I'm also thinking a maybe about constipation. Because I am taking Humaworm that has senna and maybe some other things in it, I need to wait and see what happens when I get off it (with the constipation).

I'd say it might help with the halitosis. Be sure you rinse well and brush all the surfaces with soda or something after

Also I notice some mucus forms in my throat, and I try to hold that and spit it out with the oil. I read another person that spits out the oil and that once it forms and then adds new oil and keeps going to finish the time.

[pele]

On a side note: I've been sticking to SCD for a while now and I have more consistent energy and mood than ever. But - the food bill is really biting me, eating all veggies / meats. Is SCD similar to gluten, where if I tried some I would immediately feel the effects, or is more long term? Would it negate the positive effects to just have rice or potatoes every once in a while (a smaller serving once a day)?

It occurred to me after reading this that I can go into the big discount grocery store and buy 3 lbs of carrots, a lb of celery, a lb of onions AND a 2 lb bag of frozen peas for about the same price as one loaf of gluten free bread. Potatoes certainly are not any cheaper than these vegetables. Rice might be cheaper, but lentils, navy beans and split peas are cheap, too. Of course buying imported specialty vegetables out of season is expensive, but there are less expensive alternatives right there in the produce section.

I hope everyone who plans to be on this diet next summer is planning a vegetable garden or researching a way to buy weekly produce boxes from a local farm.

[mftnchn]

Right, Pele. For me the two more expensive items are almonds/almond flour and honey. The rest is more time intensive than higher on the budget. And so many things are eliminated that are processed and thus more expensive per weight and food value.

[AliB]

Yup, I agree. I would not say that my food bill is any more expensive than it was when I was filling my cupboards with rubbish. I am just smug in the knowledge that everything (well, nearly everything!) in my cupboards is good for me and my family!

It hasn't stopped me buying more than I need to 'in case I run out' then having to throw it away because it has gone off though!!! Drives my husband mad!

The last of our 2 kids left home in 2000 and I still buy enough to feed them!

On a high note, our son has been down with us for a few days and I was telling him how to make the 24 hour yogurt. Not long after he got home he rang to run through the process with me - he'd gone straight out and bought some stuff to make it with and was going to pop it in his warm airing cupboard to culture. He'd made it and popped it in the cupboard then suddenly realised he'd forgotten to heat the milk! Ooops. He had more yogurt fortunately so could take it out and do it properly. I reckon though that's quite an achievement for a single bloke in his twenties!!! It will be interesting later to see how it turned out and whether he will do it again.

The only problem is that he has a head like a sieve (probably gluten!) and I can imagine him making it and forgetting about it until he goes to get a clean sheet out of the airing cupboard a week later...............

On the Almond meal thing, I always keep my eye open for bargains - if I see them going cheap anywhere I will always snap up several packets. Makro - a huge cash n carry does big bags which are cheaper overall than small packs and I might even consider buying whole almonds and grinding them myself which may be cheaper again - I will look into that. They are always much more expensive over here in the UK anyway, well, most things are compared to the States. It always annoys me when I see the price for stuff over there compared to what we pay - they don't call this 'rip-off' Britain for nothing............

[DMarie]

Interesting with your son, Ali! I hope his yogurt comes out well and he doesn't forget it.

I found that ordering it online is much cheaper than the health food stores here with regard to almond meal. Bob's Almond Meal is something like $12 or $13 for a 1 pound bag!!!! I can order it online for about $6 a pound - and that includes shipping!! I also found it locally at a nut vending company (that's all they do - nuts). It costs $5.50 a pound. I sometimes just buy the slivered almonds from them and process into almond meal myself (like when they are out of the meal). And then sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't always just do it that way - because then I know for sure nothing as been added (though they say the meal is nothing but ground nuts).

With regards to the cost for my other foods - I don't think it has been more expensive because I am not buying all of the gluten-free flours - which were costly. If I had been eating things like rice and beans, and not really buying fruits and veggies or very much meat - I would notice an increase in cost - but that wasn't us so there isn't really a difference. Also, I buy whole chickens to cook - which is cheaper than chicken parts (or I often get chicken leg quarters - those are on sale alot). From that chicken I also get a whole pot of chicken broth (which I no longer buy, saves me money there).

I think the other suggestions here are great for minimizing food cost (buying fruits/veggies in season, meats can be limited or find good sales, etc). Almond meal is definitely an extra and can be forgone (or just limited).

Happy New Years to all!

[rinne]

Happy New Year's to all, wishing you peace and joy.

[Ken70]

I finally bought Gottschall's book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It's terrific. Full of good, common sense advice and explanations with scientific references. I was expecting a low carb diet book so I never looked into this before. It has added another dimension to my understanding of the role our digestive system plays in our health.

[mftnchn]

Great, Ken. Thanks for posting. I saw references to the diet and looked at them briefly early on but passed it off as "too strict." However, I have found it a very satisifying diet and much easier than the low carb I did in the past.

[AliB]

I finally bought Gottschall's book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It's terrific. Full of good, common sense advice and explanations with scientific references. I was expecting a low carb diet book so I never looked into this before. It has added another dimension to my understanding of the role our digestive system plays in our health.

Way to go, Ken! It is a little gem. Not highbrow or intellectual but full of, as you rightly say, common sense.

The thing is - she used the diet over fifty years ago to cure her daughter's UC. Judy is now in her late fifties and fit and healthy. She lives on a property with land that keeps her family in fresh home-grown food and tends to eat about 85% SCD most of the time. She is walking proof that the diet works.

We spend a lifetime ignoring the vital food and instead throw absolute rubbish down our throats, washed down with chemical concoctions and often accompanied by further abuse in the form of tobacco or other equally obnoxious toxins and then can't figure out why our body isn't working properly! Would anyone in their right mind give a dog Coca-cola?? Then why drink it ourselves? We do give them dog (wheat) biscuits, and hey-ho, they now get Cancer. Well, well. What idiots we humans are............

I tell you though, the more research I do and the more I discover about how my body and my digestion works, the more in awe I am of the intelligent design behind it. The human body is absolutely amazing and it has fantastic ability to heal itself - if we give it the chance. The abundance of natural good wholesome food is also amazing - it is nourishing and healing and vital.

Most people just go about their daily business without any thought of how they do it all, without ever stopping to consider the millions of automatic actions their body is performing without any awareness of them, without ever wondering how their thought processes work, without ever appreciating their very existence.

My body is just the most amazing thing and I am never going to take it for granted again.

Indeed 'I am wonderfully made'..........

[pele]

Interesting with your son, Ali! I hope his yogurt comes out well and he doesn't forget it.

I found that ordering it online is much cheaper than the health food stores here with regard to almond meal. Bob's Almond Meal is something like $12 or $13 for a 1 pound bag!!!! I can order it online for about $6 a pound - and that includes shipping!! I also found it locally at a nut vending company (that's all they do - nuts). It costs $5.50 a pound.

Yow!! I buy almond meal from Trader Joe's for 3.99 a lb. I guess I'm spoiled.

For breakfast today I had a big serving of cooked Kale and Chard that I picked out of the garden today. We covered the crops before the big freeze and snow in mid-December and they lived through it. I saw organic local kale at the store for $2.29 a bunch, I figure I must have eaten $200 worth of it at least just since Septmeber, for the price of a free packet of seeds. Not bad. I hope the greens will last until the dandelion greens start to grow in late February.

BTW, I am no longer losing weight. I have gained a pound back, maybe. I think it has to do with seasonal inactivity since I haven't eaten any Christmas cookies.

[DMarie]

Yow!! I buy almond meal from Trader Joe's for 3.99 a lb. I guess I'm spoiled.

I am jealous!!! I only wish I could get it for 3.99 a lb. But, 5.50 beats the ridiculous price of Bobs at 12 or 13 a lb.

I wish we had Trader Joe's here!

[mftnchn]

Pele, is the Trader Joe's safe with regard to cross contamination of gluten?

[Ken70]

We do give them dog (wheat) biscuits, and hey-ho, they now get Cancer. Well, well. What idiots we humans are............

Have you ever checked out www.dogtorj.net ? He also helped fill in some gaps for me.

Everywhere you look there are people with answers. Michael Pollan, Barry Sears, Dean Ornish and Robert Atkins not to mention the myriad of others like Gottschall, Gates and all of the other "fringe" people with opinions on how to cure cancer by adjusting the body's PH levels etc.

The common denominator is that everyone is trying to get people to eat "food" again. By "food" I use Pollans definition which is essentially anything that exists in nature and can be eaten and digested in it's natural state. By definition this excludes grains but includes plants and animals. I call it the plants and animals diet to my friends.

It's funny to watch Dean Ornish and Robert Atkins fighting on TV (before Atkins died of course) about their respective approaches to diet and weight loss. They are both right but not always right because it depends on the state of health of the person using that diet. People like Gottscahll and others go further to help explain why some do well on Ornish and some don't. I think that is what is at the heart of the problem with this debate - each of us is at a different state of health which makes it virtually impossible to study diet effectively.

I've given up trying to figure out the perfect diet and I've resigned myself to just eat "food". That's not to say I've stopped studying. My focus is now on the immune system and how it works. If only I was this interested in studying things back in high school and college......