Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

[lbd]

Ken70, I agree with you completely. The focus of most "diet" programs is on fresh, unprocessed foods. I applaud those that continue to recommend the SCD program because it does emphasize unprocessed foods and that is probably the biggest benefit to the people that follow it. I think AliB is right in that years of processed foods do damage to so many of us and perhaps the protocols of the SCD do help to repair that damage.

The food and agricultural industries have foisted frankenfoods on all of us. I think everyone should read Michael Pollan's books - The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. These two books were huge influences on me. My goal this year is to eat as much unprocessed food as possible. For me, gluten and casein-free are musts as well. I believe humans are just not designed to eat most grains and dairy products. (If you read Pollan's books, he talks about how even cattle suffer from grain diets - they are killed young for beef because they literally cannot live longer on a grain diet.)

I have been admiring AliB's tenacity to promote the SCD program and the completely polite and caring way she presents it. I don't know if I accept all parts of the program. I don't know that one can reintroduce gluten foods if your body is not designed to digest them without starting the whole problem over again. My background is in science and biology and I don't know that I am convinced about everything with the SCD, but I DO believe that eating unprocessed foods and eliminating grains and most dairy is the way to go. It just makes sense. So carry on, AliB and others - I think you are doing a great service to many

Laurie

[fig girl]

Does anyone have problems with squash? I had some butternut squash yesterday (decided to try it again after about 2 mths) and my stomach and back was sore this morning and a couple of hours after eating it had a little gas and pain but not as much as when i ate it before, so maybe things are improving. I also tried a little bit of farm fresh eggs again a couple of weeks before Christmas and they still bother me. Nuts as well still bother me - i'll probably try them again soon but about a month ago i soaked some almonds and then made nut butter and only had a tiny bit and they bothered me (maybe the additives in them?). I haven't found any organic raw almonds yet but may order some on-line and try.

Most of the time my symptoms are sore stomach and back and a couple of hours after eating the problem foods i have gas and pain and sorry but when i pass gas it burns and when i have a bm it burns. I had explained this to my Dr. back in July and that's when she thought SIBO and recommended the VSL#3 which helped initially but then started bothering me. Not long after that i started the SCD which helped a lot. Maybe it's just really slow-go with me. I have a Dr. appt. Jan. 12th so i'll ask her but wondered if any of you guys have/had similar symptoms. I've read that it could be the toxins causing the burning feeling? Antibiotic free, organic meats and green veggies, carrots, bananas, avocados and SCD goat milk yogurt seems to be the only foods i can eat. I'll try cooked apples and pears again soon. I have started taking another probiotic before bed (i take one first thing in the morning also) and that seems to help more.

Happy New Year everyone!

Michelle

[AliB]

Ken70, I agree with you completely. The focus of most "diet" programs is on fresh, unprocessed foods. I applaud those that continue to recommend the SCD program because it does emphasize unprocessed foods and that is probably the biggest benefit to the people that follow it. I think AliB is right in that years of processed foods do damage to so many of us and perhaps the protocols of the SCD do help to repair that damage.

The food and agricultural industries have foisted frankenfoods on all of us. I think everyone should read Michael Pollan's books - The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. These two books were huge influences on me. My goal this year is to eat as much unprocessed food as possible. For me, gluten and casein-free are musts as well. I believe humans are just not designed to eat most grains and dairy products. (If you read Pollan's books, he talks about how even cattle suffer from grain diets - they are killed young for beef because they literally cannot live longer on a grain diet.)

I have been admiring AliB's tenacity to promote the SCD program and the completely polite and caring way she presents it. I don't know if I accept all parts of the program. I don't know that one can reintroduce gluten foods if your body is not designed to digest them without starting the whole problem over again. My background is in science and biology and I don't know that I am convinced about everything with the SCD, but I DO believe that eating unprocessed foods and eliminating grains and most dairy is the way to go. It just makes sense. So carry on, AliB and others - I think you are doing a great service to many

Laurie

Thanks for the encouragement Laurie. It is good to know that at least one person is listening

I do also believe that although many, like Robert Atkins, Ornish, and Elaine Gottschall et al have many 'right' aspects, none of them gets all of it right all of the time.

We are all very different and the damage to our bodies can be very different so there is no real 'one size fits all'. Even on the SCD there may well be foods that some cannot tolerate and others, not on the list, that they can. It may just depend on what the ratio of enzymes and flora in an individuals' body can cope with.

That being said though, having looked at, and tried many different diets over the years, I certainly believe the SCD to be one of the most practical. I think too that what the diet does is attempt to try and get us to read our own body. Get to understand it, and what it needs. Recognise the signs. Any kind of ill health is a signal.

I was using in one post the illustration of the tonsils. Some people get constant tonsillitis. What do they do? The visit the Doc and he arranges for them to be removed. They are not considered to be of any importance. Of course they are important! They are a window to the health of the body. Inflamed tonsils are telling us we are toxic and need to do something about it. They are sending us messages. Take them away, we no longer get the messages, but the problem is still there.

Its a bit like going to the Doc and saying 'I keep getting headaches all the time', and him telling you, 'well, we don't know why, but if we cut your head off you won't get them any more'!!! Duh!

I have a tremendous faith in the Creator, in the fact that he gave us good food, and that it is only by doing our best to stick to that food we can hope to gain and keep any kind of health.

Gregor Mendel first mucked about with wheat 300 years ago - in its basic form and molecular structure it may well have been good food - even Jesus broke bread with his disciples, but over the last 300 years it has degenerated into a form that is totally unrecognisable and indigestible by the majority, because Man in his arrogance always thinks that he can do better than God. Yeah, right.

If only it was only wheat that had been mucked about with............

[lbd]

You are so right, AliB. It is not only wheat that has been adulterated over the years. I can't wait for summer when I can once again enjoy my own vegetables out of my garden. When I go to the store, it is easy to see that even the "organic" veggies are almost all hybrids that have been bred for storage and shipment purposes. The food industry is driven by what is economical, not what is good for us. Tomatoes taste like paste, lettuce lasts for weeks, apples are covered with waxes, etc, etc. And that is the "fresh" stuff.

I am lucky to have found a source for completely grass fed beef. These cattle are never fed grain and live antibiotic free in open pastures (I know because I have live nearby and I know the owner well). The beef is flavorful and tender. I buy a 1/2 steer each year and stock my freezer. I have my own chickens for eggs (can't bear to kill them for meat). I buy pasture-raised fresh-killed chickens from another farm in the area. I live near orchards that raise peaches, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc. While they are sprayed, I think they are still better than store-bought, and I can buy varieties that are heirloom and still have plenty of nutrition. I just wash them well. I buy extra when in season to freeze for the winter. For my own garden, I buy heirloom varieties - the taste is astounding. I raise my own raspberries.

I feel sad for those who do not have resources like these available. I have wasted so much money buying replacement items for gluten and so few are any good. I am committed now to only buying fresh unadulterated foods when possible. If I have to buy something in a can or box, it will be real food - no chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc.

Time and time again, I think of "The Jungle" and the descriptions of what the food industry was doing to food at that time. Are we any different today? In fact, I think we are worse.

Laurie

[mftnchn]

Does anyone have problems with squash?

Michelle

I do, Michelle. I don't get the burning thing though. I get very fatigue and flu-like after eating squash for a few hours. I am going to experiment later with another variety of squash and see what happens.

Sherry

[AliB]

Oh yes Laurie - worse? Darn right it is.

Governments who could make the changes are all held to ransom by huge business so are basically nothing more than puppets.

Yes, perhaps processes are more sanitary (in certain countries) and 'elf n safety are on the button but it doesn't mean that the actual food is any better for us.

The food industry (that's a pretty descriptive title for the 'junk' manufacturers - anything produced by industry has to go through a mechanical process so how it can come out the other end with 'food' tagged on to it, beats me!) is a very powerful lobby. It is all-controlling and all-consuming. It is constantly searching for ways to cut corners, to produce the same flavor but for less money, and every time they achieve that end, it renders the 'product' that much worse for the end user.

It has to be worse for us now than when Sinclair wrote the book. At least back then they were still producing some semblance of 'real' food, even if the environments were not good. Since then drug and chemical use within the industry has become rampant, not just within animal 'husbandry', but also throughout the production of vegetation.

We now have millions of tons of processed foods pouring into the food chain every day. Walking around Tesco earlier I was struck by the fact that, apart from a little organic fruit and veg (and even that is suspect) absolutely everything in the store is tainted with some kind of processing or adulterated with chemicals. Even if the food has had nothing added to it you can bet your bottom dollar it has been heat-treated, or homogenised, or hydrogenised or......or..........(as it isn't an ingredient, they don't have to tell you what they have done to it!)

I so wish I had a garden conducive to home-grown. It is big enough, but the majority of it is banked and pretty untameable which is frustrating. I yearn sometimes for a nice big flat garden. That was my dream, but I missed it somehow. I will get it back one day.

Ali.

[pele]

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

I have no problems with the almond meal, peanut butter, dried fruits or raw nuts. from TJ's.

[AliB]

I do, Michelle. I don't get the burning thing though. I get very fatigue and flu-like after eating squash for a few hours. I am going to experiment later with another variety of squash and see what happens.

Sherry

I think I would get very flu-like after eating squash for a few hours - I'd also get a very large stomach!!!

(I know what you meant Sherry, but it was funny all the same! Just depends on how you read it!)

Reminds me of the night I was telling my daughter that a bird flew into my bedroom. "I didn't tell you I had a bird fly in my room the other day", says I. After a very puzzled pause back came the question, "what's a bird fly"?

[pele]

I feel sad for those who do not have resources like these available. I have wasted so much money buying replacement items for gluten and so few are any good. I am committed now to only buying fresh unadulterated foods when possible. If I have to buy something in a can or box, it will be real food - no chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc.

Time and time again, I think of "The Jungle" and the descriptions of what the food industry was doing to food at that time. Are we any different today? In fact, I think we are worse.

Laurie

Hi Laurie

I have a lot of the same food sources that you do and feel very fortunate. The only fruit I bought all fall were bananas. I picked unsprayed apples off the neighborhood trees and had applesauce every day. Also picked pears and plums. I got about 60 pounds of pears off my own little tree. I spend my spare summer moments at the upick blueberry patch and put berries in the freezer for a dollar a pound. I am buying my first local grass fed beef quarter in a few weeks. I want a chicken coop but for now get local eggs, free range when available.

The Jungle made a huge influence on me many years ago. I agree with you and Ali that things are worse now. Funny that he wrote that book as s ocial commentary about worker treatment, not really about food. And today, illegal immigrants work in the meat packing industry.

[pele]

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.

Hi Ken

Welcome to the SCD thread.

I read In Defense of Food a few months ago after I'd been on the SCD for a while. The book validated everything I had been thinking about. I believe that the elimination of processed foods is the key to the SCD success, even if Elaine didn't really know that.

I also wonder how anyboby could read that book and go right on eating food-like substances, or food substitutes, as I like to think of them.

[AliB]

Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation' is another book that goes into the background of Meat production and the horror stories around it. Although it was written mainly from the States aspect it covers the World aspect too as companies like McDonalds are global. Interesting book but I had a job to stick to the concentrated print and the story-like format, so just speed-read through it and pulled out the relevant stuff.

As far as chemical crop-spraying is involved, we are told that fruit and veg has to be pretty uniform because that is what the customer demands, but do they really? Ok, if we have the choice, we are always going to pick the best of the bunch, but that is because they charge so much for them we always want to get our money's worth.

If the price was more realistic then perhaps we wouldn't be so fussy. It's like - less perfect produce, cheaper price; more perfect produce, dearer price. Hmm. I know which one I would choose, but of course, most people out there don't realise they are actually being diddled by the dearer stuff - not necessarily money-wise, but health-wise, because perfect doesn't mean better in this case.

[DMarie]

I have to say that eating "real food" has helped me. I am not all the way there yet - but am improving. Mainly, I don't have headaches after eating (most times), I am not so bloated I look pregnant (most of the time), I don't have so much gas I worry about being too close to people and while I still have an issue with excess mucous there has been some improvement on that front as well. I actually have periods during the day when I am fairly comfortable. I have relatives visiting right now, and my step-mom said she can tell that is better as I was constantly clearing my throat the last time they saw me.

Right now I am thinking of back tracking just a bit - removing all but stage 1 foods and adding in additional foods slowly (so I can better tell what is really a problem). I seem to do best with single ingredient items (such as hamburger patty and broccoli) as opposed to SCD legal sauces and such. While multiple ingredients don't necessarily cause any gas, bloating, headaches - it is more likely to cause a flow of mucous for about an hour after eating. When I eat single ingredients - I might not have a temporary increase in mucous flow or it might be very minor.

So, just feeling my way along and trying to listen to my body.

Anyone take apple cider vinegar on a regular basis (as in added to water and taken like a supplement)? There seems to be alot of information on the benefits of this and I was thinking about trying it. Just wondering what others experiences have been with this (if any).

[DMarie]

Okay, I missed a few posts and was just reading them. I am so jealous of those of you who live close to sources of real food, can grow real food, etc. I live in Texas and have not mastered how to garden here. Tried tomatoes and such several times - but they burn up it gets so hot here in the summer.

I know there are some places within about 2 hours of here where one can pick blueberries, etc. I know because we drove past a farm once, saw the sign, and stopped and picked a bunch of blueberries. I need to convince my husband we need a big freezer this summer - and then see if I can't locate some of these places and pick, pick, pick - and then freeze and can.

I am more and more frustrated at the *junk* masquerading as food at the food stores. And angry that it is so hard to get good food!!

[rinne]

I've been finely grating fresh beets and adding apple cider vinegar, it is suppose to help the digestion of those who are bile challenged and it does seem to help my digestion, it also tastes great!

[lbd]

Haha, oddly enough, when I look for things like apples and oranges at the store, I often look for those with a blemish. I figure those had a little less pesticide sprayed on them

I am very fortunate to live in a rural area with lots of farms and orchards around to choose from. However most do use pesticides and fungicides, so I try to grow most of the veggies I can myself and put some in the freezer or canning jars for winter. I always run out though.

I also try to buy in season as much as possible. It always amazes me to see strawberries in winter and people buying them! I feel sorry for them. I wonder how many people have eaten a strawberry right off the plant, warm from the sun, and as sweet as honey? My mouth waters thinking of it.

Yes, I think Sinclair's book reflected a better time compared to food today. The health claims made by the industry today, even the claims of "Gluten-free!" are just to entice us to buy the product. They are not in the least interested in our health. I feel like you do, AliB, that walking into a supermarket is like walking into a lie. That's why I do whatever I can to try to find real food from real people who actually DO care about what they are raising. It is wonderful to talk to the grower of a product and see the pride they have in how it was raised. Yes, these things often cost a bit more (though the beef and chicken are actually much cheaper), but the taste and nutrition is worth it. Plus, if you don't buy all the junk, you make up the difference easily.

Off my soapbox - this is a subject near and dear to my heart. You should hear me preach to my high school students! Many of them have never had food that did not come out of a box or can. So sad. I hope this fits into the SCD thread. I ordered the SCD book today to see what it says. I don't know that all of it is based on good science just yet, but I can't help but think a book that promotes real food can be anything but good. I made all real food for dinner tonight (and it was so good)!

Laurie

[GermanMia]

Hi all,

after being away two weeks and then struggling with a broken down internet for another week I'm now far behind everything...

But anyway I do wish all of you a very healthy and blessed New Year! May you all improve and keep getting better on this way :-)

Now I think I'll be reading some of what I missed during the last weeks.

Mia

[fig girl]

I do, Michelle. I don't get the burning thing though. I get very fatigue and flu-like after eating squash for a few hours. I am going to experiment later with another variety of squash and see what happens.

Sherry

Thanks Sherry. I hope you have good luck with another variety. I get a little joint pain also with squash and some fatigue as well. And this is kind of weird but may be arthritis pain but i also get a pain in my left big toe. When i was very young i sprained one of my big toes and can't remember which one but i'm thinking it was the left one. Maybe i have some arthritis in it now and it'll flare up more after eating squash. I also have tendonitis in my left elbow that i developed around June/July of this year after about 6 mths. being gluten free and it seems to hurt more after eating the squash. The tendonitis got better after starting the SCD so the diet is slowly helping my inflammation i think.

I have a spaghetti squash that i may try soon. The butternut, acorn and pumpkin i've tried and they all give me the same symptoms. I'm making applesauce right now to try....again. Hopefully it'll be ok. I've bought some Bob's Red Mill coconut flour to try sometime soon - i know coconut flour is harder to digest but maybe i'll do better on it than the nut flours i've tried (almond, pecan and walnut). I think ArtGirl said she does ok with the coconut flour but not the almond flour so i thought i'd try it. I'm dying for some kind of brownie or bread...it's a challenge without egg but i think i saw a couple of recipes on the SCD recipes thread i might could adapt to things i can tolerate right now. I was searching yesterday for some recipes and i came across a spinach cracker recipe that i might could tolerate...a crispy cracker would be so yummy...heck, it doesn't even have to be crispy!

[fig girl]

I've been finely grating fresh beets and adding apple cider vinegar, it is suppose to help the digestion of those who are bile challenged and it does seem to help my digestion, it also tastes great!

This sounds good Rinne, i might have to try it. I haven't tried beets or apple cider vinegar yet but maybe i'll be able to tolerate them. I have a nomato sauce recipe i found using carrots and beets that i want to try soon...i think i'll try the beets before trying tomatos. I haven't tried any new foods in about 2-3 weeks so i'm very eager to try some new things!

[mftnchn]

Thanks Sherry. I hope you have good luck with another variety. I get a little joint pain also with squash and some fatigue as well.

I have a spaghetti squash that i may try soon. I'm making applesauce right now to try....again. Hopefully it'll be ok. I'm dying for some kind of brownie or bread...it's a challenge without egg but i think i saw a couple of recipes on the SCD recipes thread i might could adapt to things i can tolerate right now. I was searching yesterday for some recipes and i came across a spinach cracker recipe that i might could tolerate...a crispy cracker would be so yummy...heck, it doesn't even have to be crispy!

Do you tolerate seeds, and tomatos? I put together a seed cracker recipe that I like quite well, but I am not handling rougher foods yet so I haven't made it again. You can also google raw food crackers, there are a lot of recipes out there.

[rinne]

...... I have a nomato sauce recipe i found using carrots and beets that i want to try soon...i think i'll try the beets before trying tomatos. .....

The nomato sauce sounds interesting, what else is in it besides carrots and beets?

[pele]

Okay, I missed a few posts and was just reading them. I am so jealous of those of you who live close to sources of real food, can grow real food, etc. I live in Texas and have not mastered how to garden here. Tried tomatoes and such several times - but they burn up it gets so hot here in the summer.

Dawn Is there a garden store near by? They can tell you what to plant and when. Or maybe a regional gardening book? I noticed when I visited the SE US one summer that people's gardens were nearly done in the heat of the summer, but they had planted early and had fabulous crops by mid July. And I know of gardeners in Florida who plant tomatoes in the fall for a Christmas crop. Some things, like melons and peppers, thrive in heat. If it is cooler and wetter in the winter you may be able to grow greens then. It can take some research and practice but you can do it.

[nora-n]

I ran across a blog where there is an entry on scd and about a scd cookbook:

Open Original Shared Link on wed. dec..31

nora

[DMarie]

Dawn Is there a garden store near by? They can tell you what to plant and when. Or maybe a regional gardening book? I noticed when I visited the SE US one summer that people's gardens were nearly done in the heat of the summer, but they had planted early and had fabulous crops by mid July. And I know of gardeners in Florida who plant tomatoes in the fall for a Christmas crop. Some things, like melons and peppers, thrive in heat. If it is cooler and wetter in the winter you may be able to grow greens then. It can take some research and practice but you can do it.

Pele - thanks for the suggestions! It has been a few years since I tried, so I had kind of just given up on it - but now would be the perfect time for me to make inquiries, especially for possibly early planting on some things. There are lots of garden stores. I think I even know of one that is organic. Not the ones that are closest - but surely they can guide me through this. I might just look into this and try again.

Hmmm...now that I am thinking more on this - I remember a co-worker bringing in some tomatoes last year. I'll have to ask her what she does as well.

[mftnchn]

I ran across a blog where there is an entry on scd and about a scd cookbook:

Open Original Shared Link on wed. dec..31

nora

Thanks for the link, Nora. I really liked the summary about the SCD. It was well written, and mentioned that some celiacs do well with only gluten-free but many do not. Yes, they need to be strictly gluten-free but that is not adequate to heal.

I really appreciate those people on this board who are willing to consider the bigger picture, because many come seeking help here. When I see posts that have a very narrow viewpoint, I always am saddened for the people that are then not helped to find an answer.

[AliB]

Hear, hear - so many of these posts are from desperate people.

We all came here looking for help - I for one am just so incredibly grateful that I found it.

It wasn't the route I expected on this forum and I am very grateful for that open-mindedness too.

So many of these sites are so blinkered - this is OUR disease and no one else is allowed in! Little do they realise that they are all linked.

Being in the UK I was going to go with Coeliac UK, but not only do you have to pay to join it, you have to be diagnosed Celiac!!! Talk about exclusive!

Scott's forum is a very valuable resource - I hope he realises how valuable.