Success with SCD

Part 1 Preparation

BEFORE YOU START SCD:

It is very important not to begin this diet until you are fully prepared. You need a full understanding of how SCD works, the science behind it, the level of commitment that is necessary and all the potential challenges that may arise in the very beginning.

READ THE BOOK!

You absolutely must read the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle (BTVC) by Elaine Gottschall, before you begin.

Vital information about the diet itself is found in the following chapters: "Introducing the Diet," and "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet". They can easily be read in one or two days. The rest of the book is comprised of recipes, history, science and useful additional commentary and will give you a thorough understanding of the scientific research and reasoning behind SCD. You may obtain this book through inter library loan with the help of your local library.

READ EACH SECTION OF THIS WEBSITE!

Familiarize yourself with the information and resources and where they are located within the site.

BE PREPARED:
*Understand the full range of possible symtoms that may occur in the very beginning of SCD. Some people feel quite unwell in the beginning days/weeks. You must anticipate this possibility and be prepared with ready options for coping with initial symptoms. We cannot emphasize this enough!

Link to initial temporary symptoms.

GRADUAL INTRODUCTION OF THE SCD FOODS IS ESSENTIAL!

You will not be able to every "legal" SCD food right from the beginning. Start with the INTRO DIET and progress slowly with easy-to-digest foods. The most common SCD mistake is feeding foods that are allowed on the diet but are too ADVANCED for beginners. The following foods are VERY difficult to digest: peanuts, cashews and beans. Nuts are an intermediate food. Some people might do better if they postpone the nuts until more gut healing has taken place.

Click here to read about the intro diet

Click here to read what to do if your child will not eat any of the foods on the intro diet

"DO"	"DON'T
*Read BTVC	*Start the diet without reading BTVC!
*Join the Pecanbread listserve at Yahoo groups!	*Rush into advanced foods!
*Adhere strictly to SCD!	*Expect you or your child's progress to be exactly like someone else's.
*Keep your sense of humor!	*Forget to BREATHE!

*If you or your child is a picky eater or is severely limited due to allergies or sensitivities, please plan ahead and try cooking some of the various SCD legal foods, suitable for beginners, that you think will be accepted. Check the recipe section for dairy, egg and nut free foods.

*Take into account textures or tastes that you or your child is averse to and try to come up with a few "winners" that will be reliably accepted. Keep in mind, though, that some of these sensory aversions may vanish... or change... over time on SCD.

*Be ready with simple, healing, "comfort" foods if you feel unwell. Practice making up a batch of the SCD Electrolyte Solution.

Click here to see recipe for SCD Electrolyte Solution.

*Have snack ideas lined up.

Part 2 Starting the Diet

KISS: Keep It Simple with SCD !

*Keep everything simple at first. There is no need to come up with elaborately varied gourmet meals in the beginning. Plain simple food is the best approach to healing.

Make sure that all your foods are allowed on the diet.

Link to legal foods list.

The dairy free version of SCD is successful with most individuals, but even greater results can be expected when you add SCD goat yogurt to the diet. SCD yogurt is likely to double your success. Most will tolerate dairy yogurt because the casein in it has been denatured to a great extent by the twenty-four hour SCD home fermentation/incubation process.
Please read the yogurt section of this website carefully before proceeding.

Adults and teens who join an SCD Internet support group get MUCH better results. Support groups are especially helpful when you are worried, anxious and want prompt responses to your questions. The online lists provide expertise from people familiar with the science and protocols of SCD but of equal importance is being able to access creative solutions and suggestions based on the experience of list participants.

Yahoo support group Pecanbread is the approved official list for parents who are implementing SCD with their child. Additional support for adults on SCD can be found at another Yahoo support group, BTVC-SCD

Be strict:

Be strict! Elaine Gottschall stated that SCD demands "Fanatical Adherence." The requirement for strictness is due to the fact that we are fighting hardy microorganisms that have an amazing ability to survive. One crumb of the wrong food feeds thousands of harmful bacteria for a month, and continues the cycle of destruction.

Here are the most common SCD mistakes. If you can't avoid making them; avoid repeating them.

Click here to read

Just about every one of us has made mistakes at first. You may need several tries before you begin to progress. Please don't give up. If you do not get the desired results, you can benefit from additional help.

There are a variety of methods for getting help and support with SCD. All are free with the exception of consultations with SCD counselors . Many parents report that personalized SCD counseling was the best investment that they made for their child's health.

Make no mistake. This is a struggle to save yourself or your child, a battle to eradicate the harmful intestinal microorganisms that continue to cause destruction of your or your child's) gut and brain.