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Has anyone experienced orange skin on SCD?

My daughter (17) is on the SCD diet and imuran. The skin around her mouth and on her palms is yellow/orange. Her eyes are clear white. There are no other complaints, and we suspect it is a result of the large amount of beta-keratin in her diet, since she is exhibiting no other liver problem symptoms.

She has an appointment with her pediatric GI in two weeks, and blood work will be run next week, including a liver test, as always.

We would love any advice or information, or even a "Yeah, I've been there, too." Thank you.
 
NoGutsNoGlory, she eats some carrots, but not tons. She used to eat tons, but we had her cut back when she became discolored. Sweet potatoes are not allowed on SCD, so she doesn't touch them.
 

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
Is she on a vitamin A supplement? It seems odd that she would turn color but given its happened in the past maybe it's not abnormal.
 
No supplement.

It's common among those who eat excessive amounts of vegetables, especially fair people. I forget the name of the condition. We were just wondering if any other SCDers experienced this and how they managed a balanced legal SCD diet without excessive amounts of beta keratin.
 
I had orange palms and feet from too much carrot juice.
Might be similar but i was drinking A LOT of carrots.
 
Catherine,

They did the basic test, but not the test of all the T markers. I know the basic one misses quite a bit. From what I've seen, she has many of the classic signs of a thyroid problem, but the basic test didn't show that, so they aren't following that course. Also, her cycle stopped again, which could be thyroid, or it could be a messed up metabolism from SCD.
 
I'm a little skeptical about the idea that SCD could mess up her metabolism. Is she eating plenty of meat and fish in addition to fruits and vegetables?

We have a family story about one of my cousins as a baby turning orange from eating so many carrots (pureed, I suppose). Still, a full-sized teenager would really have to be eating a lot of carrots. But drinking carrot juice would get her there faster.

Most importantly, how is she feeling?

Here's an interesting article I found (as always, wear your skeptical hat but there may be something helpful here): https://juicerecipes.com/blog/does-carrot-juice-make-you-turn-orange/
 
Thank you lbligh. I don't know what you mean by "plenty," but she consumes fish daily and chicken or beef daily. She also eats eggs daily if we don't run out. She eats a meat-based protein source at every meal (with rare exception).

Her menstrual cycle stopped when she started SCD. I've heard of others having the same problem with low carb diets. We then upped her fruits as her main carb source, and it began again steadily for three months, but this month--nothing.

We do not juice anymore, so that is not the case, but thank you for the idea. The article is quite interesting. I never heard that take on carotonemia. Thank you. Oh, and my skepticism hat is firmly in place. ;)
 
There is a fairly common warning from some circles that low carb can affect thyroid [1]. This is usually Very Low Carb, but SCD falls into this category.

Since there are so many things changed in the SCD diet, we will never know what parts are necessary and what are not. There are also things allowed in SCD that may not be helpful for some people (nuts, eggs, dairy) so you have to play around and test (eliminate and reintroduce) any diet.
If nothing else is identified i would seriously consider adding in "safe" paleo carbslike yams, sweet potatoes, plantain and even white rice.-
This would mean that you are no longer on SCD (or are on a modified SCD) but if you investigate the Perfect Health Diet [2] or the Paleo AI protocol [3] you might find a diet template that is more suited to her.

They are similar in many respects but allow paleo carbs if well tolerated.
I have comfortably reintroduced carbs and if i keep them to 20-30%(or less) of my diet then i am fine with it.

[1] Starchy Vegetables (Ghttp://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocolAPS, SCD): Avoiding starchy vegetables for SIBO has not been validated in the scientific literature (but eating low FODMAP has been proven very effective for people with IBS, IBD and SIBO). Many people do anecdotally find symptom relief from starving overgrowths with these very low carb approaches, but the low carbohydrate/fiber intake can be stressful on the thyroid and cause dysregulated cortisol (and both of those are bad!). The two diet factors that have been shown in the scientific literature to have the most dramatic corrective impact on gut microorganims is high omega-3 fatty acid intake (lots of fish!) and high fiber intake (from vegetables and fruit), both soluble and insoluble. If you do have confirmed SIBO or strong gastrointestinal symptoms, you may want to combine the autoimmune protocol with a low FODMAP approach or you may wish to save low FODMAP for troubleshooting a month or two down the road.
http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol
http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocolhttp://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol
Some people (a very small percentage of my clients) who jump into low carb from a very high carb diet will experience some thyroid-like side effects a few weeks or few months after switching such as fatigue, coldness in extremities, hair-loss or other problems.
The interesting factor here, is that when these people have their hormones tested, most thyroid panels will come back normal (because most doctors only test Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH and T4 hormones).

http://wellnessmama.com/4352/low-carb-diet/

[2]Perfect Health Diet - Gut Health (part 1 of 4)
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/07/ulcerative-colitis-a-devastating-gut-disease/

[3] Paleo AI protocol
http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol
 
My hands were going orange on SCD when I was eating a lot of butternut squash. Went away when I slowed down on it. I knew someone who turned orange from too many carrots and she was not on SCD or any other similar diet.

Karen
 
Well we have been doing SCD since 2011 and have not had any color changes to the skin. I'm glad she's scheduled for blood work and doctor's visit. On Facebook search scd lifestyle. These guys have an open blog and I would recommend posting your question there. I have read some responses that lead me to think some are not familiar with the SCD.
 
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