SCD Vegan Intro Diet?

[clark_00]

Hey there,
I am absolutely fed up with doctors putting me on prednisone and want to take action in my recovery. I was on the SCD years ago but I got stubborn and went off it. Low and behold here I am still sick.
I have been vegan for quite some time now and it is important to me. The Intro Diet is not very vegan friendly but it also says that it is almost pointless to move forward if you are going to skip the Intro Diet. I want to get better and to get off of these steroids. I was diagnosed in 2005 with UC and just now they are telling me that it is Crohn's so my faith in my doctors is pretty low. Their treatment plans have not worked for me in the past and they are not working for me now. I have been practically house ridden for the past two weeks and I can't take it anymore. (ok I'm done whining.)
If anyone else has run into the same problem with staying vegan/vegetarian for the Intro Diet on the SCD plan I would love to hear some feedback.

 

[Waverly]

I'd love to hear from someone about this, too. My husband is vegan for health reasons and I'm going to try the SCD. The two don't seem to be easily done together.

 

[Erb]

Hey there,
I am absolutely fed up with doctors putting me on prednisone and want to take action in my recovery. I was on the SCD years ago but I got stubborn and went off it. Low and behold here I am still sick.
I have been vegan for quite some time now and it is important to me. The Intro Diet is not very vegan friendly but it also says that it is almost pointless to move forward if you are going to skip the Intro Diet. I want to get better and to get off of these steroids. I was diagnosed in 2005 with UC and just now they are telling me that it is Crohn's so my faith in my doctors is pretty low. Their treatment plans have not worked for me in the past and they are not working for me now. I have been practically house ridden for the past two weeks and I can't take it anymore. (ok I'm done whining.)
If anyone else has run into the same problem with staying vegan/vegetarian for the Intro Diet on the SCD plan I would love to hear some feedback.

I was vegetarian for many years and I think it led to my problems actually. I went from college where I studied Environmental Science to a vegetarian and then vegan diet. I was emotionally very invested in it. But I was gaining weight and my belly was like a balloon. It really is true that too much carbohydrate and the wrong kinds will hurt you. Unfortunately I can't say which ones will hurt you because we're all different. SCD is a good overall plan though. I like what she says about disaccharides and how we can only be sure of absorbing simple sugars.

I did have some success with sprouted foods, so for example, you might try sticking to sprouted tofu instead of meat for a while. Denise Minger has an interesting theory on bivalves. She says they have no nervous system, so they do not feel pain, nor do they have any kind of "brain" so they are not sentient. You might examine your conscience about eating clams and oysters since they are very nutritious. (Properly cooked of course.) Not sure how they reproduce but they have no "face." So I guess it's a question of, are they really animals? Is it ok to eat them?

Anyway, she used to be a vegan and her health went haywire and she had to give it up, like me. Ditto for the vegan GF of the guy who did Supersize Me. It's not a permanent badge of shame. Being healthy is more important (to me) than any belief I may hold. I still do eat sprouted tofu sometimes just because I like it, and use it as an ingredient to stretch meatballs. But I'm with you if you want to stay on the vegan path. It will just be very very hard.

You may have to consider some fasting to kill off and restart your flora. If you do that, you'll have to do it long enough to let them all die (3-7 days), then have water-kefir ready to go (and un-contaminated) to help you repopulate with good bacteria. It may take more than one fast. There are several medical centers offering guided fasts for vegans, but I don't know how knowledgeable they are about Crohn's. You may end up having to do the water-kefir thing on your own.

Kinda walking a tightrope there.

 

[clark_00]

Thank you for this! I am relatively just confused on where to go next. I have been following a Gluten Free diet as well as being vegan so my carbs were limited to fruits and veggies already for the most part. For the Intro Diet I think I can stomach at least the bone broth thing... I don't know that I will be eating the chicken though. But thanks for the clam idea, I will try that route because even though I am sick still my appetite doesn't seem to care and I am going to need some form of protein. I hadn't even thought of sprouted Tofu I was under the impression that tofu was out of the question when it comes to the SCD.

 

[VeganOstomy]

Are you an ethical vegan or doing it for other reasons (like health)?

You might want to check out this site: http://glutenfreescdandveggie.blogspot.ca/

I was in contact with one researcher who worked on a study using the SCD model, but the results weren't quite convincing as all the patients were still on medications (immunosupressants, biologics and/or ASA's), and they said there was "often an up and down", even in the short duration of the study (6-10 months). To be honest, after 6-10 months on meds, I'd suspect the disease either calmed down on its own, or the meds were doing their job.

If you're interested, there is a newsletter by Dr. Fuhrman which gives some ideas on tackling Crohn's with a plant-based diet, and it also touches on why SCD "lacks scientific support and sufficient success". Unfortunately, you do have to pay for that newsletter unless you're a member of his website.

You might also be interested in the Dr. McDougall program (he offers a free program on his website) at http://www.drmcdougall.com/ Unlike SCD/Paleo, his patients have treated their IBD (among other things) using a high-carb diet full of the foods you are apparently suppose to avoid on SCD.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

 

[clark_00]

I am Vegan for both health and moral/ethical reasons. I just prefer that lifestyle. But I bit the bullet and am following the dairy free intro diet for the SCD. With hopes of course to return to being vegan once I am healthy again and am able to digest, well anything.
I think the Vegan Police will let this one slide. I am just hopeful that this will work and I can get back to life. I have been missing work frequently and stuck at home/in bed for a while and that is the complete opposite of what I like to do. I'm usually bouncing off the walls looking for something active to do and I want that back.

 

[VeganOstomy]

Good luck Clark. I completely understand your desperation to feel better. I'm hoping that you find a solution.

 

[clark_00]

Though I am not a happy camper about eating chicken and everything else. I do have to say that I am feeling ALOT better. I havent had to miss work and I am hoping to maybe get some light exercise in within the next few days. Still nauseas but I'll take that over the pain and bleeding any day.

 

[clark_00]

I DO NOT suggest doing what I did! Scdlifestyle.com has a diet plan with phases. If you are a vegan or vegetarian I do not suggest you following their diet plan. My body is in more agony than it was before. I became severely constipated and had to go to the hospital. I've gotten things moving but am still in so much pain! The diet plan on that site has no fiber and I don't see how everyone wouldn't have this problem. Just a fair warning I would hate to see someone else go through this when they are just tryin to get better. I am going to move along with the scd but follow it more by breaking the vicious cycle. Just keep it veg. Thanks to everyone who got back to me about this. I feel like an idiot for sticking to it for so long but trial and error I guess. And now we know for future reference.

 

[VeganOstomy]

I became severely constipated and had to go to the hospital. I've gotten things moving but am still in so much pain! The diet plan on that site has no fiber and I don't see how everyone wouldn't have this problem.

That's brutal. Constipation is common on low-fiber diets, which is maybe why some people who've reduced their bowel movement frequency using a low-fiber diet may have simply just constipated themselves.

I mentioned a website before that is SCD vegetarian friendly. Perhaps give that a try if you still want to stay SCD.