Special Carbohydrate diet?

[elvencreature]

Hi all,

I'm looking at starting my family on the SCDiet, for my partners crohns disease and myself possibly about to be diagnosed as a celiac. (am awaiting test results.) Has anyone used this with any success? Conventional medical management does not seem to be working for my partner - ot's just flare up after flare up, and I'm not too keen on him being on prednisone for the rest of his life!

Anyone have any stories they can share?

J

 

[Jeff D.]

I have never gone on the diet before but thats mainly because I can't deal with diets. I start out with a lot of will power and then I cheat once which leads me back to the same way I normally eat. Just remember that carbs are needed to live so don't go too overboard. I know others have better knowledge of this diet then myself and can share several stories I'm sure. Check out some of the threads in the diet section at the bottom of the page as well as the treatments section.

What meds has your partner been taking or has he taken. Maybe it's time to ask the doc to step up the meds to things like remicade or humira.

Welcome to the forum. When do you get your results back to see if you are a celiac.

 

[elvencreature]

Thanks Jeff

The special carb diet allows carbs, but not complex carbs because they are too hard to absorb by the gut.

I am in Australia, so I have never heard of those medication names, but my DP has been on a range of meds over the years, anti inflammatories, immuno-suppressants, but unfortunately has other health issues that prevent him from being able to take some meds.

As we also have a young child in our house, I'm very keen to try less invasive methods!

Thanks for the welcome

 

[Jeff D.]

For the carbs I was just trying to warn you to make sure you keep some of the carbs in your diet. Sometimes people take diets to the extreme and see that most carbs are restricted and therefore say to themselves that they aren't going to eat andy carbs as it can only be beneficial, but thats not the case. In college someone I knew went on the SCD diet and she almost wasted away in a few weeks, she was a very skinny girl. That's the only reason I mention it.

Less invasive is always better. Try out the diet and see if it works. If it doesn't work you can try and combine several diets to see what works the best.

I think having a young child and teaching them to eat healthy things will be such a great thing. I wish my parents and grandparents didn't spoil me on junk food as a kid.lol

Good luck

 

[Kev]

Heyl elvencreature.. Welcome to the forum. Also, check on here for posts on the 'Specific Carbohydrate Diet' or SCD for short. There is at least one other thread on it. It's very strict, but from what I recall... for treating IBD you have to follow it by the book for at least two years.. no cheating, no straying. So, as a lifestyle choice, its a tuff diet that you can't or shouldn't break from. I looked at it, then I passed. The odds of me sticking to it were less than one in a million

 

[RHOV]

I decided to start the SC diet about a week ago. I talked it over with my mom and we made a few concessions. I eat soy,canned vegetables, and a few other "illegal" SCD foods). I don't really know if it's helping yet, but I can tell you one thing: IT IS RIDICULOUSLY STRICT! It has only been a week and the diet I follow is a little more forgiving than the specific carb. diet, but it's still very hard to follow, especially when everyone else is eating bread and chocolate.

 

[BWS1982]

I haven't competed so I haven't done it too long (did it for a few weeks off and on), but you guys should try a cutting diet for a bodybuilding contest if you think the SCD is hard. Try eating tuna, chicken breast, egg whites, lean beef, and some veggies for a few weeks straight, along with only water to drink--WHILE still working out vigorously. I haven't done the SCD but I am very accustomed to diet severity. Some of my "colleagues" who didn't believe in it called us types "diet nazi's".

Anyways, I think many people have willpower, what fails is a rationalization to use it.....although that could be again another way of defining willpower....

 

[Jeff D.]

I new a kid in high school that would eat can of that tuna a day at school plus tons of water. The kid calorie counted like crazy.

 

[elvencreature]

Thanks everyone for your replies and lovely welcomes

My partner is very keen to try this diet - and as long as I am able to cook for him, I am confident he will have no problems sticking to it. It also has the advantage of being a gluten free diet, so that I will be able to eat all of the food I cook as well. I will probably start the diet once my partner is off the introductory stage though, as I'm one of those emaciated looking women who can't afford to lose any weight - the main symptom that has lead me to investigating my own health.

I'd love to hear anyone else's stories if you have them!

 

[AbstractDonut]

I tried the diet for a while, few months at least. Was always stuck looking for some kind of sandwich meat without any dextrose in it. Basically if you are a good cook the diet is not that bad. I am not sure if the little bit of cheating I did was killing me or that the diet doesn't take into account you should watch your fat intake, but near the end eggs and bacon were doing me in near the end of my time with the diet.

Ultimately I believe the diet will work if you eat a balance while on it. I just also think it cuts some stuff out that in moderation will do you no harm. I was drinking fruit juices while in the hospital last which had sucrose (sugar) in them, and they said my white blood cell count was normal. I felt normal. So I can tell you right now a little sugar isn't going to hurt you.

Also after extensive looking online I can't find any people that have a problem with some rice.

If I were you I would go the diet, but make sure that after a few weeks I would reintroduce a few cheats. Like sugar, in moderation. Not in cookies or anything but maybe a juice or 7up. And a few starches like a little bit of potatoes and rice, just nothing fried.

I believe the main benefits of the diet come at the beginning when you eat almost all protein and very little fat and sugar. Calms the gut down, then the balanced fruits, veggies keep the inflammation down.