The Diet part 1, ABC's of the SCD

I've outlined, blog-length, the theory behind the SCD, and some steps to getting started. Now I'd like to pause here, and take a look at some of the details of the diet.

If you haven't already, get a copy of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It describes the diet in much more detail than I could in a blog. That said, I decided to outline the diet here, because I wasn't completely satisfied with the organization of the information in the book. So let's get started...my way.
Remember the principles:
1. Intake nothing that will feed the 'harmful' bacteria; sugars that will remain partially undigested when they get to the colon.
2. Focus on what you CAN eat, not what you can't. It'll help your attitude.
3. Here are broad categories of what you can eat:

--Lean meat
Watch for additives. Stay away from things 'enhanced' with things like broth, natural flavors, etc. Even organic meats can have this. In the ingredients, you want the label to say, just 'chicken' or 'cod' or whatever meat you're buying.

--Aged Cheese
Block cheeses aged more than 6 months have negligible lactose content.

SCD friendly Yogurt
What's this? It's homemade, fermented for 24+ hours to get rid of the lactose. The link below has instructions, but to be honest, they weren't detailed enough for me, so I will post my own soon. Look for them.

--Most vegetables
Refer to the list I linked below. I had to cook all of my vegetables for 4 months before I could start eating raw, for example, lettuce. Steaming vegetables may lose some of the phytochemicals, but most of the vitamins remain intact, and it breaks down the fiber matrix, making it easier for your injured digestive system to handle.

--Most fruits
Same with the fruits. I had to cook them for about 3 months (vegetables were harder for me) before I could eat raw. Stay away from fruits with seeds (berries are a good example) until all your symptoms have been gone for at least 3 months. Stay away from fruits with lots of insoluble fiber, it's hard on your injured system. So, peel your apples, your pears, even your grapes; those skins represent the insoluble fiber I'm referring to. A note on canned fruit: It's nearly impossible to find canned fruit that's in it's own juice (which is what you want), where that juice is not from concentrate. Concentrated juice is a no-no because when companies reconstitute they often add sugar. Just be careful with canned fruit and the quantity of fruit in general. There's a lot of sugar in fruit...

--Undoctored nuts
I love Trader's Joe's 'raw' nuts, undoctored. You can do nut butter too, but NO ADDITIVES. Ingredients: nut, salt. Anything else in it? Don't buy it. Remember, fudging a little, can set you back.

--Honey as your ONLY sweetener
Your ONLY sweetener. ONLY...ONLY honey.

--Real butter
No spreads, no additives, no, no.

--Olive Oil and a couple of other select oils)
Refer to the list below for 'legal' oils.

Here is a more detailed list of 'legal' and 'illegal' foods

My suggestion? Print the list and put it on your fridge. Consult it each time you cook or go to put something in your mouth. But remember, just because something is legal, doesn't mean you can handle it. My mistake was eating LARGE quantities of whatever legal food was on the list. BIG mistake. It kept me sicker longer. I became bewildered at my system, and frustrated. Don't follow my footsteps here. Track your symptoms, track what you eat daily (we'll get to that tomorrow). It's the only way. Elaine, in her book, outlines the first few weeks on the diet. I will try and do the same as it relates to my experience.

Onward to health.