How to Succeed with SCD
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) welcomes you into a whole new world of healing and hope. Here a journey begins to rescue your children and bring back the good physical and neurological health that starts with a balanced and healthy digestive system. |
Part 1 Preparation
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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. If you do not have the most recent printing, you may read the autism section on the Pecanbread website. Vital information about the diet itself is found in the following chapters: "Introducing the Diet," and "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet TM. 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.
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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. *Take into account your child's specific needs. If there are sensory issues that preclude the use of certain food textures, you will need strategies for working through these at first. Many children are relieved of sensory aversions to certain foods after much gut healing on SCD has occurred, but this will not happen instantly. If there are true anaphylactic food allergies, you must not include those foods in your child's diet (more on food sensitivities and allergy testing later). |
GRADUAL INTRODUCTION OF THE SCD FOODS IS ESSENTIAL! Your child 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 children 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
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"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 your child's progress to be exactly like someone else's. |
*Keep your sense of humor! | *Forget to BREATHE! |
*If your child is a picky eater or is severely limited due to allergies or sensitivities, please think ahead and try cooking some of the various SCD legal foods, suitable for beginners, that you think your child will accept and eat. Check the recipe section for dairy, egg and nut free suggestons, if your child is currently unable to eat those particular foods. |
*Take into account textures or tastes that 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. You may soon find that your child is accepting new foods you never thought he or she would! |
*Be ready with simple, healing, "comfort" foods if your child feels 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
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KISS:
Keep
It
Simple with
SCD
!
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Parents who join an SCD Internet support group get MUCH better results. Support groups are especially helpful to parents who are worried, anxious and want prompt responses to their 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. pecanbread@yahoogroups.com is the approved official list for parents who are implementing SCD with their child. Click here to learn more about the list. SCD recipes are usually easy to follow even for beginners. A good solution for those who are not expert at cooking or people with time constraints is to enlist someone to help with the cooking during the first weeks by preparing and freezing large batches of food. |
Be strict:
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Here are the most common SCD mistakes. If you can't avoid making them; avoid repeating them. Click here to read |
There are a variety of methods for getting help and support with
SCD. All are free with the exception of consultations with SCD counselors
. 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 your child, a battle
to eradicate the harmful intestinal microorganisms that continue to
strive for the destruction of your child's gut and brain.
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