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Summary: This book saved my life!
Review: I have been suffering from Crohn's Disease since I was thirteen years old, that is, until two years ago. I followed the diet as detailed in the book and was amazed at the results. My only regret is that I did not try this diet sooner. It wasn't because I wasn't willing -I just wasn't informed that there was a better alternative to a life filled with semi-effective drugs with powerful side effects, bouts of agonizing pain, and bowel disfunction.I am *very* angry at every doctor who told me diet has no effect on Crohn's Disease. Elaine's scientific approach blows this myth out of the water. The only two question remain: 1) Why don't our doctors use this treatment before prescribing dangerous medications? 2) Why has the medical community ignored decades of science supporting this diet? Two years after folloing the diet, I am drug free, symptom free, and running 5 miles/day. Thank you Elaine, you saved my life.
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Summary: A journey from critical illness to health
Review: When one is critically ill, any reason for hope is gladly grasped. Hospitalization, drugs and no diagnosis (but lots of medical opinions) left me in a downward spiral. After a desperate personal search for answers, I found this book and a growing support group of adherents on the internet. Two years later I am drug free, in near normal health and still following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. When one has nowhere to go but up, it is GREAT to find an elevator to the top floor!
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Summary: If you have crohn's or colitus, check it out....BUT....
Review: ...read with caution. I tried this diet for three days, and while my symptoms either disappeared or calmed down, I was so tired I could hardly stand up, despite eating a healthy amount of protein and the book's recommended carbo-replacements. I wish a more serious study would be made: some of the author's assertions (stick to the diet for a year, certain forbidden foods) have no explanation or reasoning behind them. There's also sheer inconvenience: you have to bake all your own bread and cook all your own foods - there is almost nothing you could buy at a restaurant (except maybe salad and meat, depending upon how its cooked). I just can't do this. However, I'm trying to greatly reduce the amount of carbohydrates and incorporate some of her recipies (which are not great either - the author isn't much of a cook). Its still worth checking out, tho, because her reasoning of what causes colitus and crohns is quite plausible, and falls in line with my own experience. Also, doctors generally have made up their mind about this disease: that its incurable, and there's nothing you can do except treat it. Dietary changes DO have an effect - look at the book but be cautious in implementing it.
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Summary: Amazing Book
Review: This book has turned my life around. It took an amazing amount of self control to follow the diet but once I started noticing the benefits it became almost enjoyable! A really informative book that tells you all you need to know to get your health (and life!) back.
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Summary: Change your diet = save your life
Review: One night in 1977 I awoke with what I thought at the time was a bad case of stomach flu -- only it never went away. For the next twenty years I lived with nausea, diarrhea and a host of other unpleasant symptoms that got steadily worse as one physician after another threw up their hands saying they couldn't find anything wrong. By 1997 I was barely able to function. I had given up on conventional medicine (which had labeled my problem "irritable bowel syndrome" which translates to "sorry mate, this is the rest of your life") and had tried every self-help book and every branch of alternative medicine I could think of without success. In the intervening time my problem had expanded to include severe motion sickness: I had to give up my private pilot's license; commercial air travel was agony, even with medication; I couldn't even ride on a train or bus. And I could never be farther than about two minutes' dash from a bathroom. Enter "Breaking The Vicious Cycle." As others have commented here, it looked daunting at the outset: a complete dietary change involving lots of preparation. But I was desperate, so I did it. Within one week, my symptoms were under control. Within a month, they were nearly gone. Now, a year and a half later, I have my life back. I won't say it's easy to change your diet this fundamentally, at least at the outset. But after you've done it -- and after you feel GREAT again -- you find two things: (1) it's worth it; and (2) it's not NEARLY as difficult as it seems when you haven't done it yet. THANK YOU ELAINE GOTTSCHALL. I have no idea what kind of shape I'd be in today without you. But considering where I was headed -- it wouldn't be pretty.
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Summary: nothing short of a miracle
Review: With a great deal of skeptisizm, I read this book over five years ago. Ulcerative colitis was bleeding me to death, not that I had a life much worth living at the time. My world revolved around pain and I could be no further than 30 seconds from a bathroom. Ms. Gottschall, her book, and the diet completely vanquished all my symptoms of UC, saved my life and restored my intestinal health. I've just finished reading the reveiws of Courtney Lewis and a reader from Conneticut, who were both put off by the amount of work involved in maintaining this diet. Perhaps their symptoms were not as crippling as mine. Perhaps they have success with medication and have no problem with staying on it for the rest of their lives. I wish them well and hope they do not eventually require the surgery that many of us with this disease must face. I am concerned however, that their reveiws might prevent even one person from reading the book, which is why I am writing about my own experience. After 6 months on this diet I went for my yearly colonoscopy and my doctor declared my colon to appear "like that of a healthy 18 year old's". I have been off of all medication for over 4 years. I currently facilitate a listserver of almost 400 participents, most of who are on the diet. If anyone is interested in joining it, write me at rturet@optonline.com
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Summary: Read with Caution
Review: This is a very controversial book in the IBD world - I've seen listserve people who swear by it and others who swear about it! Gottschall developed this very restricted diet in response to her daughter developing a severe case of ulcerative colitis. She took her to a husband and wife M.D. team who had published numerous works on Celiac disease and had developed the "Specific Carbohydrate Diet" in response to weeding out foods that trigger intestinal sensitivity. With her daughter's positive response to the diet, Gottschall began a campaign of her own to develop recipes that fit within the guidelines as well as advocated in general about the benefits of this program. When they say "specific carbohydrate" , that's no joke! No flour of any kind, no rice, potatoes, pasta, nothing. Any kind of commercially prepared foods are out of the question as added starches are a common ingredient. This is a no-gluten diet times ten. You grind your own nuts for flour for muffins and a pizza crust is made from shredded zucchini! The recipes in the book (and more than half the book is the recipe portion) seem like they have the potential to be quite good, however, I can't imagine existing on only 35 or so recipes for an extended period of time. Some proponents of the diet stay on it their entire lives but other people have said they simply used the diet for a year or two and then began reintroducing foods successfully. Incredible discipline and vigilance would be necessary to implement this diet to the letter, and I can't help but note that, at least in the case of ulcerative colitis, many individuals' disease "burns out" after a year or two which may coincide with the "cure" this diet offers. Nevertheless, I'm not one to disregard the many testimonials this diet receives but would caution any observant to keep a close watch on their nutritional requirements (since IBD sufferers have difficulty absorbing many nutrients and an elemental diet like this one might reduce available nutrients to begin with - and vitamin supplements with its starches would be out of the question).
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Summary: A Very Tough Diet to Follow
Review: I bought this book, excited that I might actually be able to cure my colitis through Gottschall's diet plan. I was very disappointed to find that the diet takes a lot (I mean, A LOT) of preparation. You would basically have to empty out your cupboards and start again. (Nevermind what the other people in your household might think of this.) I think that if I were really sick, I would go for it and try the diet. But since my colitis is under control with medication, undertaking a wheat-free, sugar-free life seems like a rather monumental task. Also, as far as I can see, the diet doesn't take into consideration that some people are lactose intolerant. But hey, if you're feeling horrible... and you have time to bake wheat-free muffins... Go for it.
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Summary: Proof positive - the SCD works!
Review: I have been on this regimen for three years. During this time I have been drug and symptom free. A year and half ago I posted the following review, which is even more dramatic proof now: After a year and a half on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I finally followed my gastroenterologist's request to get a colonoscopy. After all, it had been over four years since the last time anyone had given me any sort of exam of the gut, and 18 years with Crohns. My doc said "We got all the way to the cecum. No evidence at all of Crohns. No scars. No inflammation. Nothing. You look completely normal." This dietary modification is far better than a drug-induced remission for me because even in past drug-induced 'remissions' my past exams have showed indication of disease. Now there are no drugs, no side effects. I believe this diet is a superior way to bring on a controlled remission. This book guides the patient through the process of understanding their illness, describing the research that contributed to creating the diet, how to start the diet, what foods can be added and when. The book also contains valuable a list of links to "SCDiet" resources and online support groups that are available over the Internet.
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Summary: Thanks to this diet, I have regained my life!
Review: Thanks to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I have regained my life! For many years, ulcerative colitis controlled almost every aspect of my existence - where I worked, social situations, recreation, travel, etc. Having not responded well to medications, I had even reached the point of discussing with my doctor the possibility of having my colon surgically removed. I would never have thought that something as simple as diet could solve this problem.
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