Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet

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Summary: Have Questions? Need Support? Join the SCD Listserv!
Review: There's a very active listserv (e-mail support group) for followers of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet ("Breaking the Vicious Cycle"). Feel free to join, meet other SCDers, share support, get your questions answered, and swap recipes. Here's how to subscribe:

Send a blank e-mail (no subject, no message) to:

[e-mail] (regular subscription) or [e-mail] (digest subscription)

Once your subscription is confirmed, go ahead and post an intro to:

[e-mail]

See ya there! :-)

MG / Crohn's disease, 18 months on the SCD (so far), in remission, medication-free, and feeling terrific

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Summary: Ulcerative Colitis ...GONE!
Review: If you suffer from IBD or Ulcerative Colitis, buy this book, throw away your mac-&-cheese and make yogurt with what's left of the milk in your fridge. You'll be glad you did. I've had Ulcerative Colitis for 10 years. I started the diet three weeks ago. It's gone. The worst was gone in 2 days - I'm not kidding and neither is anyone else here. The food is delicious - make the time. You are worth it. Your health is worth it, and it's much more fun being healthy. I'm doing research to make sure, and I'm finding out so far that the principle of specific disaccharide and polysaccharide elimination is a bull's eye. Thanks Elaine.

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Summary: Excellent results - A LIFESAVER!
Review: I am a 76 year old woman that has suffered with IBS for years which led to UC. This last year my condition of UC got worse and worse with bleeding, diarrhea, etc. I was getting weaker and weaker, homebound with no ability to do inside and outside chores. I had a sigmoidoscopy and a colonoscopy, and all doctors could do was tell me what my symptoms were. They gave me medications that were of no help at all; in fact they made me worse. I was given Elaine Gottschall's book, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle." I stuck with the instructions and within only a few days, much to my amazement, the bleeding and diarrhea stopped! I've been on this diet for 5 months, following it faithfully and feeling wonderful. All symptoms have disappeared! I am a new person with energy as I never had before. I have also lost 17 lbs, now a small woman, stabilized at 120 lbs since starting this diet. I have been able to expand my meal varieties on my own and have been able to make some delicious dishes. Now, my question is, when can I go back to a regular diet of eating carbohydrates and sugars (in moderation, of course) - especially concerning going to restaurants and friends' homes for meals? Also, can I use balsamic vinegar on my salad?

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Summary: Interesting Guide to Diet and IBD
Review: This popular book, written by a biochemist and cell biologist, got its start when Gottschall's daughter was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at a young age. She developed the "Specific Carbohydrate Diet," a strict grain-free, lactose-free, and sucrose-free regimen, as an alternative to medication and surgery. The diet is intended to starve anaerobic bacteria in the intestinal tract, similar to the use of antibiotics for Crohn's. No clinical trials have been conducted on its effectiveness for IBD as far as I know, but if you are looking for alternative approaches you might try this dietary approach.

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Summary: Reading this book changed my life!
Review: I have Celiac Disease and FMS and this book is the ONLY thing that has given me control over my health. I was on steroids and 8 other prescriptions for various symtoms related to the CD and FMS. This diet eliminated my digestive symtoms and reduced my pain levels by 85%. I am now off of most medication and am living a much more normal life with a lot less pain.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has GI problems. In my humble opinion, any doctor (especially a GI doctor) who tells you that diet isn't a major factor in GI disorders is on the verge of mal practice! I finally found a doctor who recommended this book and with his help I have regained my health. For those of you who suffer from Fibromyalgia -- this diet reduced my pain levels and other allergic tendencies more than any medication or the other MANY, MANY things I tried.

This is not the easiest diet to follow but it is worth what you gain and is maybe the only way people with major GI abnormalities can live a normal life. Before you try surgery -- try this diet!

I wish you good luck and good health!

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Summary: You can regain your health
Review: I've suffered from UC for many years. I've been on high doses of Pred (80mg) and my disease kept getting worse. I was faced with going on Cyclosporaine or having surgery. I decided to try this died as a last ditch effort even though my doctor swore that UC has nothing to do with diet. Well, he was wrong. My results were immediate. I've been on the diet for 7 weeks now. I stopped bleeding on the 4th day. I usually go to the bathroom once or twice a day. I'm not 100% yet but I'm getting there. I feel so health on this diet. I implore anyone with UC/CD to try this diet. The diet may not always be easy but it beats UC. When my symptoms are totally gone, I will stay on the diet.

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Summary: Eat whole, natural foods and become healthy.
Review: After five years of deepening food intolerance and seeking help from doctors (and their drug therapies) and almost every other kind of health practitioner including herbalists, naturopaths, accupuncturists and more, I landed in intensive care.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has given me health . It is not easy to follow in a world of processed food, but given the options, there is no choice.

This is not a fad diet. No further costs for "more information" or "deeper understanding" are involved. It is the diet of the omnivors from which we evolved (with a few additions).

The support group which includes many CD, IBD and UC people and their caregivers, helps new folks get with the program and SUCCEED.

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Summary: Finally, a light at the end of a tunnel!
Review: I have followed the diet for 4 months now and am feeling so much better. I've had ulcerative colitis for 20 years and this is the first time I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The food is good and it makes sense, my only complaint is that I don't like to cook and this diet requires more cooking, but that's a small price to pay!

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Summary: SCD works, even after multiple surgeries
Review: I've been on the SCD diet since June/97 and it does work. I've had 40 inches of small bowel removed after two surgeries, and SCD works.

Elaine does a good job of explaining the principles of the diet and is a must read for any IBD sufferers (Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, IBS). Regardless what the so-called medical specialists say, diet change does matter. Within two days of starting the diet, all my heartburn problems have disappeared ever since.

I started the SCD diet because I was having a flare-up (lost weight, frequency, ...) and my specialist wanted me to nose-tube feed myself at night. I chose the diet instead and have been feeling good without regrets, and I am sure the SCD prevented the need for a 3rd surgery.

Check out the SCD website at http://www.inform.dk/djembe/scd/ which provides a lot of support and testimonials. Also, you'll find information on joining the Long-Island internet support mailing list for SCD.

Get the book. Live the diet. Enjoy your life again. Feel free to contact me... Dan.

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Summary: Amazing Results: No pain, no meds, excellent health
Review: Anyone diagnosed with ibd or ibs who is striving to feel better, avoid surgery, gain energy, and acquire excellent health on all fronts - should read this book. Despite what traditional GIs will say about ibd - diet DOES matter. I've been following the diet for 9 months now - I feel great and have been able to gradually taper off of steriods. Thank you Elaine Gottschall!!!