Rating: 
Summary: Something to digest
Review: If you have UC,Chrohns,Ceiliac Disease,IBS and other intestinal disorders this is your best chance of getting well.The theory is well presented at the start and makes a lot more sense than heavy drugs and surgery.There is an amount of discipline involved (it ain't easy) but neither is planning your day around looking for toilets. It does make sense that you need to starve the problem-causing bacteria
and then re-populate the gut with friendly bacteria. I found this basic idea simple to understand and (with a little bit of willpower)now have my problem in remission. Specialist amazed, life back in my control and....phew! I'm glad I read the book!!
Rating:
Summary: U REELY NED TO REED THIS BUUK
Review: THIS RULLY WERKS. I HAD CONSTUPASHUN AND I RED THIS BOOK AND I DID NOT HAVE IT ANYMURE. IT WILL ALZO KURE ANY THING ELZE THAT YOU GOT LIK HERPEES OR CRABS OR DANDUR OR STOMAK AKE.IF YUR CHILE HAS LERNING PROBLUMS IT WILL ALSO FIX EM. PLEESE BUY THIS BOOK AND U WILL SEE.
Rating:
Summary: must have
Review: Crohns for 15 years. This diet is the best answer I have found.
Rating:
Summary: Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet
Review: Why did I like the book? It gave me what I've been searching for for years: HEALTH! I've been to numerous doctors for alternative health care and nutritional supplements, spending thousands of dollars. I'm sure some of the things I've tried were good for my health, but they did not ultimately affect my Crohn's Disease. My health problems began in April 1990 when I underwent a fissurectomy/sphincterotomy, and although Crohns waxes and wanes with good days and bad days, I've never had the GREAT and SUPERB days I've had the last 2 months I've been on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and without medicine. My doctor always told me there is no research to show that any specific foods affect Crohns disease, just "don't eat what bothers you". I have tried to do that, but it is very difficult to figure out what foods are affecting the disease. It's spelled out very scientifically in the book, and for that I am eternally grateful!!!
Rating:
Summary: Happy to be healthy.
Review: This book has changed my life. No joke. I am a woman in my 20's and I have had crohn's disease for many years. After being diagnosed 2 years ago I was depressed and felt powerless. No cure is a terrible prognosis to live with. I found this book and figured I had nothing to loose. It's a little dull to read, but the bottom line is that the diet works. My new doctor was shocked to find that I am not on any maintanence drugs and never have been, but I live a basically symptom free life. All thanks to this diet. My recent x-rays are proof that the diet is working. I won't lie to you, the diet involves some sizable sacrafices. Some days it's really hard to not eat whatever you want, but feeling great makes it worth it. A year into the diet I find my tastes have matured and I love many foods that I wouldn't have discovered if not on this diet. Overall, I'm much healthier in every respect. I no longer live in fear of flare ups and the damage they do. Best of all, I can avoid harmful drugs. Try the diet in this book. It could change your life, too.
Rating:
Summary: Chrohns - getting your life back
Review: This book is a godsend for all sufferers of all manner of intestinal diseases. As a Chrohns sufferer I have faithfully followed the diet for the past year after the medical community consistently told me that no matter what I ate it is an inevitability that some of my ileum would have to be removed. I no longer live with that fear. The diet has enabled me to take control over my life and regain health - I am drug and symptom free and intend to continue with the diet in order to remain this way. The diet is strict and results can only be reached through fanatical adherance to the guidelines laid out in the book. This can take some effort and vigilence but how important is your health? It can be complicated and there are several webgroups (detailed in the book) with an ever increasing number of volunteers dedicated to answering questions and giving advice to all newcomers (an invaluable resource and welcoming community of fellow sufferers). Elaine Gotteschall at the age of eighty has spent many many years helping people with intestinal diseases through her research and the fact that the medical community, for the most part, ignore this important scientific work is their loss - do not let it be yours. Take control!! Read the book and the many reviews here and decide for yourself if you want to continue to live your life with poor health - is that as good as it gets????????????
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Summary: This book is a fantastic help for many conditions!
Review: The Specific Carbohydrate diet is a great diet for people whose stomachs have carbohydrate malabsorption.Carbohydrate malabsorption is the cause of many gastrointestinal symptoms.By avoiding the hard to digest carbs, people on this diet are able to heal their digestive systems. The exciting news is that other disorders are also caused by carbohydrate malabsorption..
Many types of autism,for example, are also caused by carbohydrate malabsorption Dr. Karoly Horvath and his colleagues at the
Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland
conducted a clinical trial of thirty-six autistic
children with evaluation of intestinal enzymes
(lactase, maltase, sucrase, gluco-amylase, etc.). They
found that 58% of the children had low
disaccharidase/gluco-amylase enzyme levels. The
researchers suggested that carbohydrate malabsorption
may be the cause of many gastrointestinal symptoms
seen in autistic children including abdominal pain,
gas, bloating, and chronic diarrhea or loose stools. Working at Harvard/MassGeneral Hospital, Dr. Timothy
Buie a Pediatric Gastroenterologist has also
undertaken an evaluation of the digestive enzyme
function in several hundred children diagnosed with
autism. Dr. Buie found that the autistic children he
examined also showed disaccharide enzyme levels below
normal. Some 55% of these children had lactase
deficiencies (which breaks down lactose in milk) as
well as deficiencies of the enzyme sucrase
(responsible for digestion of table sugar). The work of these two respected physicians and their
colleagues provides an important picture as to why SCD is the answer to children with autism. Right now,there are 2 internet lists of parents who are healing their autistic children with SCD.The name of the the lists are ElainesChildren and SCDietkids,and they belong to yahoo groups. In the future more and more conditions will be helped with this wonderful diet.
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Summary: If you have tried everything and nothing worked..
Review: I read an article on the book in the Wall Street Journal and decided, "What have I got to lose?" After several years with Crohn's disease I have tried everything that a caring GI doctor could give me, including lots of Remicade. When I began the diet I was in bad shape, despite a Remicade infusion weeks earlier; now, after a month on SCD I am Remicade free and doing better than I have done on any drug. I really think that Ms. Gottschall is on to something with her hypothesis about the causes of IBD. Or,if this really is a placebo effect, it's the very first one I've ever managed to have and I'm delighted. Perhaps I'll have to take out long-care health insurance after all!
I recommend the book if you have IBD and are willing to try the diet VERY faithfully for a month. After that you'll have to evaluate the results and make a decision about continuing with it or not. Despite some inconveniences and yes, even sacrifices, (eating out is not easy!), for me they are far outweighed by the inconveniences of a chronic intestional disease.
The only reason I don't give the book five stars is that I am uncomfortable with the idea that following this diet is going to help the mentally ill. Ms. Gottschall doesn't say outright that it will, but she does suggest a brain-body link that has given hope to some desperate people, especially parents of autistic children. But of course, I have no evidence one way or another about this.
Rating:
Summary: Modern Medicine Will Eventually Catch Up
Review: This book has changed our lives. My husband has suffered from IBS symptoms for the last 8 years. He was miserable and depressed as this disease began to rule his life, not to mention the physical stress and pain it caused. We sought help from every well-known specialist (New York, CT) and got diagnoses ranging from intestinal parasites to lactose intolerance to stress (none of which were true). We tried dietary restrictions, scientifically eliminating certain foods which we were guessing to be at fault (spices, lettuce, peppers, onions, garlic, seeded veggies, etc.) to no avail. We tried natural remedies like aloe vera juice, intestine and colon cleansers. Again, no luck. As a last resort, we got this book after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. From Day 1, he felt better. That was 3 weeks ago. Since then, he has had more good days than bad. His spirits are up, and I see the joyful and optimistic man I married returning! He sees the results, and has become absolutely manic about sticking to the diet. During the first few days he was worried about all the things he couldn't eat - now he raves about all the things he still CAN eat, and is loving it all. Protein and vegetables are a HUGE category. When we miss the starch, we cook up an awesome wild rice recipe from Wolfgang Puck that satisfies the craving. The medical community doesn't formally endorse this diet, but the WSJ reported that many physicians are suggesting their patients give it a try when all else fails. Thanks a million, Ms. Gottschall. My hubbie is on the mend, and so is our life together!!
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Summary: Where are The Bathrooms?
Review: After years of travelling on business trips, going shopping to the mall, grocery shopping or just taking a trip to nowhere, my first question was "where are the bathrooms? I have suffered many years with the bloating, gas, blood, intestinal pain and diarrhea followed by weight loss. Also how many sleepless nights can one take because of the constant intestinal rumblings? This book has been a lifesaver for me. It is not an easy diet to follow but you must be persistent. Elaine's book helped me to the point where I'm no longer on medication and I am no longer looking for the bathroom when traveling!
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