How to Follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

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parts

1Getting Started with the Diet

2Completing the Intro Diet

3Adding New Foods

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Tips and Warnings

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References

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ (SCD) is a strict elimination diet that focuses on removing most carbohydrates from your diet to promote the healing of your digestive system. If successful, the diet may reduce or even eliminate uncomfortable or painful digestive problems, and may relieve diagnosed digestive disorders, such as Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Even if you don't have a diagnosed digestive condition, you may get relief from symptoms such as constipation, gas, and bloating if you follow the SCD. This diet is a trademarked plan that must be followed exactly, starting with the intro diet and then adding new foods gradually.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Started with the Diet

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   Talk to your doctor. If you've read up on SCD and believe it could provide you some relief from your symptoms, get advice from your doctor on whether SCD is right for you. SCD primarily works by starving bacteria in your intestines. If this is not the source of your digestive troubles, SCD may not work and could even damage your health.

   • Although many people do lose weight on SCD, it is not a weight loss diet, and is not promoted as such. Rather, it's a healing diet that is designed to remedy digestive problems and help improve your digestive processes.
   • Get advice from your doctor particularly if you have been diagnosed with a chronic digestive disease or disorder and are currently on prescription medication to treat it. The diet may interfere with your medication, or with other treatments.
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   Read the book. Since SCD is a trademarked system, it is essential to buy the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet, by Dr. Elaine Gottschall, and read it all the way through at least once before starting the diet.

   • You can buy the book online, or pick up a copy at most major bookstores. You also may be able to find a copy of the book at your local library.
   • The official website for the book, www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info, has a list of places where the book is available for purchase.
   • It's probably a good idea to read through the book once just to get a general idea of the diet and what it entails. Then, if you've decided you want to try it, go through it again and take notes.
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   Clean out your kitchen. The SCD is a strict diet plan that must be followed exactly if you expect to see any results. After you've read the book, go through your fridge and pantry and get rid of any foods that aren't allowed, so you won't be tempted.

   • You can find a legal/illegal list online. You may want to print it up so you can use it as a guide while you go through your kitchen.
   • Keep in mind that in addition to food, there also may be seasonings and spices that you'll need to avoid, especially during the first few weeks you're on the diet.
   • If you live with other people who will not be following SCD, you may want to separate their foods from yours and keep them out of sight so you won't be tempted to eat them, especially in the first days when the diet is the most restrictive.
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   Locate resources on the internet. In addition to the official website associated with the book, there are numerous websites and blogs where you can find information about the SCD, including recipes and blogs that describe other people's experiences on the diet.

   • There are some resources listed on the official website for the book, and also some testimonials. Another comprehensive online source for SCD information is www.scdiet.org, which includes links to support groups and detailed background information on SCD if you want to do more research before you commit.
   • While you're deciding whether to start the diet, it's just as important to read negative experiences as it is to read positive ones.
   • There is another book, Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™, by Raman Prasad, that will come in handy once you complete the intro diet and start adding new foods. Many of these recipes are included on the website associated with the book, found at www.scdrecipe.com.
   • You also may find helpful information on websites operated by nonprofit organizations and medical groups dedicated to assisting people with various digestive disorders.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Completing the Intro Diet

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   Get your groceries for the week. The SCD requires you to make many of the things you'll be eating at home. It's typically more convenient to buy the necessary ingredients and make your basic foods in batches. Then you can refrigerate or freeze them and they'll be ready for you throughout the week.

   • Go through the intro diet and the recipes included, and make your list. Focus on whole foods, because you'll have to prepare them specially. For example, you should get whole carrots and peel them yourself rather than buying carrot sticks or other prepared carrots.
   • You'll need several bottles of pressed apple cider or grape juice, since these are the only drinks you're allowed during the intro diet apart from water.
   • Look for large packages of chicken legs and thighs, since you'll need these to make your chicken soup.
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   Make your homemade yogurt. Homemade yogurt is one of the staples of the SCD. Because the SCD starves the bad bacteria in your gut, yogurt is essential to introduce good bacteria to replace the harmful bacteria.

   • You can make homemade yogurt in your oven without needing any special supplies other than a large pot and a thermometer. Pour one or two quarts (liters) of milk into the pot and heat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (about 82 degrees Celsius). The milk must be heated to this temperature to sterilize it. You can use cow milk or goat milk.
   • When you've heated the milk to the correct temperature, turn the heat off and allow it to cool to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (about 21 degrees Celsius). Stir it as it cools, covering it with a towel when not stirring it. If you want smoother yogurt, pour the cooled milk through a sieve to get rid of the skin that forms on the top of the milk.
   • In a separate bowl, mix together some of the cooled milk with a cup of plain commercial yogurt. When you've blended it well (you can use a whisk or an electric hand mixer), add it back to the pot.
   • Cover your pot and place it in the oven with a 60-watt light bulb. You'll need to keep a thermometer in the oven and make sure it stays between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (between 37.7 and 43.3 degrees Celsius). If it gets too hot, prop open the oven door.
   • Allow the milk in the pot to ferment this way for 24 hours, and you'll have your homemade yogurt. Stir it until it's smooth, and refrigerate.
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   Prepare several days' worth of chicken soup. While you're on the intro diet, you'll be eating the SCD homemade chicken soup every day. You may find the intro chicken soup a bit bland, but you can add vegetables and spices to it once you get further into the diet.

   • Put enough chicken thighs and legs into a large stew pot to fill it about halfway. You can use other parts of the chicken as well, but thighs and legs will make your broth more flavorful.
   • Peel about 10 carrots and add them into the pot with the chicken, then fill the pot with water. You can season with salt to taste.
   • Simmer your soup for about four hours, then strain it through a colander or strainer. Skim off the top layer of fat and you have your broth.
   • Puree the carrots in a blender and return them to the broth.
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   Adhere to the menu strictly. The SCD is a healing diet, designed to starve the harmful bacteria in your gut and replace it with beneficial bacteria. In the first few days you begin the diet, you may experience severe cramping and diarrhea.

   • During the first few days, you'll need to monitor the color and consistency of your stools. With the initial die-off of bacteria in your gut, your stools likely will change color several times over the course of the intro diet.
   • You should follow the strict intro diet until you are producing healthy stools. The length of time this will take varies greatly from person to person. Some people only need to be on the intro diet for a couple of days, while others must follow it for as long as a week.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Adding New Foods

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   Study the legal/illegal list. As you start adding new foods, you'll need to become very familiar with the SCD list of legal foods, and understand when you can start to add certain foods. Some should be added before others.

   • The list is included in the book. You also can find searchable databases of legal/illegal foods so you can quickly find something in which you're interested rather than having to read through a whole list.
   • You can find a browsable list on the book's official website, which is organized alphabetically.
   • Look for your favorite foods, and mark or highlight them on the list so you know the earliest time you can add them and you can focus on adding the foods you like first.
   • You also might want to look through some recipes and find some that you like. Check the ingredients and add those foods at the earliest point so your meals will have more variety.
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   Make juices and nut butters at home. Commercial juices and nut butters typically contain preservatives and sugars that aren't allowed on SCD. While you may be able to find organic, all-natural versions at specialty and health food stores, it typically is cheaper to make your own.

   • Making your own juices also allows you to dilute the juice properly and ensure all pulp is removed, which is required by the SCD.
   • Check the book for instructions on when you can start adding other juices and nut milks or nut butters to your diet.
   • Generally speaking, you should wait until you've been on SCD for about three months to add nut milks, flours, and butters. The main reason to wait three months is so you can use a variety of nuts. Early in the SCD, you can only eat limited types of nuts. Introduce them slowly.
   • With juices, you can add them whenever the book tells you that you can add that fruit. Follow the instructions in the book for making your juices, and make sure you aren't adding any sugar.
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   Keep a food journal. A food journal allows you to carefully monitor the food you eat as you follow the SCD. This is particularly important after you've completed the intro diet and start to add new foods.

   • You may have a negative reaction that you don't immediately associate with the introduction of a new food, since symptoms may not occur right away. Your food journal will help you better make the connection.
   • Also keep in mind that having "withdrawal" symptoms after eliminating certain types of food from your diet is not uncommon. Having a food journal can help you to distinguish these symptoms from a negative reaction to a new food.
   • Certain substances in food, such as sugar and caffeine, can be addictive. If your diet included these substances you may want to taper off of them slowly before you start the SCD.
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   Observe your digestive system. Even though you may see timeline-based suggestions, the SCD is based on how far along you are in the healing process. Your digestive health determines when you can introduce new foods, and how much you can introduce at a time.

   • Keep in mind that the initial symptoms of bacterial die-off in your intestines can continue for as long as three weeks – even after you've transitioned beyond the intro diet and started introducing other foods.
   • Include your observations in your food journal, so you know how your body is reacting to the specific foods you're eating and can determine when it is safe to add new foods.
   • If you have a negative reaction such as diarrhea after introducing a new food, take that food off the menu and allow your system to adjust, then re-introduce it more slowly if it's something you like and want to be able to eat.
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   Introduce new foods one at a time. If you introduce several new foods at once and experience bad symptoms, you won't know which new food is the culprit. For this reason, you should leave a day or two between new food introductions so you can monitor your body's reaction.

   • The SCD doesn't require you to add any new food at any time. You shouldn't add a food if you already have a known allergy or sensitivity to it.
   • Keep in mind that with a healthier gut, you may have sensitivities to a particular food that you never noticed before. Even if you enjoyed a food before you started the SCD, you still should introduce it slowly in small amounts.
   • If you notice a negative reaction after introducing a new food, take that food away and see if your system stabilizes. You can re-introduce the food more slowly if you want to have it in your diet, but you may want to wait a few weeks before doing so.
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Warnings

• While many individuals have experienced relief from various gastrointestinal disorders as a result of strictly following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, there is no evidence that any particular diet completely cures any intestinal diseases or disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease. If you find SCD too limiting or it doesn't affect your symptoms, you may want to try something else.
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