re: Elaine

[Guest guest]

We are forever grateful for her resolve.

cathy

> >Marilyn, for some reason this line struck me

> >funny: " It's the old amylose vs amylopectin issue again. "

> >

> >Such conversations! We sound like a bunch of

> >chemistry geeks. How many people in the world would even know what

these are?

>

> ,

>

> Though none of us (at least, no one has recent

> identified themselves as one) are doctors, and

> would not presume to prescribe for anyone else,

> the probability is that each of us knows more

> about the functioning of our particular guts and

> our particular system's functioning than any of the medical

practitioners.

>

> They, of course, know structure and function, and

> how the medications ought to work. Regrettably,

> few doctors are well-educated in nutrition these days.

>

> One of the things I love the best about the SCD

> lists is the level of dedication to taking

> control of one's own health instead of waiting

> passively for a doctor to " do something. " And

> that includes the willingness to learn all that

> chemistry and biology and nutrition " stuff " ... we

> follow in Elaine's foot steps. SHE refused to

> accept that her child's normal life was doomed.

> She found an answer -- and then found out WHY, and passed it on to

us.

>

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

>

[Guest guest]

At 09:57 AM 12/12/2008, you wrote:

How did Elaine know all of this

clinical info? About what people should do? Quantities to eat? Did she

observe it somewhere? Was it learning from her daughter's issues? It

seems her insight is quite incredible.. Was it from the list? I mean how

did she know all of this stuff? Was it a gradual learning process that

happened online as she guided people?

There are so many examples like in details that just astound me as to the

depth of her insight and understanding. Where did this come

from?

Jodi,

First of all, remember that Elaine Gottschall was, first and foremost, a

mother. She saw her beloved daughter become sicker and sicker, to the

point that surgical removal of her colon was considered necessary -- and

was, herself, accused of " doing this " to her daughter. (One

theory at the time held that Crohn's and UC were caused by parental,

especially maternal abuse.)

Then she was introduced to Dr. Haas and his diet, and witnessed her

daughter's miraculous turnaround. Friends and relatives also witnessed

this turn around. Elaine wanted to know why -- but she could not ask Dr.

Haas because he had passed away. So her husband encouraged her to go to

college, starting in her mid-40s. She achieved her degree from Montclair

State College, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She also spent a year at

Rutgers in the department of nutrition.

After a move to Canada, she obtained a Master of Science degree

investigating the effects of various sugars on the digestive tract -- and

spent around five years doing this. She also spent time researching the

changes in the bowel wall in IBD. Her results have been

published.

It was at this point that she was torn -- she wanted to continue her

research -- she loved academic life, but she also recognized how many

thousands of people were suffering as her daughter had suffered, and knew

that the information she held in her hands could be their

salvation.

So, she chose to write Food and the Gut Reaction, which was

renamed Breaking the Vicious Cycle. She self-published it,

and promoted it through what developed into an extensive counseling

practice.

Elaine was a keen observer, and learned from her clients even as she

taught them how to manage their issues. She kept voluminous notes.

In point of fact, she did not come into the on-line community until

around 2001, about the time I started SCD. She had e-mail, and she

answered emails, but the bulk of her counseling was done by telephone and

in person. Turet had started, in 1998 or so, the original Long

Island List, as a way to " pay forward " for her own healing with

SCD. Elaine became very active in that community, but then, as the very

exciting (though unsurprising, if one considers gut biology and its

effect on mental process, as Elaine pointed out in BTVC) effect of

the SCD on children with autism, she realized that she did not have the

energy to continue with two intensely active lists, and shifted her focus

to the Elaine's Children (now Pecanbread) list, because her dream was

always to help the children.

I had the pleasure of corresponding with her. (She read an early draft of

my " SCD Made Easy " book and agreed that it could be a valuable

addition. She also wanted to see my recipes published. In point of fact,

we were going through the Hurricane Katrina mess when Elaine passed

-- I knew she had been ill, but kept hoping -- and SCD friends didn't

tell me at first because they were worried about a double

stress.)

Elaine was a wonderful and insightful woman -- and her observations were

founded in her research. She was not a medical doctor, but in some ways,

her focus on gut biology was all the more intense because of

that.

Hope this helps.

—

Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the explanation Marilyn.

I suspect it's hard pinpointing her intellect and how she had such

amazing insight. I guess as you explained being a mom and having one

on one time with people provided her with a deep understanding besides

the will to share all of it.

Really amazes me.. Especially the subtle nuances and details..

Jodi

SCD 14 months

Crohn's/Colitis