Re: Carrots/winter squash

[Guest guest]

Hi Meleah,

<< The whole carrot thing has been discussed about whether or not the

carrots of today should be used. We've had discussion about

butternut and acorn squash being more similar to what the heirloom

carrots probably were. My question is what are the moderaters'

thoughts about pie pumpkins and other heirloom squash like carnival,

hubbard, sweet dumpling, ect. Does anyone know if these would be

better, and could they be used in place of carrots? >>

Pie pumpkins would probably be pretty good as they are small and the

smaller vegetables are generally " sweeter " and less fibrous/starchy.

Different people tend to tolerate different vegetables- many swear by

acorn squash, but i have never been able to eat it without getting

sick. All squash are legal and only spaghetti squash comes with the

caveat to be careful if you have strictures.

Over the past few years I have had a number of experiences with

carrots. When I started the diet and was able to tolerate many

different legal foods I had no problems with any type of carrot.

After I ended up with yeast overgrowth (two back to back treatments

of antibiotics) I was unable to eat any type of carrots - big fat

ones, baby carrots, long thin - even if cooked for hours and pureed

with water. Once I got the yeast down to better levels I was okay

with baby carrots as long as they were cooked well. After my most

recent bout of illness I am able to eat all carrots now except the

baby carrots. (The baby carrots caused inflammation even when

pureed). I expect that eventually I'll be able to tolerate them again

My long-winded point is that it may not be completely the fault

of breeding that changes tolerance of carrots. Although different

breeds will have varying levels of fiber and brix (natural sugar

levels) I think that at different times on our path of healing we are

able to tolerate different foods. If you have an upswing of yeast

you may have trouble with some types of carrots (or squash or

something else...), but if you get your levels better you may be okay

with them. If I hadn't tried the carrots again I'd have missed out

on a great source of carbs. I think that a lot of what is thought on

pecanbread as a problem with carrots has more to do with having a

problem with yeast. Many Pecanbread listers have trouble with yeast

and carrots may feed the yeast *in some people*. Others, even with

yeast, are fine with carrots.

Bottom line, if you notice a problem with carrots and you've

cooked and pureed them you may need to eliminate them for a while.

<< Oh yeah, one of the other symptoms that I've seen is gas. Not a

tremendous amount...just a little here and there. However, iel

has never, ever had gas until a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for your

thoughts.

> Meleah scd 05/06

> iel 3.5yrs. asd, Ethan 5yrs., Mark 18mths., both nt >>

With a symptom like gas I'd guess he is trouble digesting something

and " some microbe " is fermenting it. A couple of days on a basic or

intro diet and gradually readding in foods may help alleviate the gas

and pinpoint any problem foods if there are any.Keeping a food

journal if you haven't been doing so will also help point out any

problem foods.

Sheila, SCD Feb. 2001, UC 22yrs

mom of and