Re: first couple of days on the SCD

[Guest guest]

>

Hi Jazz,

You are not alone with the " plain water " issues. I often feel

very gurgly and gassy if I drink water (even if room temperature

and sipped). Not sure what this is, but I still try to include

liquids in my diet too.

The " die-off " symptoms sound pretty normal. It takes the gut a

while to settle down but it will.

Best wishes for success,

Ronnie

>

>

> Ok, I survived day one. Day two is starting out with me feeling

really

> crampy in the lower intestine. Not an unusual feeling for me

actually, but

> one I haven't had in a few weeks. Is this probably the famous " die

off "

> that I have been reading so much about?

>

> Next question. And, I know this one is probably one that is going

to get me

> in trouble because I saw the answer to fennel seed tea.

>

> I can't have caffeine due to a heart condition, and I can't have

mint teas

> due to a problem with my Lower Esophageal Sphincter (it is actually

> weakened by mint). So, I have been drinking soy coffee and herbal

teas.

> Now, of course the soy coffee went away. It's the herbal teas that

I have

> questions about. I sent an email through referencing an email from

the list

> from 1994 talking about how to test foods. I haven't seen it hit

the list

> yet, but my question is about that. The person who sent the email

talked

> about Elaine constantly testing new foods and that there was a way

for us to

> do so also.

>

> If we are to support ourselves on the SCD I would imagine that

being able to

> take in fluids would be one of the more important things that we

should be

> able to do.

>

> I cannot drink plain water. I literally throw the stuff right back

up.

> Strange, but true. Grape juice, juices in general are all right,

but I can

> only tolerate them for a short period of time. I had found one

> decaffeinated tea that I enjoyed, but it was commercially produced

and

> therefore full of sugar. I do know that there are deaf teas on the

market

> and I could brew my own, but there really is still caffeine in them

(as was

> in the commercial tea I drank - so I limited myself to a glass a

day and

> watered it down). Thus, mostly the herbal teas.

>

> I've read the lemonade recipes that have come across - they sound

really

> good and I plan to try that when I am off the Initial Start-Up

Diet. But, I

> imagine I will become pretty tired of just lemonade.

>

> Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not really into mixing up fancy

drinks. I

> like to keep it simple and " on the go " . Especially since I have so

much

> other new stuff that I am having to learn right now. My favorite

herbal is

> based on the honeybush from Africa. Anyone know anything about it?

>

> Sorry to be so long here, but fluids are going to become an issue

for me

> pretty soon, and I don't that they really should be. So, I need

help with

> this one.

>

> Thanks,

> Jazz

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jazz,

<<Ok, I survived day one. Day two is starting out with me feeling really

crampy in the lower intestine. Not an unusual feeling for me actually, but

one I haven't had in a few weeks. Is this probably the famous " die off "

that I have been reading so much about?>>

Yes, it certainly can be.... though not everyone has the same symptoms. It

should be temporary.

<<It's the herbal teas that I have >> <<Thus, mostly the herbal teas.>>

<<My favorite herbal is based on the honeybush from Africa. Anyone know

anything about it?>>

I know this might sound like a broken record... as far as what we can recommend

on the list, we have to stick to the mint tea, or the other regular weak tea

(which I know you can't have). If you want to experiment with yourself, you are

free to do so... although we certainly don't recommend it, especially when

you're a beginner.

You *can* go ahead and " break the rules " , if it makes sense to you... or you

simply can't tolerate the legal options. But, you have to keep in mind that what

you decide to try cannot be broadly recommended to everyone else as " legal " ...

at least not here. And, as always, we beg you to pull those things you decide to

try, if you don't make the progress you had hoped to, and go back to EXACTLY

what it says in the book.

WITH THAT SAID, HOWEVER, as I read BTVC and the section on herb teas, Elaine is

basically saying to limit the use of herb tea to only peppermint or spearmint

because " some herb teas can be laxative " . She doesn't say which ones, but I am

assuming that since the book was originally written for those who have GI

disorders that involve diarrhea... she was writing with that concern in mind.

She knew the mint teas would not have that effect.

Now, if you look at many of the SCD recipes in BTVC and elsewhere, you'll see a

number of herbs for cooking that are allowed, such as sage, thyme, basil,

parsley, etc. For cooking, Elaine also says that " spices of all kinds may be

used " , but she says to buy them all separately... no mixtures that may contain

starches.

Now, for example, I use ground cumin all the time... it is legal, but not to be

used in the first three months. I would not use it whole, only in ground form.

Cumin seed is very similar to fennel seed. I can't personally see any reason why

ground fennel would be illegal for someone on SCD over three months... if it was

to be used in a recipe... but I am NOT SURE on this, and will stand corrected if

there is some reason why not. Ground coriander (cilantro seed) is also SCD

legal, and is somewhat similar to both of the above... can be used ground, but

not whole. I know I seem to be digressing, but....

With those guidelines for what can be used to season FOODS, I see no reason why,

for example, someone couldn't make a cup of sage or cinnamon tea (using whole

cinnamon sticks that you would discard, not eat). That might be " bending " the

rules a bit, if you look at it in the strictest sense, but it makes logical

sense to me that if you can season your food with it, you ought to be able to

pour hot water over it and drink it. With that said, one shouldn't drink great

quantities of strong tea, made from ANYthing.

SIDE NOTE: Because this came up recently in another list question, I personally

can't quite see why fennel seed TEA would not be okay.... at least for someone

who is not a brand-new beginner... but I can't recommend it for anyone here

because it goes against Elaine's advice, which I prefer to defer to. (I can

imagine having an hour-long, spirited discussion on the pros and cons of fennel

tea with her, though!) If I were to decide, on my own, to go ahead and brew

fennel tea for myself, that would be MY decision.... not something I would or

could declare to be legal for everyone. Enough said.

The problem with just generally recommending " herb teas " is that there are some

herbs that are what's called " mucilaginous " ... and I just don't know enough

about each one to know which are and which are not (I know slippery elm is one

example of a mucilaginous herb). You can go read up on " mucilaginous herbs " in

the Knowledge Base at Elaine's site, then do further searching on your own to

determine which ones they are. Those are to be strictly avoided. For all I know,

fennel seed may be one of the " mucilaginous " ones... so, there you go.

I have NO CLUE whether the African honeybush is one of those... or not. So...

anyway, for the majority of new SCD'ers, it's safer to stick with the " tried and

true " , in terms of what we can recommend.

*Gee, do I have a way of making things clearer... or just MORE confusing, or

what???*

<<I've read the lemonade recipes that have come across - they sound really

good and I plan to try that when I am off the Initial Start-Up Diet. But, I

imagine I will become pretty tired of just lemonade.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not really into mixing up fancy drinks. I

like to keep it simple and " on the go " .>>

I like drinking hot lemonade in the morning.... a wedge of fresh lemon, squeezed

into a cup of hot water, with honey stirred in.

For a change, that is also nice when you're feeling kinda " icky sicky " in the

tummy.... you could put a couple of slices of fresh ginger root in the cup, pour

hot water over and let steep a few minutes, then squeeze in the lemon. Pull out

the ginger slices and stir honey in. The fresh lemon-ginger hot drink is REALLY

helpful when you have a cold or cough, too.

Elaine's recipe for the " electrolyte " drink is a good option, too.... if you're

feeling rotten, or are dehydrated.

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/electrolyte_drink.htm

Patti, who is very long-winded today

[Guest guest]

Patti,

Clear as mud.

Charlene

*Gee, do I have a way of making things clearer... or just MORE confusing, or

what???*