general advice

[Guest guest]

This is something I posted a few months ago.... may apply to some of you who

are new, or just considering the diet at this point.

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You may not see the same overt symptoms of IBS, Crohn's or colitis, etc... but,

if you are trying this diet to heal a leaky gut with a kid with autism or ADHD,

etc... then there is still most likely a situation where there is overgrowth of

gut pathogens, or an imbalance going on in the gut... or perforations in the

lining of the gut, due to those colonies of bad bacteria.

Once you start SCD, the bad guys will die off ... and be shed from the lining of

the gut, leaving behind tender new tissue that needs to be handled with care,

until the gut flora is balanced again and everything is functioning normally.

This does not happen overnight.

It may happen more quickly with one child than another... but there is no way

for us to predict this or to advise you on when to start more advanced foods.

Once he starts SCD, you may see die-off symptoms and changes in his BMs that

will surprise you. Just keep in mind that tender new tissue in the lining of his

gut... and that you want to be gentle with it... babying it, pampering it...

making everything as EASY TO DIGEST as possible until you are SURE he is ready

for something more challenging.

You may be anxious to move on... to get back to " normal food " , but you can't

push the river. If you're tempted to add things like raw foods too soon, you may

regret it. Be on the safe side... give it a few months and then GO SLOWLY. Add

one new food at a time, and OBSERVE. Keep a journal.... watch for any behavioral

changes, skin changes, bowel changes.

Slow and steady wins the race.... we just can't emphasize this enough. This is

not a " quickie cure " kind of thing. We've just seen SO many parents adding

things like raw, unpeeled fruits and veggies WAY too soon... being

understandably anxious to have easier options and more variety... but many of

these parents have regretted this decision, and have had to backtrack. They have

THOUGHT their child's gut was ready for the more advanced foods, but discovered

that it really wasn't.

The whole end-game point of this diet is TOTAL healing... and being able to

return to a somewhat " normal " diet (although many, MANY of us will never return

to feeding our kids processed, refined grains and sugars). In other words,

EVERYbody wants that... so we all know how you feel. But, for long term

healing... it might be better to go slow and steady now... and not have to take

two steps back in a month or so.

Patti