Inbox: Legality Questions
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Hi Erin,
Are gluten free products okay? If not, what's the difference...is it the sugar we have to watch out for in the gluten free products? Like there is a gluten free soy sauce available...would that be okay? DC Hi DC, Gluten free-products are usually not okay, because while the SCD is gluten-free, it's also much more than gluten-free since it eliminates all sugars except fruit sugar and honey, all grains (even rice), and all lactose. I have listed all legal products that I am aware of and have worked okay for me on my Prepared Products page if you want to take a look at that. (More are listed on the Facebook page as well.) Whenever you have a question about whether something is legal, a good resource is the legal/illegal list, the Knowledge Base and the Search function on the official SCD website. Also, be sure to read the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall to grasp the whole science behind the diet, the list of what is legal and not legal, etc. This will help you whenever you have a question about whether something is legal or illegal. Erin _________________ Hi Erin, I was just wondering why you list the Spectrum Organic Mayonnaise as legal since it is made with soybean oil; which is listed as illegal on the breakingtheviciouscycle.info site. I was wondering if maybe I'm reading the ingredients on the wrong product, or if you just aren't sensitive to it. Wondering Hi Wondering, In the BTVC book, it states that all oils are legal - even oils made of illegal products such as soy or corn. This is what I have been going by, since it is in the book and people have gotten totally well by following the book for years. I'm not sure why the website states that soy oil is illegal, and haven't gotten a good answer on that. I am assuming that some people just want to avoid soy oil because they don't like the source that it comes from. Spectrum does make one mayonnaise that is made with all the same ingredients but uses canola oil instead, if you prefer to try that. (Top of the list at this link: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=57) Erin ______________________ Wow! What a great resource! Thank you for putting this together for us! I was just diagnosed in November 2009, after 35 years of apparent health. The doc wanted me to go on Entocot and Immuran right away, but I wasn't comfortable with that. A friend told me about BTVC, I bought it, and by the end of the first week after the diagnosis I was on this diet. Almost 4 months later I am still doing well, but have needed new recipes, so your site is just what I need! I feel I CAN make a difference with diet! Quick question....I am seeing a Naturopath and taking supplements. Do you take supplements or do it just with diet? MC Hi MC, Thanks for your note! I'm so glad to hear that you've been responding so well to the diet! I'm happy that the website has been such a good resource for you. The only supplements I take are the SCD legal multivitamin from www.freedavitamins.com and also a Vitamin D supplement from Trader Joe's that looks to be totally legal. There can be illegal fillers in a lot of supplements, so you have to watch out for that since the goal is to be 100% on the diet for it to completely work for you. You can find a good list of legal and illegal supplement fillers at this link:http://breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/supplements.htm And for a list of vitamins made specifically for the SCD, see this link:http://www.lucyskitchenshop.com/freedavitamins.html and this link:http://www.lucyskitchenshop.com/acidophilus.html or this link:http://www.digestivewellness.com/subcategoryitems-digestive_wellness_scd_legal_food-vitamins-24-15.html You can also order them directly from Freeda Vitamins. Erin ___________________ Hi Erin, I have a strange question. Did you ever avoid Iodized salt? My daughter who has UC noticed that it contains dextrose. I never thought of looking at the ingredients of a salt container because I thought it only contained salt. Does it really make a difference regarding the SCD diet if one uses the iodized salt? What do you use? KM Hi KM, That's a good question! I looked it up on the official SCD website and it said that the dextrose in salt is ok, and that was because iodine is an important nutrient to our bodies. I have used it the whole time I've been on the diet and have had no problems with it. Erin |
Hi Erin,
I am wondering why exactly chickpeas (garbanzo beans) which are in the legume family are illegal (sad because I love them so much and it would help to have an explanation). Also, is coconut flour (as in your biscotti recipe) just ground dried shredded coconut which I can prepare in the food processor or is it actually a different product. Thanks in advance for your help!! TC Hi TC, The reason chickpeas (or anything illegal for that matter) are not legal on the SCD is because they contain long-chain carbohydrates, which is what we're avoiding completely in order to not feed the bad bacteria that grow by feeding on the long-chain carbs. You might try navy beans, soaked overnight, and cooked for several hours in water with salt and onions (optional) added instead of chickpeas. Of course, follow directions in BTVC on when to add these (I believe it's after several months of no symptoms). Coconut flour is actually different than blenderized coconut. You can find it at Sprout's or sometimes the grocery store, under the Bob's Red Mill label (usually a whole bunch of different flours of this brand are all together in the baking ingredients section). Or you could also buy it through www.tropicaltraditions.com. (Also follow instructions on coconut in BTVC; I beleive again it's several months of no symptoms.) Erin _____________ Hi Erin, About cheese, how intensely do I need to study the ingredients? I had some yesterday and I wasn't sure if it was totally legal but it hasn't seemed to bother me. I read Elaine's instructions on cheese but what if it says annatto, or vegetable coloring, as an ingredient? Also I know she says fresh garlic but I wondered if I could use the kind that you keep in the fridge that is packaged in water or whatever? The only ingredient it has other than legal stuff is phosphoric acid and I couldn't find anything that said that was illegal. Thanks again!!!! JM Hi JM, As long as a cheese is on the list of legal cheeses in the BTVC book (like cheddar, jack, fresh parmesan, etc.), and it's just a plain block of cheese, it should be legal. You don't want anything low-fat, or shredded as the shredded cheese has starches added to prevent clumping. The vegetable coloring and annatto is okay. I use the jarred garlic with no problems. If it just contains garlic, oil and citric acid (or similar preservative) it's fine. (Phosphoric acid is also okay.) Erin __________________ Hi Erin, Thank you for your wonderful website. I started the SCD a few weeks ago to treat my U.C. and this is a truly great resource. I have 2 questions I'm hoping you can help me with: 1. Why are all canned tomatoes considered illegal? I am used to using a cans of whole canned tomatoes San Marzano (DOP) tomatoes in which the ONLY ingredient is whole tomatoes. I understand that many types of canned tomato products contain sugar but if I am 100% sure that these don't do you think they are safe to use? 2. Do you have an explanation as to why garbanzo beans which are in the legume family (which in general are legal: lentils, white beans, navy beans...etc) are illegal? TW Hi TW, From what I have read, all canned vegetables are illegal because of the process they use to can them. Also, you don't know what kind of equipment they were cooked/canned on; whether there were illegal products made on the same equipment which would contaminate the other vegetables. I highly recommend making your own tomato juice and sauce using boiled down Campbell's tomato juice with spices like oregano and basil to flavor it. It's quite easy and totally worth it! I actually helped someone who kept having symptoms even though they had been doing teh diet they thought 100% for a number of months...I asked them for a list of what they were eating, and Hunt's Tomato Sauce was on the list. I told them to take that out of their diet and immediately they were symtpom-free! So it really does matter what you eat, and to be very vigilant about what products you include in your diet. My Prepared Products page lists all the products that I know about that are legal and I have had no reaction to myself. The explanation for anything that is illegal is that they have long-chain carbohydrates in them. There are only a few types of beans that don't have long-chain carbs in them and those are the ones that are legal, once you have been symtom-free on the diet for a few months, and they have to be prepared according to the BTVC book: soaked overnight, the wather poured off, and then cooked. Erin |
For a sample letter you could use to write to a food manufacturer asking about ingredients, click here.
