A Regimen for Remission
This log tracks my regimen of attitude, exercise, stress management, and SCD foods. Since I started this regimen in 1997, I've been able to keep my Crohn's in a drug-free remission.

Monkey-see,
monkey-don't
Even though I may have experimented beyond the SCD from time to time, one must remember that everyone is different. Follow the intro diet for 3-5 days, and stick with the SCD until you are completely symptom free for at least one year before experimenting.

Be sure to read:
Intro to Flog
Read Me
Archives
Laura's IBS log
SCD Web Library

Permalinks:
The linked timestamps are your permanent links to individual log entries.

Get the book:
Ready to get your shit together? Got the intestinal fortitude? Yearning for a nirvana of peristalsis? Buy Breaking The Vicious Cycle! Written by Elaine Gottschall B.A., M.Sc., the book includes guidelines for dietary relief and sustainable remission of Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, and other IBDs.

Feel free to contact me if you still have questions.

Dinner: grilled steelhead salmon with walnut-cilantro pesto, sauteed broccoli rabe, tossed salad.
mhs@20:23

Breakast: homemade yogurt, fruit, orange-cranberry nut bread.
mhs@05:59

Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Dinner: chicken soup, snap peas, nut bread.

Lunch: tossed salad, prosciutto ham.
mhs@19:41

Raman is at it again: check out his latest web site post on talking about the SCD in public!

Excerpt:"...The floor opened up to questions. No one spoke. I feared the book signing would begin without a discussion. I came to say something about diet studies, I wasn't sure what. I raised my hand. I spurted out something about 12 years of colitis, finding the SCD diet three years ago. Feeling better. That 500 people on an e-mail list follow the same diet. That my intestines went from bloody hamburger to normal and what did they think of the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. They doctor said he had not heard of the book. I told them it was listed in the back of their book. The journalist shrugged, didn't know what I was talking about. ..." Read more..>
mhs@06:03

Breakfast: homemade yogurt, fruit.
mhs@05:40

Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Dinner: sauteed Swiss chard, chicken soup, a slice of orange-cranberry nut bread.

Lunch: insalata di tonno.
mhs@20:02

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt, orange-cranberry nut bread.
mhs@05:32

Monday, February 25, 2002

Dinner: a light, late dinner after a long, exciting day...sauteed Swiss chard, some celery and organic peanut butter.

Lunch: leftover salmon, broiled sugar snap peas.
mhs@20:25

Sunday, February 24, 2002

Dinner: honey-cayenne grilled salmon, grilled eggplant, broiled sugar snap peas with shallots.

Lunch: leftover sole, sauteed Swiss chard. Snacks: figs, almonds, and that delicious orange cranberry nut bread!
mhs@19:52

Great news! In response to so many requests to remove the restriction to SCDiet.org's Archives directory, and because so many people took the quiz and did so well, we have removed the password protection and are making the directory public access once again! :-)

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt, orange-cranberry bread.
mhs@08:57

Saturday, February 23, 2002

I just brushed my teeth, but my wife handed me some of Lucy's orange cranberry bread and I had to try it...delicious!!! Crumble, crumble on my keyboard! Yum! :-)
mhs@20:27

Dinner: sauteed organic Swiss chard with lemon and garlic, almond-encrusted sole with butter and lemon.

The first meeting of the Tucson intestinal health through diet support group (no formal name has been suggested yet) met at our home this afternoon! Eight were in attendance, and only 3 were experienced SCDers. One guy actually drove down from Phoenix! We discussed our backgrounds and health histories, local doctors, practitioners, the SCD, food resources, and more. Join us for our next meeting on April 6th!

Lunch: tossed salad, curried lentils with havarti cheese. Preceded by fruit and nuts while our entire sales group got some great training at the Dale-Carnegie center here in Tucson.

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.

Dinner, yesterday @ Presidio Grill: broiled sea bass with haricots verts.
mhs@20:00

Friday, February 22, 2002

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt, and a quick conversation with Mik in Denmark regarding scdiet.org.

Check out this really old, interesting site: Olde Crohn!
mhs@06:02

Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Dinner: sauteed kale and garlic, leftover chicken with onions and peppers, leftover red lentil soup.

Lunch: eggplant parmesan, tossed salad.
mhs@20:32

Breakfast: fruit, walnut-carrot muffin.

Yesterday: a light dinner of yogurt and applesauce after yoga. Lunch was a delicious melange of leftover red lentil soup, curried chicken, and Swiss chard with ginger.
mhs@06:11

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt, Lois Lang's bread.
mhs@05:45

Monday, February 18, 2002

Dinner: sauteed home grown Swiss chard with ginger, leftover chicken with onions and peppers, red lentil soup with Swiss chard.

Lunch: tossed salad with mustard vinaigrette.

Morning hike in Catalina State Park: Romero Trail. Snacks of banana, nut and raisin mix.

mhs@19:29

Breakfast: fruit, homemade SCD yogurt.
mhs@08:35

Sunday, February 17, 2002

Check out the new glassbird.com homepage!
mhs@21:33

Dinner: Lucy's red lentil soup with Swiss chard, chicken with onions and peppers, Indian-style.
mhs@19:30

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt, walnut-carrot muffins.
mhs@07:56

Saturday, February 16, 2002

Dinner: grilled trout stuffed with curry, cumin, ginger, and garlic; tossed salad with mustard vinaigrette; leftover cauliflower and eggplant.

Snacks: carrot-walnut muffins.

Lunch: chicken soup, leftover cauliflower and eggplant.

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.
mhs@20:54

Friday, February 15, 2002

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.

Dinner, yesterday: curried cauliflower and eggplant, tossed salad, the last of the veggie lasagna, sliced avocados.

Lunch: leftover salmon, cauliflower "mashed potatoes", and stringbeans with garlic and lemon.
mhs@05:46

Thursday, February 14, 2002

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.
mhs@05:27

Wednesday, February 13, 2002

Dinner: grilled salmon with a walnut-cilantro pesto, curried cauliflower, eggplant and tomatoes.

Lunch: tossed salad, tunafish.
mhs@19:52

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.

Dinner, yesterday @ Feast: marinated mushrooms, artichokes, and red peppers; oxtail stew with carrots and garlic; roasted beets with grapes and blue cheese. Delicious!

Headline: Diet has nothing to do with it - And other fallacies related to intestinal health
Last night Sheila Shea, my wife, and I attended the local CCFA meeting, hoping to hear Dr. Hunter Yost's presentation on alternative medicine and nutritional aspects of IBD. Alas, Yost was a no-show and everyone looked at us, the newbies, to talk about our experiences with the SCD.

I must admit that I really wasn't prepared to "present" about the SCD, and didn't answer questions as directly as I would have otherwise but I think the others got something good from our discussion. As for me, I learned (and re-learned) quite a bit during our short gathering.

First, while every one of us had been told by their GI that "diet has nothing to do with Crohn's" (or Colitis), every one of us agreed that there are problem foods. We also identified that we are individuals, and what may work for many of us, may not work for all of us. In my own case, while many SCDers enjoy eggs, eggs, and more eggs, they almost always run right through me. The exception seems to be when they are a small proportion of the finished product (as in baked nut muffins), or if they are raw and taken in a fruit shake they will not bother me.

Another thing I was reminded of is that most IBDers have to take care to avoid foods which irritate or have the capability of blocking the inflamed intestines. As for me, I started the introductory diet of the SCD from a point of drug-induced stability, and most of my inflammation was gone. Thus, I followed the intro diet and then slowly added cooked veggies, then some raw fruits, carefully. While many in attendance said (or thought) "there is no way I could eat what he just said he eats", the reality is that what I eat now is SCD, but not the introductory diet or what I might eat if I was having a flare-up.

Anyway, that is it for my thoughts from the meeting last night. Stay tuned for the update from the newly-formed (and separate from the above) Intestinal Health Through Diet support group meeting on Feb. 23rd!
mhs@06:57

Tuesday, February 12, 2002

Breakfast: fruit, homemade yogurt.
mhs@05:48

Monday, February 11, 2002

Dinner: vegetable SCD lasagna. Delicious!

Lunch: vegetable SCD lasagna, tossed salad.
mhs@19:48

Breakfast: homemade yogurt, fruit. A new page on scdiet.org: make your own SCD Yogurt!
mhs@05:47

Sunday, February 10, 2002

Dinner: chicken soup.

Brunch was great, but it had the wrong effect on me. I think it was the eggs...I just don't seem to get along with eggs very well. :-(
mhs@20:18

Brunch @ Hacienda del Sol: fruit and a mimosa, followed by a delicious appetizer of shrimp and avocado with horseradish sauce and scrambled eggs with chorizo and sauteed veggies. Awesome!
mhs@14:10

Saturday, February 09, 2002

Dinner: Thai-style sole in a curry and coconut sauce with lemongrass and basil, cauliflower "mashed potatoes", and sauteed stringbeans with garlic.
mhs@18:56

Lunch: tossed salad, avocados.
mhs@13:06

Breakfast: homemade yogurt, fruit, nuts.

Dinner, yesterday: vegetable and turkey lasagna (SCD, of course!), steamed spinach.

Lunch: tossed salad, salmon.
mhs@07:38

Friday, February 08, 2002

Breakfast: homemade yogurt, fruit.

Dinner, yesterday: tossed salad, grilled salmon.

Lunch: tossed salad, tuna.
mhs@05:40

Thursday, February 07, 2002

Letter from a Flog visitor (name withheld):
"I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1992. I'm currently taking 27 pills a day and I'm fed up!! I feel that the meds are aggrevating the disease instead of helping. I developed osteopenia after taking Prednisone for 8 years, so my docs decided to try Remicade. Unfortunately, I'm one of the few who developed fever/chills, severe nausea/cramping, and heart palpitations after treatment. Since this treatment is a "last resort" my doc doesn't seem to have any other suggestions for remission other than continuing to take 27 pills (Budesonide, 6-MP, Pentasa, Prevacid, Levaquin, Kytril/Tigan)a day. First, I'm getting a new doc. Second, I'm going to try the SCD diet! I do have a question after reading your story - what is the environmental link to crohn's? Where can I go for more info on this? Thanks very much!"

Response:
Thanks for your note! I am sorry to read of your past history but from what I read you will probably have success with the SCD. It does not work for everybody but I personally can say I've NEVER heard of the SCD giving people heart palpitations!!!! :-)

As far as the environmental side, one has to look at the big picture. Everything that surrounds is, everything we eat, is absorbed. Some of us are more affected by this than others, often through genetic predisposition. Artificial materials, chemicals, frankenfoods, etc...not good for most people when added up in total. In my specific case, I grew up in CT. In the mid 80's we had a huge infestation of gypsy moth caterpillars in CT and a lot of spraying was done to kill them (or all of the oak and maple trees might have died). I was one of three kids who was diagnosed with CD within a year of each other; we lived less than a mile from each other. Do you think this is a coincidence? I don't.... It may not have been the root cause, but I do believe it was part of the problem, perhaps even a trigger.

Anyway, I eat organic foods now, get exercise, do some yoga each week, follow the SCD, and maintain a positive attitude regarding my ability to keep myself healthy. It has worked for me for the last 5 years! :-)
mhs@05:55

Breakfast: homemade SCD yogurt, fruit.
mhs@05:52

Tuesday, February 05, 2002

Lunch: grilled turkey sausages, snap peas.

Breakfast: homemade yogurt, fruit, nuts.
mhs@13:30

Monday, February 04, 2002

Dinner: leftover Swiss chard, grilled turkey sausages.

Lunch: tossed salad with tuna.
mhs@20:21

Breakfast: fruit, nuts, homemade yogurt.
mhs@05:41

Sunday, February 03, 2002

Dinner: sauteed organic snap peas, sauteed organic Swiss chard, and Sri Lankan-style curried sole. Delicious!!!!

Lunch: tossed salad.

Breakfast: fruit, nuts, homemade yogurt.
mhs@20:13

Saturday, February 02, 2002

Dinner: tossed salad, sauteed collard greens, grilled leeks with a mustard vinaigrette, and grilled salmon with a walnut-cilantro pesto.

I've installed VMWare 3.0 Workstation , and am now able to run Mandrake 8.1 on top of Windows 2000:

mhs@20:26

It is a gorgeous, overcast, morning here in Tucson. If there weren't cactus and mezquite trees outside my window I'd say it was surely going to snow today! But we had our snow on Thursday and it was completely gone by the end of yesterday. Thus, we may get some precipitation but it won't be the white kind unless one is at the higher elevations.

Today will be a relaxing day catching up on a lot of home chores. It is finally February, and I am hoping to relax...January was very busy for us! The SCD Conference, out-of-town guests, trade shows on weekends, long hours at work/school, and more!

Breakfast: carrot-walnut muffin, homemade yogurt, and an apple.

Dinner, yesterday: a stir-fry of beef, chicken, and shrimp with mushrooms and scallions in a spicy sauce.

Lunch: lasagna, tossed salad, salmon. Delicious! Snacks: carrot-walnut muffins.
mhs@08:19

Friday, February 01, 2002

Breakfast: carrot-walnut muffin, an apple, homemade yogurt.
mhs@05:51

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