SCD Legal Meals – Lunch

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Lunch

How do you fancy a tasty omelette?
SCD Legal Lunch from www.tryadietforamonth.com

This omelette is totally SCD legal.

Recipe – serves two for a filling, satisfying lunch

Half a red pepper cut into small pieces
6 slices of zucchini
5 or 6 small mushrooms, sliced
5 eggs, beaten,
Butter to fry
salt and pepper to taste.

Method

1. Fry the red pepper, the mushrooms and zucchini gently in the butter until cooked.
2. Add the beaten eggs with some salt and pepper.
3. Cook gently until the omelette is ready.
Serve With:
Tinned tomatoes, or salad

Other optional items

You can replace any of the items in the omelette filling with sliced fresh tomato if you choose, or leave out any items if you don’t like them or they disagree with you.

NOTE: Check the label to see that your tinned tomatoes do not contain any sugar.

Specific Carbohydrate Diet SCD Diet

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Sirloin steak, pan-fried in butter, with broccoli and carrots and a side-dish of onions, red peppers, mushrooms and zucchini.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (often abbreviated to SCD) is a diet which eliminates processed foods, grains, complex sugars and starches. This means no bread, rice, pasta, cakes, cookies, candy, etc but the diet is very nourishing and healthy and probably very like what our distant ancestors ate. Would you feel you were missing anything by eating the meal above?

SCD has been described as a way to “re-boot” your digestion by starving out the “bad” bacteria that are causing digestive problems. It can also give your overall health a great boost. Trying the SCD diet will certainly not harm you. It could probably have you feeling better than ever, even if you don’t have an inflammatory bowel disorder or intestinal damage. But anyone who has a bowel problem, such as Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, or other inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD) may find this diet extremely helpful, in fact, tailor-made.

www.tryadietforamonth Book: breaking The Vicious CycleElaine Gottschall is the researcher who coined the name the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), following its success in treating her 4 year old daughter’s illness with Ulcerative Colitis. She researched it in her academic work and wrote about the principles in her book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Intestinal Health Through Diet”.

The main principle is following a diet that allows only specific carbohydrates needing minimal digestion. it can help reduce intestinal inflammation and make life a lot easier and enjoyable for people with inflammatory bowel disorders.

People with intestinal problems such as ulcerative colitis (UC), celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), may find difficulty dealing with food and food intolerances.

The diet was originally developed by Dr Sydney Haas, who found that certain carbohydrates were better tolerated by patients with celiac disease. Elaine Gottschall further developed Dr Haas’s work for patients with all types of inflammatory bowel disease. It has also been used effectively with children suffering with autism, who are often found to have bowel problems.

The theory behind SCD is that complex carbohydrates are not fully digested by certain people and the remains of these are fed on by harmful bacteria in the gut, producing gas and damage. These bacteria can also produce toxins which add to the sufferer’s problems.

If is thought that if complex carbohydrates (this includes sugar) are avoided, these “bad” bacteria are starved and die. Only simple carbohydrates are allowed. Honey is a simple carbohydrate and this is allowed on the SCD diet.

Symptoms of inflammatory bowel disorders are often painful and include ulcers, diarrhea, bleeding, and anemia.

Elimination diets, like SCD are being found to help many with IBD and other inflammatory or autoimmune disorders.

Health Benefits Of Coconut Oil

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What Is Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is a natural oil, derived from the meat of the coconut. It is high in lauric acid, and anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. It has been used successfully for centuries to combat various health ailments and improve the condition of skin and hair. It has many uses, including cooking, as well as for health. On the shelf, the oil has almost a lard type of appearance, but it quickly melts down when cooked over a low level of heat.

Six Weeks On Coconut Oil

For anyone looking to lose weight, coconut oil makes a great supplement to the diet. This oil is high in medium chain triglycerides, or MCTs. MCTs are broken down in the liver, and when that happens, they make the energy burning properties of the body more efficient. This means that the body can burn a greater number of calories in a shorter period of time, and that burning occurs with less effort. One scientific study tested this theory, offering approximately two tablespoons of coconut oil to women daily for a six week period of time. The study found that these women maintained a healthy weight and were even able to lose stubborn belly fat, leading to the recognition of this oil as a healthy dietary aid.

Cooking With Coconut Oil

If you want to add coconut oil to your diet, whether for weight loss or the other health benefits, you can use it in everyday cooking to enjoy both the taste and health benefits that it offers.  Many enjoy this oil as a replacement for butter or less healthy vegetable oils, using it to saute vegetables, cook eggs or in a favorite baking recipe. The flavor practically disappears in most recipes, making it ideal for individuals with a variety of taste palates.

In addition to utilizing virgin coconut oil in cooking, it can be enjoyed as a supplement on a day to day basis. A tablespoon of oil blends easily into a morning cup of coffee, favorite smoothie or over a warmed piece of toast. The oil can also be taken directly by mouth, right off a teaspoon, anytime one chooses.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Extra virgin coconut oil is the purest form of coconut oil. While it had previously been labeled as unhealthy by some, this label was an unfair one, based solely on the claims that this oil was full of saturated fats, and therefore, unhealthy for the heart. What was not considered in these studies and reports was that the oil used was not the original but had been hydrogenated, due to the addition of a hydrogen molecule which changed the composition of the coconut oil. While the hydrogenation process does increase the shelf life of many products, it also decreases the health benefits and increases trans-fats within the oil.

In comparison, virgin coconut oil contains only healthy fats that benefit the body. This oil is composed of about fifty percent lauric acid, which has been scientifically proven to benefit the heart and circulatory system. By consuming large quantities of this oil as part of their regular diet, many individuals have been able to successfully lower LDL cholesterol, while also increasing HDL, or “good”, cholesterol.

Coconut oil is also receiving an increased amount of attention when it comes to natural remedies to alleviate the symptoms of HIV and AIDS. Because this oil is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, it can assist in keeping infections away and the immune system strong, allowing for an increase in T-Cells throughout the body. While coconut oil is not a replacement for conventional AIDS medications and treatments, it works well as a complementary therapy, and many have found increased energy and health by using it.

Diabetics can also find benefits in consuming extra virgin coconut oil on a regular basis. This natural product has a positive effect on thyroid functioning and hormone balance, making it easier for the body to utilize and process sugars effectively. This has lead to a decrease in the amount of insulin used by some diabetics and an increase in their overall state of health. While no changes to medications for diabetes should be made without consulting a physician, adding coconut oil to the diet is a simple way to enhance any diabetic treatment plan.

Coconut oil is not only for internal health, but it is also used regularly by those looking for natural beauty products to replace paraben and sulfate filled store bought creams, lotions, soaps and pastes. This oil has wonderful anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, making it an excellent remedy for everything from diaper rash to athletes foot to tooth decay. Many individuals use virgin coconut oil as a daily moisturizer or lip balm, and they often find that it increases the supple, healthy quality of their skin without many of the side effects associated with less healthy, chemically manufactured ingredients.

Virgin coconut oil is also a wonderful alternative to traditional, fluoride filled toothpastes, as many studies have shown that it effectively keeps tooth decay at bay and generally promotes healthier teeth and gums.

Because of coconut oil’s anti-bacterial properties, this product makes a wonderful replacement for many over the counter topical aids for cuts and scrapes. Coconut oil can help to fight infections on the skin, and it also decreases healing time. In addition, the moisture provided by this oil can help individuals to avoid scarring of the skin, making it an essential product to carry in every first aid kit.

Because this is a natural oil, it is very safe to use in children, and they will enjoy the health benefits as well. The oil is so safe that, in its virgin form, it is often added to baby formula recipes in order to increase the intake of healthy, and necessary, fats.

It is easy to see that there are many benefits to using extra virgin coconut oil on a regular basis. This tasty oil promotes internal health and is also an asset to any skin care or beauty routine. Just be sure to only choose virgin coconut oil, rather than hydrogenated oils, in order to reap the health benefits listed above.