Should I try enzymes or SCD diet first??

[Guest guest]

Any ideas...we have been GFCF low phenols and sor for 3 months along

with various common supplements...with no good results in BM's...my

natro. is pushing me to do SCD....It is so hard...although I thought

GFCF was going to be too....

What woud you guys do? Try the SCD or enzymes and stay GFCF at this

point???

I have really never noticed a difference when my son eats foods...it

is just that his bm's are always loose......

Also..which enzymes are SCD?

T

[Guest guest]

Almost one year ago, I was right where you are. I had purchased all

the Houston enzymes and was getting ready to try them and then I

heard about SCD and decided to do that instead. We have had very

good results with SCD. After about 6 weeks on SCD, I added a small

amount of a " legal " enzyme (all Houston enzymes are now legal on SCD)

and saw further improvements.

Now, I often wonder why SCD worked for us. Whether it is because of

Elaine's theory or if it's because my son was eating only rice foods

and then actually got some healthy, nutritious foods into him on

SCD. Or, maybe it's because we had to remove all artificial colors,

flavorings, etc. on SCD. I have often said to my husband that maybe

if we had just tried the enzymes before beginning SCD, we would have

gotten the same result. Then I will remember what my son was eating

before SCD and that always makes me feel that the diet was totally

worthwhile whether or not we could have gotten the same results with

enzymes because he is eating so much better now.

Now, I am working on adding all the Houston enzymes in the hope of

expanding my son's diet further at some point.

If I had to do it over, I would probably have added the enzymes first

and just stuck with that for a couple of months to see what kind of

results I got. Then, I would try SCD to see if I could get further

improvements.

[Guest guest]

Are you still giving corn and/or corn syrup? Artificial, dyes or preservatives?

These were big offenders for my kids.

-GA

Should I try enzymes or SCD diet first??

Any ideas...we have been GFCF low phenols and sor for 3 months along

with various common supplements...with no good results in BM's...my

natro. is pushing me to do SCD....It is so hard...although I thought

GFCF was going to be too....

What woud you guys do? Try the SCD or enzymes and stay GFCF at this

point???

I have really never noticed a difference when my son eats foods...it

is just that his bm's are always loose......

Also..which enzymes are SCD?

T

[Guest guest]

> What woud you guys do? Try the SCD or enzymes and stay GFCF at this

> point???

I would first consider enzymes, plus mess around with his supplements

to see if any of them are contributing to the bm issue.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Thanks for writing.

Artificial additives can cause problems even with enzymes. Reducing

artificial colorings, flavorings, preservatives, nitrites, sulfites,

etc. might help get better results before taking more foods out of

the diet. There is lots of clinical research showing these artificial

additives can cause an assortment of behavior or physical problems.

See the research section at www.feingold.org.

I generally think enzymes are something to do before the elimination

of actual foods because:

- cheaper

- easier

- often results are seen quicker

- often are more effective

- don't have to disrupt total live and other therapies nearly as

much, if at all

- have other healing benefits besides food breakdown

- might make many food eliminations and supplements unnecessary (you

might not needs even half of that list of supplements)

The main reason people do elimination diets is because they are not

digesting certain foods. Or have poor digestion overall. So the idea

is to take out anything you are not digesting. GFCF takes out casein

and gluten foods that are thought to be not thoroughly digested. SCD

takes out sugars and starches that are not properly digested. BED

takes out other food that are thought to be poorly digested, and so

on. Putting in enzymes to thoroughly digest foods accomplishes the

same goal.

If you try Peptizyde you might be able to re-introduce with some of

the casein, gluten, and soy foods you currently are eliminating as

well. Since the BMs are still a problem with GFCF diet, try adding in

the enzymes to see if this resolves the BM situation. Then if you

feel the SCD might still be needed, you can do that. It is

interesting that just about everyone that is GFCF or SCD or on other

diets all see further improvement when enzymes are added.

Diets can take a little time to learn and be thoroughly `compliant'.

If you do the enzymes first, those can be assisting food breakdown

and gut healing while you are learning the diet. It doesn't have to

be either/or. You can experiment a bit until you find the option that

works best for your situation.

All the Houston enzymes are SCD

All the Enzymedica enzymes are SCD except Digest (contains Bifidus;

the Digest Gold is fine)

Thropp's Ultra-zyme Plus is SCD

Most other enzymes are SCD as well; these are effective and have been

specifically check out; so just go with one you are comfortable with.

But consider at least the Peptizyde to help with your GFCF diet.

Best with whatever way you decide to go.

.