Claire,

I left out potatoes and rice...I DID eat potatoes and rice. Also, I would eat rice crackers with ground nuts (very good for calories!) So, I don't think I was on the SCD diet. I was more on a sugar free, gluten free, and mostly dairy free, whole foods diet. If I had to cut out potatoes and rice, I would have been emaciated for sure. Have you ever read the book "The Yeast Connection"? That is mostly how I based my diet. I really focused on maximizing nutrition. That helped me immensely. I was so thrilled as I saw my hair became thick and shiny, my nails grow,l my skin glow and the whites of my eyes get clear. Nutrition is such an amazing thing.

While I definitely stayed on the diet, I wasn't militant. At first I would try to have a glass of wine here and there but I found it just made me feel lousy so I preferred to stay on the diet.

Have you tried juicing? That is a great way to boost your nutrition. I usually juice with beets, carrots, apples and anything else in the refrigerator.

You know, I don't have a lot of confidence in the testing. So, definitely get the testing, but be sure to base a lot of your decisions on how you respond to the diet. I was in such bad shape, and my whole family was freaking out when I didn't "appear" to be better after year 1 etc, but I could feel my body healing so I stayed the course. My parents/in-laws etc all thought I was nuts but now I look far healthier than the normal 44 year old (at least I think I do).

The flaxseed is a biggee I think. One tablespoon nightly really helps me.

One thing we used to joke about on this forum was the "non-pointy" diet. At my worst, it was very painful eating anything with rough edges ie. nuts, corn chips, raw vegetables etc. I would feel really good on days I would eat soup as my main meal. You might want to experiment with this as it may be a way to get some relief.

Grace

Let me add that I didn't even start to get better until I eliminated all additive and preservatives from my diet. It made little difference what I ate if it had additive and preservatives. This meant that I eliminated most processed foods. As most of you have eluded to, becoming healthy is a process and we all seem to have our own little perculiarites.

Jane