Did you know that there is no minimum daily requirement for carbohydrates, and that if you eat protein, your body will make the carbohydrates you need for energy, and that you can get all the carbohydrates you need from fruits and vegetables?  Yes, it's a fact!  If you are carb-addicted like most Americans, you need to know that this way of eating can break your addiction!

Caution:  For those with acid reflux and irritated digestive tracts, there will need to be healing with the basic diet of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet before eating some of these foods. Please see “Beginning The SCD” on this website or refer to BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE for details on how to begin The Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Note:  It’s always best to eat Organic Foods in order to avoid chemicals and pesticides and get the most nutrients from your foods.

FATS AND OILS . . . Get most of your fats from fish and fish oils from the deep cold waters, unsalted nuts, and use cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking and making salad dressings.  Use no hydrogenated (fake) fats!!! A healthy, tasty, simple salad dressing is apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, honey, cayenne (if you want a ‘kick’) and/or other seasonings and olive oil.

MILK, YOGURT AND CHEESE . . . 2 to 3 servings a day . . . Drink no milk.  Use organic whole milk (unpasteurized is best - if you can find it) and/or organic half & half only when making SCD yogurt.  Do not use milk or half & half with gum stabilizers added. Enzyme-treated or lactose-free milk is not permitted.  Follow instructions in BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE to destroy the lactose (sugar) and make the yogurt very digestible and healing.  For the thickest, richest, less tart yogurt, use 1 quart Half & Half and 1 quart Whole Milk.  Use only the hard cheeses which have virtually no lactose, and grate your own.  There are many cheeses and not all are lactose-free or additive free.  See BREAKING THE VICIOUS CYCLE for an approved list.

1 Serving of Dairy Products Consists of one of the following:

1 cup (8 fluid ounces) yogurt

1 1/2 ounce hard cheese (about the size of six dice or three dominoes)

2 cups (16 ounces) dry curd cottage cheese (or dripped homemade 24-hr. yogurt)

VEGETABLES . . . 3 to 5 servings a day from the SCD Legal list . . . Eat more organic leafy-green veggies like spinach, kale or collard greens (after diarrhea and pain has ceased).  Also eat yellow and red vegetables which are highest in vitamins. Process your own so you will know what you are getting. Since cooking destroys some of the nutrients, after healing, eat whole, raw veggies as often as possible to get the critical nutrients and fiber into your diet. Remember:  The two basics of a healthy diet are balance and variety.

1 Serving of Vegetables Consists of one of the following:

1 cup (2 oz/60 g – 1 baseball sized portion) raw leafy green vegetables

1/2 cup (3 oz/90 g) cooked vegetables

Half a baseball will do it for veggies like green beans, carrots and Brussels sprouts.  Since that equals about eight green beans, 10 carrot slices or three Brussels sprouts, it should be easy to get a few servings at a time. 

6-ounce glass of GF, sugar-free, additive-free tomato or other vegetable juice

MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, AND BEANS . . . 2 to 3 servings a day . . . Choose free-roaming/pasture- grazed meats and poultry. They are lower in cholesterol, antibiotic free, and have more nutrients. Fish should be from the cold, deep sea waters.  Never eat ‘farmed fish’ because of contamination.  Remember:  The two basics of a healthy diet are balance and variety.

1 Serving of Poultry, Seafood, Meat Consists of one of the following:

2-3 ounces cooked poultry, or meat or seafood (A deck of cards or a small fist describes what three

ounces of meat, fish or poultry looks like.) 

Meat (Protein) Alternatives:
Each of these counts as 1 ounce of meat:

1/2 cup cooked, dry white beans

1 egg

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1/4 cup seeds

1/3 cup nuts

FRUIT . . . 2 to 4 servings a day . . . Eat a variety of organic fruit from the SCD approved foods list.  A large glass of Tropicana Orange Juice or Welch’s Grape Juice (checked to be legal) and a big banana will fill your daily quota; however it’s always more beneficial to eat the whole fruit, scattered throughout the day, as opposed to drinking juices . . . so you get the benefits of the fiber and less fructose/sugar to elevate your insulin levels.  Put a handful of raisins in your salad or toss some blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears or bananas into your nut bread or yogurt.  Remember:  The two basics of a healthy diet are balance and variety.

1 Serving of Fruit Consists of one of the following:

1/2 cup homemade applesauce (Picture filling half a baseball) 

1/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup 100% fruit juice (Not from concentrate)

1 medium apple or banana (Whole fruits only need to be about the size of a tennis ball)

12 grapes

“The two basics of a healthy diet are balance and variety.”