Elaine Gottschall on TV

SCDiet saved my life. I wouldn't be on the face of this planet without Elaine's work, and I am forever indebted to her and Dr. Haas. It is always nice to see her views coming directly from her. Thank you, scddiet 23 for sharing this!

Choosing the best starter for your yogurt/crème bulgare

Not all yogurts are created with equal microbial benefits. This is why it is so important to make your own at home, where you can be in total control of the desired culture. Only you can make superior yogurt!

I am totally against using any kind of commercial yogurt as starter for SCDiet yogurt or crème bulgare. Why?

Foremost, because it is impossible to know what strains of microbes they have growing in there. Not only are the desired strains more than likely lacking altogether, it is too probable that it contains undesirable microbes for this food regimen. Introducing undesirable strains will only complicate and delay healing, if not result in serious setbacks. Lots of strains will cause fermentation, but it takes living L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus to provide proven benefits for human health. Without those two microbes, it may be fermented milk, but it isn’t technically yogurt at all. Talk about misleading labeling!!!

As there is no regulation on yogurt production, they can do just about anything to the “food,” along with labeling it yogurt when in fact that is biologically inaccurate. Many producers repasteurize the yogurt after fermentation, which destroys the culture, “good” and “bad.” Some makers use manipulated microbes to reduce production time, which gives the impression of good yogurt in flavor and consistency but has none of the beneficial microbial properties. Many use the wrong temperatures for cultivating the desired microbes, so even if they started with the right culture they killed it by overheating. They are mostly selling fake yogurt because it is cheaper to produce and more profitable for their company. Buyers beware!

I choose to inoculate my half and half (I prefer crème bulgare or French cream over yogurt, which uses milk) with Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus because I have observed they have the most notable positive effects on my health. I am not alone!

I have found a product that I find reliable, readily available, and microbial specific made by Lyo-San Inc. It is their “Yogourmet freeze-dried yogurt starter & crème bulgare starter.” It contains only and all three desired microbes. You can buy it from amazon.com, Lucy’s Kitchen Shop, and Whole Foods. Make sure not to confuse it with their other starter products, which contain strains not desired for SCDiet.

Please store the starter in your refrigerator.

I have a post on how to make your own yogurt/crème bulgare including a recipe and video. Search my blog under resources for quick links to the yogurt maker and dimmer switch for temperature modification from amazon.com.

What, exactly, do I eat?

It would be so much easier if I could just list foods for what I can eat. But, my reality is that WHAT I can eat must also be qualified by HOW that food is raised and prepared. When I first started SCDiet, everything needed to be well cooked, skinned, and deseeded. Slowly, I was able to leave the skins on, tolerate smaller seeds, and move from well cooked to steamed to raw for fruits and vegetables. My list was limited to beef, chicken, and a few veggies and fruits to begin with and it slowly grew. You will see that many foods legal on SCDiet and GAPS are not on my list of yes foods. That is because I do not tolerate all foods allowed on these diets. I have needed to modify the legal lists to meet my personal needs. Sometimes as needed, my list gets shorter as I eliminate peanut butter, cheeses, fruit, and honey. As time goes by, my list has grown longer overall and will continue to do so as I heal.

MEAT:
Meats are critical to my diet. I try to always buy organic meats from sustainable farms because it is the best for my health. I generally still cook most of my meats to well done as a precaution against unwanted microbes. While I couldn’t tolerate much animal fat to begin with, I am now digesting it well so I eat more of it. I prefer to broil or bake my meats, but I will sometimes use a cast iron pan. I only consume fresh or frozen meats, with the exception being fish. I will sometimes use fish that has been canned in oil or water.

beef

bison

chicken & eggs

fish

lamb

turkey

pork

COOKING FATS & OILS:
I mostly just use butter to cook with because it is my favorite flavor. It is best to cook all foods with medium heat or less. Your oils and fats should never smoke. If they do, you are burning them and destroying the good fatty acid chain and its beneficial properties. Don’t deep fry foods, ever. Don’t brown, especially not to a crisp! Use only a tablespoon or less of oil to cook with. Mix oils for cooking with half butter. I prefer to add oils to foods after they have been cooked and removed from the heat source to maximize their benefits and taste. Oils go rancid quickly. They are a perishable food. Once oil is rancid it is also poisonous. Rancid oils add to free radical cell damage, interrupt normal metabolism, and contribute to mental cloudiness. I keep my oils in the fridge to prevent early rancidity. I buy virgin, organic and cold pressed oils. They are listed here in order of heat sensitivity, olive oil as most sensitive.

lard

coconut oil

butter (if salted then without flow agent)

sesame oil

olive oil

DAIRY:
The dairy that I do best with is the dairy that I culture myself. I make my own French cream, which I can then use to make cream cheese, ice cream, and smoothies. I eat my French cream routinely, and do best when I have it daily. I have a blog post and video about how to make my French cream.

cream cheese

French cream

ice cream

yogurt

Theses are the cheeses that I tolerate best, but I only eat them infrequently and in small amounts. Every cheese has a microbial culture. I couldn’t tolerate cheddar to begin with, but now it suits me quite well. I eat cheese as a treat, not a staple of my diet.

blue

brie

cheddar

dry curd cottage

gorgonzola

gouda

havarti

muenster

parmesan

port du salut

swiss

DRINKS:
Really, I should only drink water or stock soup. In reality, I drink coffee, despite how bad caffeine is as a drug for everyone. I have found that espresso drinks and French press coffee are the things I tolerate best. Evidently, processing coffee through a paper filter takes out the natural digestive enzymes, which causes everyone to get “gut rot” from drinking too much. Americano is my favorite espresso drink because it has robust flavor and is diluted with water. It is the one food item I consume out at the preparation of another person’s hand.

water, distilled

chicken or bone marrow stock

French cream smoothies (I tend to think of them more as food than beverage)

coffee, French press or espresso

ODDITIES:
These just don’t fit nicely into other categories, but are also things I use routinely.

baking soda

honey (raw, local, wildflower)

unflavored gelatin

Celtic sea salt

VEGETABLES:
Fresh is always best, then frozen organic vegetables. I like to buy heirloom varieties whenever I can. I needed to cook veggies to the point of being soft at first, skinned and deseeded. Then I was able to leave the skins on and tolerate veggies still cooked but somewhat hard, such as steaming. I eventually progressed to tolerating them raw, and I try to choose younger vegetables that have smaller seeds so that I can eat them.

asparagus

beets

broccoli

brussel sprouts

cabbage

carrots

cauliflower

celery

cucumbers

eggplant

greens

green beans (really a legume, but treat as veggie)

kale

lettuces

onion

peas

peppers (red, green, yellow)

spinach

squash (summer and winter)

LEGUMES:
I buy dried legumes which I then rinse in water before I soak them in new water for 12 hours. I then drain and rinse them again before cooking in fresh water. This is to remove the bulk of the starches.

lentils

lima beans (also frozen)

split peas

white(navy) beans

Peanuts are not really a nut, despite their misleading name. They are a legume. I do not tolerate nuts, but I do tolerate peanut butter and use it frequently.

peanuts- roasted in shell

peanut butter-only salt added

FRUIT:
I buy organic fruit fresh, frozen, or dried without additives or preservatives. Sometimes I need to avoid just fruits high in citric acid, which I always must eat in small amounts. Other times, I avoid fruits altogether. I eat my fruits with some kind of fats if at all possible. I do not eat fruit by itself, and I never drink juice. I eat the whole fruit for maximum nutrition. As soon as I started tolerating skins, I left them on because the most dense concentration of nutrients are just beneath the skin.

apples

apricots

avocados

bananas (wait until well ripened with spots and no green left)

berries

cherries

dates (loose California)

grapefruit

grapes

kiwi

lemon

lime

mangoes

melons

nectarines

oranges

papayas

peaches

pears

pineapple (not raw)

plums

prunes

raisins (dark)

rhubarb

tangerines

tomatoes

HERBS & SPICES:
I buy only single ingredient herbs and spices to season my food, either fresh or dried. I make my own mixed seasonings which I store in small glass jars, clearly labled and dated. If they clump, I just give them a tap while the lid is still on.

basil

bay leaves

cayenne

chili pepper

chives

cilantro

cloves

cinnamon (only small amounts and infrequently)

cardomum

corriandor

cumin

dill

ginger

lemon thyme

lemongrass

nutmeg

oregano

paprika

parsley

rosemary

sage

tarragon

thyme

Ode to Farmer Bob Otis

Three years ago I found Farmer Bob and his exquisite meats. It didn't take me long to figure out his meats were not only better in taste but also in quality. I had been consuming organic, free roaming and ranging meats from Whole Foods. Little did I understand back then about the differences! 

I have since learned that certified organic meat isn't necessarily what I am looking for in my quest for health. What matters more is how the animal has lived, what it has eaten, all the medications it is given, and so on. In short, everything matters, not just the qualifications for organic certification from the FDA. 

Most industrial meats are finished with corn. This also includes most industrial organic meats such as those from Whole Foods. Cows and steers are not meant to eat corn. It is not a natural part of their diet. When they are fed corn, it causes them massive indigestion and gas. The gas build up is so great that they would suffocate to death if they weren't given medicine to reduce the bloat. The corn fattens them up so that they weigh more for slaughter bringing in more money. It is a capitalistic approach that completely disregards the natural order. It is a condition forced on the animals in the name of profit. 

Unfortunately for us humans, as well as the poor cows and steers, this is terrible for our health. All pollutants that the animal comes into contact with are stored in its fats. So, any and all toxins are passed on to you and I as the eaters. Antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, fertilizers, and all sorts of chemical residues from industrial farming still reside in the fat. If the animal has been fed grasses, or grains that it shouldn't be eating to begin with, that have been treated industrially then all of those chemicals are effecting the animal. That means they are all effecting the health of consumers. 

A sustainable farm, such as the Otis Family Farm, grows the grasses that the cows eat. It doesn't contain the animals with an "option" for them to go outside in the name of free roaming and ranging. The animals really do live outside wandering around. Farmer Bob actually has to catch the turkeys for Thanksgiving! 

I like to order a quarter of a steer at a time from Farmer Bob. That way I can talk to him about how I want the meat processed. I have the option to have parts like the tongue and liver put into the ground beef or as whole parts. The animal is slaughtered just for me and the cuts of meat come labeled with my name. I can either pick it up at the St. Paul Farmer's Market or arrange for him to drop it off at my house for a small gas fee. I keep a small freezer in my basement to house all of the meat. 

Along with beef, Otis Family Farms also raises chicken, lamb, turkey, and pork. They even have their own bees to pollinate the plants grown for the animals. You can also buy processed meats such as sausages and flavored chicken, but they are made using typical preservatives that I cannot consume. His eggs are so yummy, and the yolks trend orange instead of yellow. 

I would strongly urge you to try real free roaming and ranging, organic (even if not certified) meats from a local farmer. I can't even begin to tell you how satisfying it is to develop a relationship with the person who raises your food. For me, it has meant all the difference in my health. I feel as though Farmer Bob has given me life, and a much higher quality of life, by taking such good care of his farm and animals. I have depended on him for pure food on my table at every meal. He has been one of the most important people in my recovery process. I owe him a lot!  

Knowing the person that raises my food really connects me to my community. I love hearing the updates about what has been happening on the farm each week when I visit Farmer Bob at the market. He will tell me about the antics the animals have been up to. I am not detached from how my food made it to my table. I am very grateful for this fine food, and for Farmer Bob Otis. 

Otis Family Farms

Year round at the St. Paul Farmer's Market

290 E. 5th St. 

Lowertown St. Paul, MN 55101

Corner of Wall and 5th Streets

or give Farmer Bob a call at 715-338-0237

yogourmet multi

I use the yogourmet multi electric yogurt maker.

I also have an additional insert so that I can start making more yogurt or french cream before I've finished my last batch. 

I use only one kind of their starters.

I have altered my yogourmet multi with a dimmer switch in order to control the temperature.

Good Books

Here are some of my favorite reads that have helped me to heal.

Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall is a bit chewy. Bless this woman for doing what she did, but I do have criticisms. One of which is that she plagiarized Dr. Haas. Another is that her writing is poorly organized. A third is that she gave permission to cheat, which is counterproductive to the diet. However, if she hadn't continued in the footsteps of Haas, who knows if any of us would have a clue about carbohydrate specific diets and their healing benefits.


Hunger: An Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell is absolutely fascinating, but digestive disorders are left out. Still fascinating, informative and helpful. This book turned me on to Ancel Keys in general through his human starvation tests. Keys was highly influential on our current American diet, for better and for worse.


real food: what to eat and why by Nina Planck is the book I would like to give every person I know who eats the Standard American Diet, aka, SAD. Fat is good for you.


Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price should be given to every health care practitioner. Admittedly, I am still reading this one. The Weston A. Price foundation is a wonderful resource that I think everyone with digestive disorders would benefit from checking out, and support them if you can.


The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan at least starts to get some of my food values into the mainstream, and it is a delightful read. It really is too bad that we are destroying our environment, our economy, and our bodies in the name and game of industrialized food.


Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride is much easier to comprehend than BTVC. The brain and body are not separate.


Management of Celiac Disease by Sidney Valentine Haas is one that I checked out from the biomedical library at my local university. If you don't have the disposition towards medical texts, probably best to leave this alone. If you do have the scientific mind, don't pass this one up. If you don't have the money, go on an expedition once you have the energy to undertake such an adventure! He is the one who figured this whole mess out, and there are secrets inside that seem to have been forgotten along the way. Bless this man for all his observations, but don't forget he worked with children and that adults have different nutritional needs and do not heal as quickly.


Probiotics: Nature’s Internal Healers by Natasha Trenev is the best way to understand internal culture.


Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski is a good overview with lots of options for treatments.


Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson helped me to convert many aspects of my lifestyle.


The Yeast Connection by William G. Crook is where it all began for me back in 1991.