Thinking about trying the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)? You can approach it a few ways: start with an introduction diet, dive in fully, or start somewhere in between.

It may depend on your symptoms. I've found when my son had symptoms that seemed to be getting worse, we went back to the basics of chicken soup with very soft chicken and carrots, and then introduced more food after several days of soup and very soft vegetables. And for vegetarians, poached and scrambled eggs can be used along with vegetable broth.

If you're dealing with challenging symptoms, an introduction diet may be the best way to get some immediate relief. Once you've alleviated symptoms, you can begin introducing more foods, one at a time.

SCD Intro Guide

Step 1: Read about SCD

Review the food guidelines to get a general understanding of the diet.

Step 2: Review the intro meal plan

The meal plan can be found in your Recipes Collections (requires a Comfy Belly membership).

Identify just a few safe, easily digestible foods and gradually introduce new ingredients one at a time as your symptoms improve.

You can use and modify the existing SCD intro meal plan, or create a new plan. To add the SCD intro meal plan, go to Recipes Collections, tap Add Pre-Made Collection, and select SCD Intro Meal Plan.

If you prefer to go a little beyond the intro, you may prefer the Gentle Healing Meal Plan series, also in your Recipe Collections.

Chapter 9, Introducing the Diet, in Breaking the Vicious Cycle also has suggestions on how to start it and what to avoid.

Step 3: Add recipes to your meal plan.

You can add Comfy Belly recipes and your own recipes to your meal plan. To learn how to add recipes to a collection, go to How to Use Collections.

To find SCD recipes, go to Find a recipe and select the SCD recipes category.

Step 4: Start SCD

Build a shopping list from your recipes and shop for what you'll need for at least a week. I recommend using the freshest ingredients possible.

Keep a food diary to take notes on how you feel and track any reactions to foods. Introduce one new food at a time and stay with safe foods until you have an improvement in symptoms. You can take notes in your meal plan or keep a separate diary in your recipe collections or elsewhere.

You can print out the meal plan and make a complete book for yourself to take notes in, or purchase a notebook or planner to take notes in and attach your meal plans to it. Whatever works best for you.

A few final thoughts

Introduce one new food at a time and wait a few weeks for the next food.
Keep a food diary to track any issues.
Stay with your safe foods until you see an improvement in symptoms.
It can take time to see a significant improvement in your health. Don't feel defeated if it's not working as well as you had hoped; you may need more time, medication, or both. Work with a health care provider who understands your condition and is supportive of your goals to incorporate the diet into your health care.