When one of my boys was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) I began exploring how food could improve his health. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) was pivotal in our journey and inspired me to share my experiences and recipes so you can benefit as well.

If you're thinking of starting SCD, you can approach it the way that works best for you. You can dive in fully, or start slowly. It may depend on your symptoms. I've found when my son had symptoms that seemed to be getting worse, we went back to an introductory of basics like chicken soup with very soft chicken and carrots and then introduced more food after several days of soup and very soft vegetables. 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.

Step 1: Read the guidelines

Review SCD food guidelines to get an understanding of what you can eat. Chapter 9, Introducing the Diet in Breaking the Vicious Cycle has suggestions on how to start it and what to avoid. There is also a list of "illegal" and "legal" foods on the Breaking the Vicious Cycle website.

Step 2: Build a meal plan

Identify safe, easily digestible foods and gradually introduce new ingredients one at a time as your symptoms improve. I offer gentle healing recipes that work well as a starting point. Members have access to SCD meal plans and can create custom meal plans in Recipes Collections. 

Create a meal plan for a few weeks with SCD recipes. Many recipes you love can be modified to support SCD. To find SCD recipes on Comfy Belly, go to Find a recipe and select the SCD category.

Step 3: 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. Work with a health care provider to insure your symptoms are improving.

• Introduce one new food at a time and wait a few weeks for the next food.
• 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 diet into your health care.

My SCD tips

My experience with my son and talking to people who've followed SCD with success is: when in doubt, leave it out. Add one food item at a time, and wait a few weeks to make sure your body is ok with it before moving on to the next food.

Here are some things I learned when I first started SCD with my son:

• The most basic recipes are the easiest and the best
• Avoid all additives and processed food
• If you're not sure, try one ingredient at a time. Wait 3 weeks before introducing the next ingredient.
• Start slow, or start with a simple diet; do what works best for you
• Freeze food and buy in bulk when possible
• Modify it for your body; if you need to go dairy free, do it
• Try eating small meals throughout the day
• Drink water, broth, and/or electrolytes
• Avoid lots of sweets; balance out your diet with other foods
• Don't try to live on nut flours
• Prepare lots of snacks for travel
• Know what brands of food and drink you can have when you're away from home
• Think easy-to-digest foods when you're starting out or experiencing symptoms (cooked veggies and fruits, smoothies, soups)
• Find out if you're vitamin or mineral deficient
• Do what's right for you. Bring food you like to parties, explain in simple terms that you have some food intolerances.

Try not to get caught up in balancing your diet based on food pyramids. They don't apply here but nutrition does. You may be forgoing some things by not having grains or cereals so you'll need to balance that out in another way (and/or take vitamins) which I think is essential for healing.

How long?

How long is up to your body and recovery. Everyone has a different journey on SCD, but in general many who have had success stay on it for life, or for at least a few years.

Many combine SCD and medication with great success. This can be a stepping stone to removing medication. Again, everyone is different, so your mileage may vary.