"SCD" stands for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It is a diet that was pioneered by Elaine Gottschall, a woman whose child had ulcerative colitis and who was determined to help her with more than just the normal drug therapy. She went back to school and became a biochemist and cell biologist, developing the specific carbohydrate diet (based on the intravenous all liquid elemental diet) with sound logic on how our bodies work, breaking down, digesting, and absorbing food. She wrote the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet
in which the SCD is outlined. Half of the book explains how the diet works- healing the intestines and gut, creating a better environment in which good bacteria thrive and bad bacteria (that cause inflammation and ulcers) are starved. The latter half of the book has a list of what foods are ok to eat, or "legal", and which foods cause harm so are not to be eaten, or "illegal" along with recipes on how to make foods that are diet-friendly. To get a basic idea of allowable foods it can be categorized as: meat, eggs, butter, most cheeses, all fruits, honey, and all vegetables except for potatoes (including yams, etc.) and corn, nuts, and dried beans. Basically everything else is illegal: sugar (other than from the above sources), yeast, gluten, rice, soy, any grain, chocolate, and just about anything else you can think of that isn't part of the above list. This may seem unnecessarily strict to someone who is unfamiliar with digestive disorders or with SCD. Well, it is strict, there is no room for cheats, as those usually put you right back where you start; many people try with good intentions to follow the diet, and many, many fail. It takes extreme self-control and a very strong will to get better through a natural way. You can read the review on Breaking the Vicious Cycle on Amazon and quickly see that SCD has both saved lives and has its critics. The purpose of SCD is to help someone with Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac's, and general digestive disorders, as well as autism, epilepsy, and even asthma and allergies, to get healthy by allowing your body to heal itself through the fuel we feed it- food. It may sound impossible to "cure" diseases that doctors will say are incurable, but through the testimony of so many people who have successfully utilized SCD there is no denying the extreme power of the human body to overcome obstacles. I do not want to go too deep into the diet, as this is meant to be a brief overview of it, but I will post links to helpful websites below. Also feel free to email me with any questions about SCD, or look for the answer in the pages of my blog. Paleo stands for Paleolithic. Yes, as in the age when cavemen and dinosaurs ruled the globe. While I don't believe in evolution, (that's a whole 'nother conversation entirely) I do believe that we should eat like people did hundreds of years ago. Back when everyone was a farmer and knew where their foods came from. When animals ate grass and roamed freely on pastures, rather than being fed GMO grains and confined to entirely too small spaces. Paleo is more than a diet, it's a lifestyle. It can be summed up in that eating paleo includes lean meats/animals, plants- veggies and fruits, and a few nuts. It's not about calorie counting or fat reduction. It's about eating real, whole foods. Like we should. Paleo also takes into account physical health, as daily exercises is highly recommended.
Both diets promote health and well being, and that's what it's all about.