SCD/GAPS/Paleo: The Plan

To follow-up from my last post, I thought I would share a little more about the actual diet.  The theory is that certain individuals have what's called a leaky gut - intestinal or bowel hyperpermeability.  Essentially, in these people the lining of their intestinal tract contains holes resulting from things like poor diet, infections, medications, and toxin exposure.  When these people eat food, particles of the food, toxins, and other molecules can break the barrier of the intestinal wall and end up in their bloodstream, causing an immune system reaction.  For me the reaction is Crohn's Disease and for my son it is allergies (rashes, itching, and in the case of major exposure, anaphylaxis).

The digestive system is filled with over 100 trillion microorganisms (gut flora), some good and some bad.  People with a leaky gut have an overgrowth of the bad bacteria and are deficient in good bacteria.  I have had testing done to confirm that this is the case with my body and am assuming the same is true for my son.  We aren't sure how this happened with him, as he seems to have been born with his allergies, but our theory is that the megadoses of antibiotics and steroids that he was exposed to in utero and shortly after birth through breastmilk may have something to do with it.  Scientists don't really know why this happens. 

Bad bacteria in your gut feed off of sugar and carbohydrates.  By altering the nutrition that we take into our bodies, we can stop feeding the bad bacteria so it dies off, and allow for the good bacteria to take over.  Once you have the proper balance of bacteria, the gut can be healed and proper digestive/immune responses occur.  This is the goal of this diet, which is outlined here:

What We Can Eat

Meat - all antibiotic and hormone-free beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish
Eggs - antibiotic and hormone-free
Dairy - homemade raw milk yogurt, natural cheeses - made from antibiotic and hormone-free milk
Veggies - fresh and frozen organic vegetables; home-canned vegetables; artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery, lettuce, Lima beans, mushrooms, onions, parsley, pumpkin, spinach, string beans, turnips, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, kale, peas, squash, tomatoes, watercress
Beans - only properly soaked; navy beans, lentils, split peas
Fruit - fresh, dried and frozen organic; avocados, apricots, bananas (ripe only), berries, cherries, coconut, dates, raisins, grapefruit, kiwi, lemons, melons, nectarines, peaches, pineapple, rhubarb, grapes, kumquats, limes, mangoes, oranges, papaya, prunes, tangerines; apples and pears only from farmers who you know have not sprayed with antibiotics
Nuts - only properly soaked; almonds, pecans, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, walnuts, cashews, boiled chestnuts; nut flour
Juice - organic and watered-down tomato juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, grape juice, apple cider  
Weak tea  
Honey
Oils - olive oil and coconut oil
Others - mustard, unflavored gelatin, vinegar, spices, baking soda, unsweetened chocolate
Alcohol - dry wine, gin, Scotch, bourbon, and vodka

What We Can't Eat

Meat - processed meat (bacon, hot dogs, lunch meat, etc.), smoked meat, canned meat
Dairy - processed cheese, cottage cheese, cream, feta, mozzarella, primost, gjetost, ricotta, store-bought yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream
Veggies - commercially canned; corn, white and sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, okra, sea weed
Beans - chick peas (no hummus), bean sprouts, soybeans, mung beans, fava beans, garbanzo beans; no bean or lentil flour Grains - all, including oats and rice
Fruit - canned, dried with sulfites, banana chips
Nuts - peanuts or salted nuts of any kind
Seeds - none are allowed
Juice - canned tomato products, apple juice, juice boxes
Oils - margarine, soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil
Other - cornstarch, arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, sago starch, carob, agar-agar, carrageenan, pectin, baking powder Sweeteners - sugar, molasses, corn syrup, maple syrup, artificial sweeteners, sucrose, lactose
Alcohol - beer, sherry, cordials, brandy 

Here is what the last 24 hours of eating looked like for me:

Breakfast - two pastured eggs scrambled and served over a bed of spinach and raw milk cheddar cheese; hot tea; a few bites of raw milk yogurt

Snack - pastured beef gelatin (made with orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices)

Lunch - bowl of split pea soup (made with soaked green split peas, homemade beef broth, green beans, pastured beef, garlic, onion, and peas); hot tea

Snack - raisins and sprouted almonds

Snack - grape tomatoes and goat cheese

Dinner - pastured ground beef browned and mixed with BPA-free tomato paste, served over zucchini noodles; baked broccoli (made with olive oil and sea salt)

Snack - slice of cheese

Here is what the last 24 hours of eating looked like for my son (dairy-free):

Breakfast - two pastured eggs scrambled; two almond cookies (made from freshly ground sprouted almonds, cashew butter, honey, eggs, and homemade vanilla extract) covered in home-canned cranberry sauce and drizzled with honey; over-ripe banana

Snack - raisins

Lunch - bowl of split pea soup (made with soaked green split peas, homemade beef broth, green beans, pastured beef, garlic, onion, and peas)

Snack - bowl of sprouted almonds

Snack - bowl of pastured beef gelatin (made with orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices)

Dinner - pastured ground beef browned and mixed with BPA-free tomato paste, served over zucchini noodles; baked broccoli (made with olive oil and sea salt); hot tea

Dessert - one almond cookie

As you can see, there is no shortage of delicious food options.  It took some getting used to, but once our taste buds adjusted to not being overloaded with sweets, we learned to find pleasure in simple things, like a piece of raw fruit or a tiny amount of honey.  

-Jessica

How To Make Homemade Sourdough Bread

What are the advantages of sourdough bread?

• Sourdough bread is easier to digest because of the lactic acid created in the fermentation process.
• The soaking that is a part of making sourdough bread decreases phytate content, which allows for better nutrient absorption.
• It causes a lower spike in blood sugar than any other type of bread.
• It does not spoil as easily as bread made from brewers yeast because its acetic acid retards mold growth.
• It tastes DELICIOUS!

Your first step is to make a sourdough starter.

My recipe came from Nourishing Traditions.  It yields 3 quarts of starter.

I took 2 cups of rye flour and 2 cups of filtered water and mixed them together in a large bowl.  Then, I covered the soupy mixture with a double layer of cheesecloth and secured it with a rubber band.

You can see my bowl in this picture (note that my kitchen counters have become a "laboratory" for soaking and sprouting).

For the next 7 days, I transferred my soupy mixture to a different bowl each day and added one cup of rye flour and another cup of filtered water.  I would then mix it and put the cheesecloth back on top.

During the week, the cheesecloth allowed good bacteria (lactobacilli) and airborne fungus (wild yeast) to enter my soupy mix, causing it to froth and bubble.  After about 3 days it began to smell badly, but by the end of the week it smelled like wine.

This is what it looked like after 7 days.

At this point, it was ready to be used for making bread.

A sourdough starter is a living thing that needs to be cared for just like any other living thing.  If you aren't going to use it right away, you can store it in the fridge or freezer.  Just make sure that you "feed" the starter with one cup of flour/water at least once a week and allow oxygen to get to it.

Starters make a wonderful gift for friends and family - just give them a few cups and tell them to feed it every day until they build up their supply.

The taste of your starter and it's ability to leaven bread will get better with age, so be patient and don't give up if your first batch of bread doesn't taste perfect!

Note:  many websites will tell you that you shouldn't use metal bowls or utensils for your starter.  I used a stainless steel bowl for mine and did not have a problem.  Everything I've read says that anything other than stainless steel is not advised, but essentially the "no metal rule" is a myth.

Now you are ready to make your bread.

Once again, I used the Nourishing Traditions recipe.

I used 2 quarts of my starter (needs to be at room temperature) and added 2 1/2 tablespoons of sea salt and 1 cup cold filtered water.

Mix it until the salt dissolves.  Then, start mixing your flour (you will add 13 cups in all).  I used whole wheat.

Halfway through you will need to add another 1/2 cup cold filtered water and start mixing with your hands.




















Then, knead the dough for about 15 minutes.  This will be a workout, BELIEVE me!  My arms were sore afterwards. 
























Section your dough into your loaf sizes.  I made five medium-sized loafs.

Grease your loaf pans.  I used coconut oil because of Gabe's dairy allergy.

Form your loaves and put them in their pans.

Make sure to add some slices to the tops of your loaves.

Then cover your loaves and let them rise.

Leavening time will depend on the age and quality of your starter - the older the starter, the shorter the time.  Some starters may take as little as a few hours, but other may take a day or longer.  Remember that your dough will not spoil, because the fermentation process protects it.

I let mine rise for 19 hours and this is what they looked like afterwards.

Bake at 350 for an hour and your bread is done!

I sliced several of my loaves and froze them.  This will make it easy to grab a few pieces as needed for toast.

Enjoy!

-Jess

My Superfoods

Organ Meat (especially liver)

Wheat Germ

Leafy Greens

Sunflower Seeds

Mollusks

Squash and Pumpkin (the fruit and seeds)

Rice Bran

Wild Game Meat

Eggs

Lentils

Nuts

I have been on a prenatal vitamin for nearly three years now, but am unable to take most prescription strength types because they contain either soy or a stool softener that can upset my Crohn's Disease. I have found a few OTC vitamins that seemed to work well in the past, but lately they have been upsetting my stomach.

Because of this, I decided to start researching what exactly these vitamins contain. I discovered that most of the brands you find on the store shelves are synthetic - vitamins created in a laboratory from coal tar derivatives, which are not absorbed by your body in the same way as vitamins from natural plants and other materials. Even when the vitamins say they are coming from natural sources, we don't know exactly what that means. For example - Vitamin E often comes from soybean oil (most likely genetically modified at that).

So, I've made a decision to stop taking vitamins and to focus more on getting my vitamins from the food I eat. This decision lead me to NutritionData, a website that allows you to search for foods that contain high levels of certain vitamins and minerals. From the lists they provided, I weeded out the processed and enriched foods to find the raw foods containing the highest levels.

While looking at the lists I created, I noticed that many of the same foods were appearing over and over again. Organ meat (especially liver) was found on 46% of the lists. Leafy greens (especially spinach) and wheat germ were on 36%, while sunflower seeds and mollusks were on 32%. Squash and pumpkin seeds were on 27% and the following foods were on 18% of the lists - rice bran, wild game meat, eggs, lentils, and nuts.

So I am now considering these foods my "superfoods" and am going to make an effort to include them in my diet as much as possible. I've always known that I need to eat these foods, but never really knew why until now.

Here are the specific lists:

Foods high in Vitamin A -Leafy greens, Carrots, animal liver, Broccoli, Asparagus, Cabbage, prunes, Okra, Leeks, Kiwi. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin B6 - hot peppers, Paprika, Summer squash/zucchini, Watercress, Bell peppers, Turnip greens, Bamboo shoots, Spinach, Okra, Garlic. Full list found here.

Foods high in vitamin B12- Mollusks, Animal liver, Crustaceans, Animal heart, Fish, Wild game meat, Eggs, Milk, Beef, Poultry. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin C - Bell peppers, guavas, Currants, Hot peppers, Orange peel/oranges, leafy greens, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Papaya, lemons. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin D - Cod liver oil, Fish, Oysters, Eggs, Cheese, Milk, Mushrooms, Clams. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin E - Wheat germ oil, Hazelnut oil, Almond oil, Sunflower seeds, Paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, grapeseed oil, Almonds, Flaxseed oil. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin K - Kale, Swiss chard, Dandelion greens, Collard greens. Full list found here.

Foods high in folate - Yeast, Animal liver, Beans (mothbeans, chickpeas, cowpeas, mung beans, etc.), lentils, Giblets, Wheat germ, Peanuts, Sunflower seeds, Spinach. Full list found here.

Foods high in calcium - Whey, Milk, Cheese, Seaweed, agave, Grape leaves, Flaxseed, Leafy greens. Full list found here.

Foods high in iron - Whale/seal/walrus meat, Animal spleen, Animal liver, Seaweed, Clams, Yeast, Pumpkin/squash seeds, Sesame seeds, Bell peppers. Full list found here.

Foods high in magnesium - rice bran, Seaweed, Wheat bran, Pumpkin/squash seeds, Flaxseed, Brazilnuts, Sesame seeds, Beans (yardlong, cowpeas, hyacinth, etc.), Sunflower seeds. Full list found here.

Foods high in zinc - Oysters, Wheat germ, Agave, Animal liver, Pumpkin and squash seeds, Beef, Wild game meat (bear, caribou, bison, elk), Lamb, whale. Full list found here.

Foods high in potassium - Palm hearts, Beans (white, lima, black, etc.), Molasses, Wheat bran, Nuts (pistachio, ginkgo, chestnuts, etc.), Lentils, Arrowhead, Wheat germ, Sunflower seeds. Full list found here.

Foods high in phosphorus - Rice bran, Smelt, Seeds (pumpkin, squash, sunflower, etc.), Wheat bran, wheat germ, Cheese (Parmesan, goat, gruyere, swiss, etc.), Cashews, Oats, Walnuts, durum wheat. Full list found here.

Foods high in copper - Animal liver, Oysters, Seaweed, Dried shiitake mushrooms, Sesame seeds, Nuts (cashews, brazilnuts, walnuts, etc.), Lobster, Sunflower seeds, Lentils. Full list found here.

Foods high in manganese - Rice bran, Wheat germ, Nuts (hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc.), Oats, Mussels, Maple syrup, Bulgur, Spelt, Grape leaves. Full list found here.

Foods high in selenium - Nuts, Mollusks, Animal kidneys, Animal giblets, Durum wheat, Sunflower seeds, Wheat germ, Kamut, Animal liver, Fish . Full list found here.

Foods high in choline - Egg, Organ meat, Whey, Beef, Game meat, Pork, Veal, Animal fat, Milk, Beef stock/broth. Full list found here.

Foods high in beta carotene - Grape leaves, Carrots, sweet potatoes, Leafy greens, pumpkin, Squash, Cabbage, Plums, Peas, apricots. Full list found here.

Foods high in lycopene - Tomatoes, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Asparagus, Red cabbage, Carrots, Chicken liver. Full list found here.

Foods high in Betaine - Quinoa, Spinach, Beets, Kamut, Bulgur, Amaranth, Tilapia, Oat bran, Beef, Game meat. Full list found here.

Foods high in Pantothenic Acid - Rice bran, Organ meat, Whey, Egg, Shiitake mushrooms, Wheat germ, Lentils, Peanuts, Cheese. Full list found here.

-Jessica

Note - on NutritionData, I used the Nutrient Search Tool and sorted for foods highest in a particular vitamin or mineral based on levels per 100-gram serving.

Probiotics

We would like to begin this blog with what we think is one of the most important keys to good health – probiotics.

Probiotics are supplements given to mimic the beneficial bacteria/intestinal flora we all have in our bodies. As a result of antibiotic use, many of these good bacteria are killed, causing what scientists believe to be a host of problems. Even if you aren’t taking antibiotics prescribed by your doctor for an illness, antibiotics are found in our drinking water and most of the meats, eggs, and dairy products we consume. Also, the pasteurization process and other modern food preservation techniques have caused the natural probiotic content of our foods to decrease, leaving many people deficient.

Benefits of probiotics:

• Strengthens the immune system by creating a healthy balance of flora


• Helps prevent and treat leaky gut syndrome/diarrhea


• Helps to balance Candida levels in the body, which prevents and treats yeast problems (vaginal yeast infections, thrush, etc.) and UTIs


• Treats IBD and IBS – inflammation of the colon


• Reduces the recurrence of bladder cancer


• Helps speed up the recovery of intestinal infections


• Prevents eczema and other allergy symptoms


• Believed to treat food allergies and intolerances

Ways to take probiotics naturally through your food:

• Cultured/fermented veggies – sauerkraut, fermented sweet potatoes, pickled ginger, beets, etc.


• Fermented beverages – kefir, natural ginger ale, kombuca, kvass – even some beers and wine


• Unpasteurized milk and other dairy products (aged cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt)


• Miso

You can find many recipes for these items in Jordan Rubin’s Maker’s Diet or by doing a simple Google search.

How our family uses them:

Adam prefers to get his probiotics naturally through food. He begins every day with a large bowl of all-natural plain yogurt, sweetened with honey. He also eats a lot of homemade fermented veggies – especially sauerkraut and pickled beets.

I used to drink raw milk and other dairy products daily, but since having my second baby I have been finding it harder to make the trip to get my milk on a regular basis. I now take a supplement two times per day if I haven’t eaten a probiotic-rich food in its place. I take Solaray’s Multidophilus 12, because there is no soy in the capsules. I began taking them about a year ago and since I have not had a flare-up of my Crohn’s Disease, made it through an entire pregnancy without a yeast infection or UTI, and have nursed a baby for four months without any thrush. The probiotics are also transferred through my breast milk to David, which I feel is a great preventative measure for seasonal and food allergies on top of being good for his overall health. Breast milk already has probiotics, but taking the supplement increases the amount he is receiving.

Gabe takes KAL Dinosaurs Baby Bifidactyl in powder form. I mix ¼ teaspoon into his rice milk with his morning drink. He began taking this approximately 4 months ago. At the time we began to notice that he had really bad breath (a sign of poor digestion). Within 3 days the bad breath was gone. He has also made it through the spring without needing any OTC allergy medications.

-Jessica

Sources:

"Probiotics: What are they? - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for healthy living - MayoClinic.com. 30 May 2009 .

Rubin, Jordan. Maker's diet. New York: Berkley Books, 2005.