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makers diet or scd while pregnant?

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Posted 4/29/2008 2:44 AM (GMT 0)
can you do the makers diet or scd while pregnant?

Also, I'm allergic to nuts so any idea about alternative almond flour suggestions?

I'm not doing good at all... sad

Posted 4/29/2008 3:14 AM (GMT 0)

coconut flour instead of almond flour?

Hope you get better soon

Posted 4/29/2008 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Roni...I'm so sorry you're not doing well....

I'm not able to speak from personal experience as I wasn't pregnant while eating this way, but I can't think of a healthier way to eat while pregnant. Run it by your doctor if you want to be sure...

Calcium intake is always a concern for me on this diet because I can't get my son to eat enough leafy greens, and he will not eat dairy either (and he's still growing and needs LOTS). This is why he takes a calcium supplement...as I'm sure you are/will if you're pregnant. I hope to get him on the SCD legal home made yogurt really soon, so that should help, too.

If you can, purchase a high quality juicer like an Omega or Champion for your veggie intake. (I found an Omega for ~$225 online) They are fabulous and it's a way to get all the benefits of veggies without all the fiber which might cause you problems. Folic acid is critical when pregnant (and recommended for CDers, too) so maybe concentrate on juicing those veggies which are high in folic acid, like leafy greens, peas, broccoli, etc. You can always make it more palatable by adding an apple to sweeten it--carrots, too!

Oh!! And I seem to remember you can make your own baby food with those juicers, so you could really justify purchasing one!!!

Just a few thoughts... I hope you feel *much better* very soon!
Posted 4/29/2008 2:02 PM (GMT 0)
I'll be looking for the coconut flour. How about rice flour?

My concern is that the maker's diet phase 1 and 2 are detox, which can't be good for pregnant women. Even in phase 3, you're only allowed a limited number of grains and pregnant women need more carbs and calories, so I don't see how I'll gain enough weight if I do the MD diet strictly.

Do you lose weight with the SCD? Can you get enough calories for mom and baby?

My doc is probably going to insist I go back on prednisone, then I'm going to want to eat everything in sight! I really want to get this DD under control!

 

Posted 4/29/2008 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
You CAN do SCD while pregnant, but you really need to make sure that you are getting a good variety of foods. How far along are you? Are you flaring? Do you tolerate any complex carbs at all? (rice? cereals? pasta? anything?)
Posted 4/29/2008 3:24 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know much about rice flour or any other flour, for that matter! What about amaranth flour? I'll try to check the SCD legal list later...

Just speaking from personal experience again, but I believe you CAN easily get enough calories for mom and baby. As I mentioned before, my son is still growing AND he swims competitively (in the water 2 hours a day, 6 days a week and does weight training in addition). I was very concerned initially about his caloric intake--as well as finding enough good carbs. In these circumstances, one has to *really* make a conscious effort to eat *constantly*. It's just about choices. You will simply be making different choices...and eating all the time...lucky you!

I understand your hesitancy to start phase 1 or 2 while pregnant, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. I believe it's called detox because you are breaking the bad carb addiction. This breaking of addiction leads to the bad bacteria dieing off in the intestines. As long as you're consuming enough calories, I can't think this would be harmful to baby in any way... but alas, I'm no doctor...check with him/her...

What about simply trying phase 3? You will be able to have sprouted grain breads which will at least guarantee more carbs.

Have you considered trying VSL#3. Some folks report bathroom trips cut in half with this super-strong probiotic. Just a thought.

Again, I hope you feel much better really soon!!!
Posted 4/29/2008 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
I'm only about 4-5 weeks. I just found out a few days ago. I've never been in remission, even after a resection the crohns came right back.

I'm proned to partial obstructions, so I always have to be careful how much I eat and chewing my food, etc.

I'm taking Primal Defense probiotics, which has cut back on the stools from 30 a day to 5-20 times a day, and I also try to stick to phase 3 of the MD, but I'm still flaring all the time. Sometimes are better than others, but over the past month, I have CONSTANT LRQ pain! I'm even wondering if surgery is okay when you're pregnant.

I just want to feel better and have a healthy pregnancy! The last time I was pregnant a few years ago, it was very hard, even though my child was born early, but healthy.

Post Edited (Roni) : 4/29/2008 10:16:53 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/29/2008 6:20 PM (GMT 0)

 

Roni,


I'm looking into SCD and Maker's diets myself for my son and came across a blog of mother and daughter regarding their progress after starting SCD diet a year ago. The younger woman has Crohn's, was flaring at the time but wanted to get pregnant. She started the diet and her mother joined her for support. Here is the link http://bethsblog.typepad.com/bethsblog/turtle_soup/index.html

Also, here is the link for the SCD introduction diet http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/beginners_guide/the_intro_diet2.htm

Understanding that you are not feeling good at this time, you might try to make just chicken soup with pureed carrots for yourself and maybe some brown rice bread (which is not legal on SCD, don't remember if it's OK on the Maker's though). Try to take it easy for a while. I wouldn't worry regarding caloric consumption at this time (as a mother of four but not a doctor :-)). I think it's more important to take care of a flare right now.

And last thought for you. Are you familiar with exclusive elemental diet? You might try it for at least four-six weeks to get your symptoms under control. This is an official treatment for Crohn's Disease and works as well as steroids but without side effects. There are special formulas on the pharmaceutical market that your doctor might prescribe for you or you can purchase it without a problem over the Internet (a bit expensive though but worth it). This way you can get your health back and consume enough calories and nutrients at the same time. My son drinks Nutren 1.5 (375 calories in one can).

Good luck to you. I hope you'll get better very soon!

Svetlana.


Posted 4/29/2008 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
chachka, welcome to the forum and thank you for the turtle soup link!!! I just printed a banana muffin recipe I'm going to make tonight!

Roni, I checked and amaranth flour is illegal for the SCD. I couldn't remember what I had learned in the past about amaranth, but now I remember. It's considered gluten-free. Maybe try the SCD thread and ask if anyone has any substitute flour ideas that are legal. Those folks (especially Butterfat [for gourmet SCD]) really know their stuff!

Given that fact that the PD probiotics gave you a positive outcome, I'm going to guess that VSL would work even better. PD has (I think) 5 billion cfu, while one capsule of VSL has 225 billion cfu. I believe you won't see much price difference, either. It just *might* help!!! I've read somewhere that CDers should not take VSL in the packets because they use cornstarch as a filler (definitely NOT SCD legal!). But one packet (standard dose) has 450 billion cfu, so you could take two capsules a day to see if you have even further improvement. Again, just thinking out loud here....

chachka's right, though, about the elemental or semi-elemental diet. "Writer" here on the forum is an expert and can answer any questions you might have about doing it. It would give your intestines a rest for a bit and as long as you are getting enough calories, should not hurt your baby.

I'm keeping you in my prayers!
Posted 4/29/2008 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
Congrat's on your pregnancy really hope your feeling better soon.

Posted 4/29/2008 10:12 PM (GMT 0)
I just started the Maker's Diet - well it's modified at this time - but my concern is with the raw milk during pregnancy. I am fine drinking it, because I know my body can fight off things that a fetus couldn't. I know they say not to eat lunchmeat and other foods during pregnancy because of the risk of listeria. Would you drink the raw milk during pregnancy?
Posted 4/29/2008 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
In Canada, all dairy must be pasturized. I usually eat goat yogurt, org. goat cheese, and org. cow cheese.

Does the elemental diet include Ensures?

Has anyone drank camomile while pregnant? Is it okay? I keep seeing conflicting info about this.
Posted 4/29/2008 11:15 PM (GMT 0)

weedlewub said...
I just started the Maker's Diet - well it's modified at this time - but my concern is with the raw milk during pregnancy. I am fine drinking it, because I know my body can fight off things that a fetus couldn't. I know they say not to eat lunchmeat and other foods during pregnancy because of the risk of listeria. Would you drink the raw milk during pregnancy?

Personally, I would not drink raw milk or eat raw cheese at ANY time due to concerns about MAP and other pathogens (MAP, now thought to be a possible culprit in the cause of Crohn's). I do know of a Doctor with Crohn's disease who follows the Maker's Diet. She drinks raw milk but only from a local dairy farm where the dairy farmer tests and certifies *each and every cow* free from Johne's Disease (MAP infection). That scenario would be the only way we would consume raw dairy, but that farm is about 1500 miles away...

Sooooo...I'm glad you brought that up, weedlewub! In that respect, we do not follow the MD 100% and MAP is why my son won't consume dairy at all. The safest milk, if you're going to consume it (and the SCD would say don't), would be any that says "ultra-pasteurized" on the label (usually organic, but not always), as MAP survives standard pasteurization. The SCD yogurt, on the other hand, would be quite safe because you have to boil the milk before making the yogurt, thus killing anything dangerous.
Posted 4/30/2008 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
For SCD, what is the difference between buy organic plain yogurt with live cultures or making it?
Posted 4/30/2008 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
Roni, I was hoping someone would answer the yogurt question with more knowledge than me. I believe it's because homemade yogurt is so incredibly FRESH, that all the beneficial bacteria are present--the MAXIMUM number. With a store-bought brand, even a high-quality one, there is bound to be some loss of life (good bacteria) during transportation and sitting on the shelf. Also, with home-made you have control of the entire process and therefore you can control the presence of lactose (*very* minimal, it is eaten away during fermentation) and potential bad bacteria (it is cooked away).
Posted 4/30/2008 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
For the yogurt question on SCD - it's because most commercial manufacturers only ferment their yogurt for 12 hours or so and that is not long enough for the lactose (sugar) to be gone. That is why making it at home and letting it ferment for 24 hours is recommended. That is the time period required to eliminate the sugar that is harmful to the gut. HTH.
Posted 4/30/2008 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
 

Hi, Roni,

To answer you questions – you can use Ensure as a enteral nutrition. I checked before with my son's ped. GI and the woman on the other board who is a pro in this area and is wrighting a book regarding benefits of the enteral nutrition in achieving remission. My son tried Ensure for a little while but his stomach was hearting from it. Maybe he couldn't tolerate whey, milk and soy proteins in the shake or at least one of them. Ensure is lactose free though. There is Ensure Plus shake in the market that contains 350 cal in 8 oz bottle. To achieve remission one has to completely eliminate any kind of food. Clear juices are permitted, some can tolerate Sprite. I have read that clear vegetable and chicken stock are fine, but never tried them with my son.

As for the yogurt, EMom and Stef17 are right. In the “Breaking the vicious cycle” it is says that a minimum of 24 hours is required for the fermentation process (“if the fermentation goes on longer, all the better”) to ensure that all lactose is completely “digested”.

Svetlana (chachka)

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