@Joe – no traditional “flour” is legal – but you can use nut flours like almond flour once you’ve progressed through the diet some. Hope that helps!

Thanks for your replies. Can you tell what type of flour can I use. Am using gluten and found out that it contains corn starch which is illegal. Spelt is illegal too. Help!!!!

Hi Joe – while we really respect your stance, we’re sorry but we do not have any vegetarian options for SCD. Thanks for stopping by and we hope you find the path to healing that is right for you!

Pam, I was wondering if you have tried ghee. I am doing a lot of juicing and vegetable smoothies (with an apple and several seeds), and I alternate with coconut oil and ghee, just for variety. I also eat meat, of course. I don’t have issues with either fat, but I wondered if you have given that a try. Good luck, and God bless.

Yes, you will need to work with your DOC to taper off nexium over 2-3 weeks before taking HCl.

DGL can help alleviate gastritis or stomach ulcers.

Jordan

Can u please explain the difference btw Bet HCL and DGL? I know you are a huge fan of Betaine HCL, how do you take it? Would I stop taking nexium with this? Thanks!
Diana

Thanks Jordan–you guys rock.

@Stacie – Yes, this is very common. Start with upping the fat. You can eat coconut oil off the spoon if you’d like. And also try some Sauerkraut.

I’m a generally positive person and won’t quit, but just here looking for answers that my doctors haven’t been able to pin point.

Thanks!

p.s. coconut oil does not agree with me 🙁

I have an appointment with a motility doctor at Temple University next Wednesday, so I’m hoping he knows what to do. I’ll be sure to up the coconut oil, thanks.

@Joe – Sounds like you are someone who needs more advanced testing to make sure there aren’t any pathogens in your GI tract. In the meantime try loading up on the coconut oil.

Hey Jordan,

I’ve been taking Betaine HCL for about two months now and it has helped me to digest things better and enabled me to eat a wider variety of food, but I still get my usual symptoms of bloating, constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. I’ve also been logging all my food on http://www.myfitnesspal.com for awhile and my average daily calorie consumption is around 1,700-1,900 when looking at it from a weekly view. Daily, I try to hit 2,000-2,100 but I have some bad days of less than 1,000 due to the aforementioned symptoms. I’ll stick with it, but it’s very frustrating to keep spinning my wheels and go nowhere.

Hi Joe – definitely don’t take anything we say as medical advice because we’re not Doctors. I was scary skinny my first year on this diet, but I felt so good I didn’t care.

It took a while to get the weight back, but taking Betaine HCL really improved things. Lots of healthy fats, digestive enzymes, and Betaine HCL. The enzymes and betaine made it so I was actually started to digest food properly and absorb the nutrients… the healthy fats made sure I was actually getting enough calories each day.

Use something like http://fitday.com to see how many calories you’re actually eating.

Hang in there man, I believe in you!

Jordan

Steve,

I have not had mine formally tested, but I did the test with betaine HCL that you described in one of your posts and I’m positive that I have low stomach acid. I went up to either 6 or 7 pills before I felt a burning sensation, so it’s pretty low. What would that mean then? I’ve been having some coconut oil but I cannot have much because it slows down my digestion too much and kills my hunger, which is not good.

I’m honestly thinking of ditching paleo and literally eating whatever to gain weight because the longer I stay at this weight the more stress I’m putting on my body and the more damage that happens as a result. I also am anemic and have elevated BUN and AST (liver) levels, and my doc said regaining weight will reverse them. I basically need to gain around 10lbs before I can even start working out just because what happened to my body as a result of the unwanted weight loss. As you can imagine I’m frustrated and lost and am looking for advice as to correct my problem.

On a side note: your podcast is great, I’ve learned much from it and enjoy hearing about the different facets of digestion.

@Joe – Thanks for the comment. Constipation is a tricky issue, people want to make it simple when in reality it’s not. I’m always curious what portion of the gastroparesis population has low stomach acid. Have you had yours tested? You could try using MCT oil and Coconut oil to add calories as they are absorbed very fast without much effort from the body.

To clarify, I’ve lost 23lbs this year from January to July, and need to gain weight back since I’m now anemic and have elevated BUN and liver levels due to being underweight at 5’10 125lbs as a 23yr old guy.