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Hi List-

Thank-you all so much for the responses! Several of you have asked me for a
summary on the question I posed about Carbohydrate Intolerance.
Overwhelmingly, the majority of responders found great improvement
eliminating certain, if not all, carbs when not improving on just the GF
diet.  Several people suggested reading "Breaking the Vicious Cycle-
Intestinal Health Through Diet," by Elaine Gottschall. Here are some of the
other responses I received:

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I am a coeliac,but also have a carbohydrate intolerance.It was many years
before the CD was diagnosed,but when I discovered I had to eliminate
gluten,the relief was indescribable.For abot 12 months,life was fine,I got
used to using rice flour,cornflour,and eating loads of potatoes.Then the
tummy troubles started again,and I knew it wasn`t gluten ingestion.After
much prodding and poking,my gastro finally suggested that I eliminate all
carbohydrates...he said that sometimes,during the years that a coeliac is
undiagnosed,and carries on eating gluten,the pancreas gets damaged,and this
is where the digestive enzymes are produced.Sorry,its all a bit technical
for me,but obviously,I no longer produce the neccessary enzymes to `split
the sugars`.Anyway,the elimination of carbohydrates is obviously the right
thing for me,as,barring accidental ingestion of them,my vile stomach
problems have all cleared.
The diet is boring and bland,and I am always low on energy,but its so
pleasant not to have to live in my bathroom.

_____________________

From my experiences, I've come to several conclusions about carbohydrate
intolerance.

Carbohydrate intolerance can be due to several reasons.

(1) One person may be carb intolerant because they have yeast overgrowth
in the gut.  This causes that drunk, loopy feeling from eating carbs.
(Some have suggested that yeast ferments undigested carbs into acohol in
the colon.)  I find I tolerate carbs better now that I limit yeast
promoting foods (refined sugars & starches). Some people are carb
intolerant because they are deficient in chromium.

(2) Chromium deficiency causes reactive hypoglycemia.  Chromium is
essential to normal blood sugar regulation.  I've found tremendous &
almost immediate relief when I supplemented with 1000 mcgs of chromium
picolinate.  I kept this high dose for a couple weeks.  Now I maintain
nicely on 200 mcgs a day.  (I get my 200 mcgs chromium a day in an
excellent bone building formula called OsteoPrime Forte by
PhytoPharmica).  Supplemental digestive enzymes & hydrochloric acid
really help me tolerate carbs as they enhance complete digestion &
absorption of nutrients.  The best digestive aid I've ever used is
BIO-GEST by Thorne.  When I use this product I don't bloat with gas.

Yes, I have tried the specific carbohydrate diet.  In fact, I believe it
saved my life a couple of years ago.  It was very helpful.  I followed it
religiously for about a year.  It really helped.  However, with all the
food allergies I have, I couldn't get enough calories from the SCD to
recovery the weight loss I experienced from the GI illness I had.  I
gradually re-introduced brown rice, potatoes and corn into my diet & have
now regained 10 needed pounds.  I feel pretty darn good now & sure look
lots better.

I'm able to tolerate complex, unrefined carbs because I take Thorne
Bio-GEST and chromium picolinate faithfully.
____________________________________________________

I just stay away from all grains/carbs.  and have done very well.
____________________________________________________

i am one of those celiacs that only improved after going low carb. i do
a combination
of the SDC and the Body Ecology Diet.  I think you're on the right
track. not sure why
I'm carb intolerant -  i think it could have to do with candida, SIBO
(small intestinal
bacterial organisms), as well as hypoglycimia and leaky gut.
since i am eating a very limited range of foods, it's important that i
get adequate nutrition.
i juice my own veggies every day (low carb greens) - which i need to
drink with a protein
meal so that i don't get a blood sugar spike - and i eat fruit with
protein also.
i don't think you have to follow the diets to the letter - it's a matter
of what you can
personally get away with.  i also make sure to eat free range quality
meats and organic
veggies.
_____________________________________________________

I do not have any real info but thought I would tell
you that I too feel I am carbo intolerant to a large
degree. I don't digest carbs well, never did. Even
potatoes are not ideal, yet I believe they are less
bothersome than rice.

I think a few of us have problems with this...
_____________________________________________________

I have extreme problems with carbohydrates.  I can't eat dairy, sugar, and
a celiac.  I'm going to try some things I received from a nutritionist and
see if they help.
_____________________________________________________

You should ask your doctor for an IgG food panel (lab work) to determine
whether there are other food allergies/intolerances.  I tried the SCD many
years ago and while it did restore my intestinal health to a large degree, I
was having other severe symptoms because I'm allergic to eggs and nuts which
this diet uses in large amounts.  I do think that staying off grains is a
step in the right direction for intestinal health.  You might consider a
cross between the SCD diet combined with some of the recipes on-line for
low-carb diets.  That would help give you some variety
____________________________________________________

Carbohydrates can be difficult to absorb when healing.  Try to limit them.
____________________________________________________

I've been on the SCDiet over two years and feel it has helped me much
more than just the gf diet.  Abdominal pain I had continued to
experience on the gf diet disappeared after one week on the SCDiet.
Occasionally I try some rice or other carbohydrate not on the SCD and
right away I start getting abdominal symptoms.  I like the diet and have
had no trouble staying on it.  It took me about a week to get over the
grain cravings, and then they stopped.  The times when I tried rice it
was because it was served as part of my meal at a restaurant, and I
decided to try it--not because of any craving.

I had to add more fat to my diet because I began losing weight even
though I was eating a lot.  I added a lot of nuts.  I was a little
nervous about my cholesterol but when I was next tested, my HDL (good
cholesterol) went up to 50% of total cholesterol, which of course is
very good.

If you haven't seen it already, you might want to look at the
mercola.com, a very popular alternative medicine website.  Dr. Mercola
recommends a no grain diet for most people.  It's interesting to see
this diet recommended for health generally and not just for celiacs.
_____________________________________________________

I did not heal until I went on the SCD,  I was three years on a gf diet
before I went on SCD and it took a year for that to heal.   Now I very
occaisonally
try a starch but if I stay on it, I get into trouble again.  I have pretty
much abandoned carbs and use almond flour for bread and muffins.
_____________________________________________________

I have tried it and it worked very well for me.  Eventually I did go back on
carbs but sparingly, I still dont eat alot of carbs.  Get some almond flour,
and Elaine Gotchalls book, some of her recipes are delicious and very
nourishing.
______________________________________________________

After years of following a GF diet with some improvement, I decided to try
something more. I myself am now following the new Atkins (high protein and
fat / 30 carbohydrates a day) as well as a GF diet. Most stuff that has
gluten in it, is in foods high in carbohydrates. I have had the most
improvement and feel my best following this diet plan. For the first time in
my life, I am off all meds and have tons of energy with no digestive
problems. The carbs I eat, I try to make them complex carbs that don't
contain a lot of sugar as well as stay away from simple carbs as much as
possible. Potatoes and carrots virtually are all sugar to your body and thus
can wear you down. Although I do eat some homemade Atkins type icecream to
maintain my chocolate fix! Word of warning... if you cut carbs, then you
have to increase fat intake (butter, mayonaise, etc.). If your body doesn't
have enough carbs to burn for energy, then it will turn to the fat...
whether it's consumed fat, or fat on your body, you will burn that. I'm now
the slimmest I've ever been because when I first started on this diet, I
wasn't eating enough fats, so I lost inches (size 10 to size 6 pants but
only like 5 lbs weight loss).
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*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*