SUGAR CONTROL ELIMINATION CHALLENGE DIET
The SCECD is a two week challenge designed to help re-calibrate the body’s sugar control mechanisms, to discover the carbohydrate balance which best serves your body and to test for food sensitivities. A challenge well worth the effort: a tool which can help to restore vitality, reduce inflammation, stabilize mood, normalize weight (either gain or loss as needed), improve digestion, reverse chronic disease. For some, the first several days are difficult as your body adjusts to the change. Most lose cravings for unhealthy foods within a week. At the end of two weeks, a process of adding foods back suggests which foods to avoid, and the ratio of carbohydrates/protein and fats for you. The process helps to personalize a diet for your vitality and health in the long run.
Recipes and Support Why such deprivation?
Guidelines: Eat only whole foods as close as possible to how they are found in nature. To correct erratic blood sugar fluctuations, eat something every two-three hours, if only a taste to allow your body to let you know if you are hungry.
VEGETABLES: Eat as much as you desire. Ideally two thirds or more of each meal should be vegetables or fruit, mostly vegetables. Focus on dark, leafy greens and a variety of colors. For the SCECD: non starchy vegetables. Avoid: potatoes, yams corn, peas, winter squash, cooked beets or carrots)
PROTEINS: Each meal should include some protein, but you can have as much as you desire. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs are unlimited, if no sensitivity exists.
FRUITS: On this diet, one or two small sized pieces of fruit per day is plenty (palm full of berries). Eat between meals as a snack with nuts or seeds. Leave the sweeter fruits such as bananas, mangos, persimmons, papayas, grapes, dried fruits, etc. alone. Allowed fruits: apples, pears, peaches, plums, all berries. Eat all of the avocado that you would like!
GRAINS: No wheat including breads, rolls, muffins, and pasta (see gluten handout). No soy. No corn. No beans or legumes for breakfast. Grain substitutes: sprouted beans or legumes, chopped cauliflower with butter.
NUTS: Eat plenty of raw nuts, especially raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc. Soak your nuts to break down the phytic acid.
DAIRY: Do not consume dairy for this two week period.
FATS: Eat lots of healthy fats such as nuts, nut and seed butters, avocados, lard, chicken fat, coconut, flax, hemp, sesame, olive, walnut, and borage oils. Eat fish 2x/week or take supplemental fish oil. No artificial or hydrogenated fats allowed, such as margarine or shortening.
SWEETENERS: No sweeteners of any kind.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
When you wake up, have glass of water. Keep hydrated throughout the day. To determine the amount of water you should drink: divide your body weight in two and drink that many ounces of water every day.
AVOID CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL
. . . . AFTER THE TWO WEEKS:
Reintroducing foods that might cause a sensitivity:
Start reintroducing wheat, dairy, soy, corn. Reintroduce one food for three meals on one day. If you have a reaction, there is no need to continue. Make note of your reactions. Wait 48 hours before reintroducing the next food (whether you have a reaction or not.) Repeat with each of the foods.
The kinds of symptoms you might experience vary from person to person. You could experience stuffy nose, sore joints, a change in mood, stomach upset, so keep your eyes open. If the symptoms are uncomfortable try VC, Bicarbonate, digestive enzymes.
Reintroducing carbohydrates
The next step will be to reintroduce carbohydrates. Careful observation will help you fine tune the ratio of carbohydrates that works best for your body. Reintroduce ½ C of carbohydrates/day for 5 days and then notice if you observe any increase in the symptoms listed below. Add an additional ½ C for the next five days, and again, notice if you observe any increase in the symptoms listed below.
Symptoms related to sugar control to look for as you increase carbs.
Awaken a few hours after falling asleep, hard to get back to sleep
Crave sweets
Binge or uncontrolled eating
Excessive appetite
Crave coffee or sugar in the afternoon
Sleepy in the afternoon
Fatigue that is relieved by eating
Headache if meals are skipped or delayed
Irritable before meals
Shaky if meals delayed
Frequent thirst
Frequent urination
Sore joints.
General inflammation
The SCECD is a two week challenge designed to help re-calibrate the body’s sugar control mechanisms, to discover the carbohydrate balance which best serves your body and to test for food sensitivities. A challenge well worth the effort: a tool which can help to restore vitality, reduce inflammation, stabilize mood, normalize weight (either gain or loss as needed), improve digestion, reverse chronic disease. For some, the first several days are difficult as your body adjusts to the change. Most lose cravings for unhealthy foods within a week. At the end of two weeks, a process of adding foods back suggests which foods to avoid, and the ratio of carbohydrates/protein and fats for you. The process helps to personalize a diet for your vitality and health in the long run.
Recipes and Support Why such deprivation?
Guidelines: Eat only whole foods as close as possible to how they are found in nature. To correct erratic blood sugar fluctuations, eat something every two-three hours, if only a taste to allow your body to let you know if you are hungry.
VEGETABLES: Eat as much as you desire. Ideally two thirds or more of each meal should be vegetables or fruit, mostly vegetables. Focus on dark, leafy greens and a variety of colors. For the SCECD: non starchy vegetables. Avoid: potatoes, yams corn, peas, winter squash, cooked beets or carrots)
PROTEINS: Each meal should include some protein, but you can have as much as you desire. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs are unlimited, if no sensitivity exists.
FRUITS: On this diet, one or two small sized pieces of fruit per day is plenty (palm full of berries). Eat between meals as a snack with nuts or seeds. Leave the sweeter fruits such as bananas, mangos, persimmons, papayas, grapes, dried fruits, etc. alone. Allowed fruits: apples, pears, peaches, plums, all berries. Eat all of the avocado that you would like!
GRAINS: No wheat including breads, rolls, muffins, and pasta (see gluten handout). No soy. No corn. No beans or legumes for breakfast. Grain substitutes: sprouted beans or legumes, chopped cauliflower with butter.
NUTS: Eat plenty of raw nuts, especially raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc. Soak your nuts to break down the phytic acid.
DAIRY: Do not consume dairy for this two week period.
FATS: Eat lots of healthy fats such as nuts, nut and seed butters, avocados, lard, chicken fat, coconut, flax, hemp, sesame, olive, walnut, and borage oils. Eat fish 2x/week or take supplemental fish oil. No artificial or hydrogenated fats allowed, such as margarine or shortening.
SWEETENERS: No sweeteners of any kind.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
When you wake up, have glass of water. Keep hydrated throughout the day. To determine the amount of water you should drink: divide your body weight in two and drink that many ounces of water every day.
AVOID CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL
. . . . AFTER THE TWO WEEKS:
Reintroducing foods that might cause a sensitivity:
Start reintroducing wheat, dairy, soy, corn. Reintroduce one food for three meals on one day. If you have a reaction, there is no need to continue. Make note of your reactions. Wait 48 hours before reintroducing the next food (whether you have a reaction or not.) Repeat with each of the foods.
The kinds of symptoms you might experience vary from person to person. You could experience stuffy nose, sore joints, a change in mood, stomach upset, so keep your eyes open. If the symptoms are uncomfortable try VC, Bicarbonate, digestive enzymes.
Reintroducing carbohydrates
The next step will be to reintroduce carbohydrates. Careful observation will help you fine tune the ratio of carbohydrates that works best for your body. Reintroduce ½ C of carbohydrates/day for 5 days and then notice if you observe any increase in the symptoms listed below. Add an additional ½ C for the next five days, and again, notice if you observe any increase in the symptoms listed below.
Symptoms related to sugar control to look for as you increase carbs.
Awaken a few hours after falling asleep, hard to get back to sleep
Crave sweets
Binge or uncontrolled eating
Excessive appetite
Crave coffee or sugar in the afternoon
Sleepy in the afternoon
Fatigue that is relieved by eating
Headache if meals are skipped or delayed
Irritable before meals
Shaky if meals delayed
Frequent thirst
Frequent urination
Sore joints.
General inflammation