Breaking the Vicious Cycle was written by Elaine Gottschall, biochemist and cell biologist. It provides an alternative way to help combat digestive disorders using dietary changes; and also a practical book that addresses the problems of intestinal conditions such as: Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Celiac Disease as well as less severe complaints like: indigestion, "nervous stomach", chronic diarrhea & spastic colon.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1,163 of 1,174 people found the following review helpful
By Rachel Turet
Format:Paperback
With a great deal of skeptisizm, I read this book over five years ago. Ulcerative colitis was bleeding me to death, not that I had a life much worth living at the time. My world revolved around pain and I could be no further than 30 seconds from a bathroom. Ms. Gottschall, her book, and the diet completely vanquished all my symptoms of UC, saved my life and restored my intestinal health. I've just finished reading the reveiws of Courtney Lewis and a reader from Conneticut, who were both put off by the amount of work involved in maintaining this diet. Perhaps their symptoms were not as crippling as mine. Perhaps they have success with medication and have no problem with staying on it for the rest of their lives. I wish them well and hope they do not eventually require the surgery that many of us with this disease must face. I am concerned however, that their reveiws might prevent even one person from reading the book, which is why I am writing about my own experience. After 6 months on this diet I went for my yearly colonoscopy and my doctor declared my colon to appear "like that of a healthy 18 year old's". I have been off of all medication for over 4 years. I currently facilitate a listserver of almost 400 participents, most of who are on the diet. If anyone is interested in joining it, write me at rturet@optonline.com
432 of 438 people found the following review helpful
By AZgoodbooks
Format:Paperback
I have been on this regimen for three years. During this time I have been drug and symptom free. A year and half ago I posted the following review, which is even more dramatic proof now: After a year and a half on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I finally followed my gastroenterologist's request to get a colonoscopy. After all, it had been over four years since the last time anyone had given me any sort of exam of the gut, and 18 years with Crohns. My doc said "We got all the way to the cecum. No evidence at all of Crohns. No scars. No inflammation. Nothing. You look completely normal."
This dietary modification is far better than a drug-induced remission for me because even in past drug-induced 'remissions' my past exams have showed indication of disease. Now there are no drugs, no side effects. I believe this diet is a superior way to bring on a controlled remission.
This book guides the patient through the process of understanding their illness, describing the research that contributed to creating the diet, how to start the diet, what foods can be added and when. The book also contains valuable a list of links to "SCDiet" resources and online support groups that are available over the Internet.
462 of 469 people found the following review helpful
By Debora H.
Format:Paperback
2 years ago, I was suffering from nightly fevers, night sweats, diarrhea 5-8 times a day, pain and cramping, and would black out every time I stood up and had to rest when walking to the back yard. I was taking the highest dose of Colozal possible, and had lost 30 pounds in one month. I decided to start Remicade, which stopped the diarrhea for a week, and then I would regress. 3 rounds of Remicade were providing relief for 7-10 days after each one, and my doctor was suggesting 6 MP or Imuran, even though I had had a near-fatal reaction to it many years ago.
I decided to try the SCDiet again, which I had tried 8 years before with great results, but hadn't continued when I became pregnant, and had misplaced the book in a move. When I began the diet this time, my fevers stopped in a day! I continued to take Remicade, and followed the diet, though I suffered continuous ups and downs for the first 6 months, and my diet was very limited, since I couldn't tolerate most fruits, most vegetables, the nut flour, or the yogurt for the first 3 months.
I gained back the 30 pounds in a few months, despite the rocky progress, my anemia slowly corrected itself, and I started having energy again for the first time in years. I continued on the Remicade, though by now, I was able to stretch my infusions out to 8 weeks, then 10, but still would relapse towards the last weeks.
A year into the diet, I found out that I had a stricture in my descending colon and sigmoid colon that was the size of a pencil. In July, 2004 I had surgery to remove the stricture, and continued on with SCD in the hospital and afterwards. Recovery was fairly easy, and the doctors were amazed at my speedy progress. I discontinued Remicade, since it was unnecessary with the stricture gone.
It is now one year after surgery, and 2 years on the diet. I had a colonoscopy a month ago, and my GI found very, very slight inflammation in the rectum and secum, and all of the biopsies were normal. I haven't had Remicade since the surgery, and am continuing on a very low dose of sulfasalazine, which I plan to discontinue in a year. I weigh the most I have weighed in over 17 years of this disease, my bloodwork is all normal for the first time in 17 years, and my skin and hair are healthy. Many people have wondered if I am pregnant, because I look so "radiant."
Hopefully, in 2 more years, my follow up colonoscopy will be all clear, and I will have weaned from my last medication. I am just saddened that I didn't stick with the diet 8 years ago, because I probably would not have had to have surgery, or 17 years ago, when I was first diagnosed at 16. There are so many things I lost because of this disease; a year abroad at a very prostigious art school, a modeling contract, a normal college experience, besides many, many years of blood, fever and sickness.
Some doctors are beginning to recommend this diet. It is becoming the treatment of choice in the autism community. This diet includes high strength pro-biotics in the form of homemade yogurt; there is more and more evidence that bacteria are playing a large role in these diseases, so the premise of the diet makes sense. I was spending $500 a month on supplements, and was still very sick; when I began this diet, I found that every one of them had some kind of starch or sugar; I now spend $7 a month on vitamins/fish oil. For a decade, I have known that certain foods I ate made me ill; it was so freeing to finally know what to eat, and my food choices are huge compared to what I tolerated in the past. I now can drink wine for the first time in 10 years, and coffee, and tea, and the many baked goods allowed on this diet are delicious. I feel like a teenager again, though this time, I am not sick. Everyone who comes to my house comments on the incredible food my family eats.
It is a crime that no one will do a double-blind study on this diet, and the general advice is, "there is no medical evidence" to justify it. Well, do the study then! Find the medical evidence! In the meantime, there is nothing to lose in trying it. It is healthy, and prevents many other diseases by eating whole, homemade foods. There is no danger in eating this way, except that you will be required to cook - a lot- and it may mean a significant lifestyle change if you are used to eating out, or rely on pre-made, packaged products. I just wish I found it many, many years ago. I wonder who I would have become if I had not suffered such extreme illness for half of my life. To have control again over my body; to know what to eat and that I am progressing! What a miracle.
Debora
I decided to try the SCDiet again, which I had tried 8 years before with great results, but hadn't continued when I became pregnant, and had misplaced the book in a move. When I began the diet this time, my fevers stopped in a day! I continued to take Remicade, and followed the diet, though I suffered continuous ups and downs for the first 6 months, and my diet was very limited, since I couldn't tolerate most fruits, most vegetables, the nut flour, or the yogurt for the first 3 months.
I gained back the 30 pounds in a few months, despite the rocky progress, my anemia slowly corrected itself, and I started having energy again for the first time in years. I continued on the Remicade, though by now, I was able to stretch my infusions out to 8 weeks, then 10, but still would relapse towards the last weeks.
A year into the diet, I found out that I had a stricture in my descending colon and sigmoid colon that was the size of a pencil. In July, 2004 I had surgery to remove the stricture, and continued on with SCD in the hospital and afterwards. Recovery was fairly easy, and the doctors were amazed at my speedy progress. I discontinued Remicade, since it was unnecessary with the stricture gone.
It is now one year after surgery, and 2 years on the diet. I had a colonoscopy a month ago, and my GI found very, very slight inflammation in the rectum and secum, and all of the biopsies were normal. I haven't had Remicade since the surgery, and am continuing on a very low dose of sulfasalazine, which I plan to discontinue in a year. I weigh the most I have weighed in over 17 years of this disease, my bloodwork is all normal for the first time in 17 years, and my skin and hair are healthy. Many people have wondered if I am pregnant, because I look so "radiant."
Hopefully, in 2 more years, my follow up colonoscopy will be all clear, and I will have weaned from my last medication. I am just saddened that I didn't stick with the diet 8 years ago, because I probably would not have had to have surgery, or 17 years ago, when I was first diagnosed at 16. There are so many things I lost because of this disease; a year abroad at a very prostigious art school, a modeling contract, a normal college experience, besides many, many years of blood, fever and sickness.
Some doctors are beginning to recommend this diet. It is becoming the treatment of choice in the autism community. This diet includes high strength pro-biotics in the form of homemade yogurt; there is more and more evidence that bacteria are playing a large role in these diseases, so the premise of the diet makes sense. I was spending $500 a month on supplements, and was still very sick; when I began this diet, I found that every one of them had some kind of starch or sugar; I now spend $7 a month on vitamins/fish oil. For a decade, I have known that certain foods I ate made me ill; it was so freeing to finally know what to eat, and my food choices are huge compared to what I tolerated in the past. I now can drink wine for the first time in 10 years, and coffee, and tea, and the many baked goods allowed on this diet are delicious. I feel like a teenager again, though this time, I am not sick. Everyone who comes to my house comments on the incredible food my family eats.
It is a crime that no one will do a double-blind study on this diet, and the general advice is, "there is no medical evidence" to justify it. Well, do the study then! Find the medical evidence! In the meantime, there is nothing to lose in trying it. It is healthy, and prevents many other diseases by eating whole, homemade foods. There is no danger in eating this way, except that you will be required to cook - a lot- and it may mean a significant lifestyle change if you are used to eating out, or rely on pre-made, packaged products. I just wish I found it many, many years ago. I wonder who I would have become if I had not suffered such extreme illness for half of my life. To have control again over my body; to know what to eat and that I am progressing! What a miracle.
Debora
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book saved my father from surgery
My father has Chron's Disease, which was diagnosed about 10 years ago, and had been battling a horrible flare up for at least 6 months. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Michael Mckiernan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Book
I am always look at information regarding digestive health. I would recommend it to people with digestive issues. Great book to have as a reference.
Published 3 days ago by A. Zimmerman
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book makes a person with these problems have hope.
This is an eye opener when you think about all the illnesses it helps and not having to fill your body with harmful medicines that do not help much any way.
Published 4 days ago by Peggy Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very commendable book
I have loved the book and am practicing thorougly and fruitfully the specific carbohydrate diet. I have eventually found the unexpected solution for my 15 year long IBS. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Damien Akouete Eklu-Natey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book
Even for those who, like our son, do not have the exact conditions addressed in this book*, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall (blessed woman! Read more
Published 6 days ago by Jessica Powell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Reccommended
Enlightening and powerful book...but now with the Enormous problem we face with GMO products...I think there will need to be an update.
Published 7 days ago by Candice Zadeh
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is awesome...
I have learned so much about my illness and causes for it, way more than my GI doctor of 6 years could tell me.. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Pamela A Spaulding
4.0 out of 5 stars
SCD diet
My husband has celiac disease, on gluten free/lactose free diet for 2 years but he started having the same symptoms again even though he was gluten free. Read more
Published 8 days ago by MMurray
4.0 out of 5 stars
eating habits gone bad
this book has some goos advice but i havent finished reading it yet, i about half way done...really good so far
Published 9 days ago by Michael Cipolla
5.0 out of 5 stars
Answer to prayer
I have had Ulcerative Colitis since May 2011, and have gotten progressively worse since then. April 2012 I almost died because of malnourishment. Read more
Published 11 days ago by F. Sandner
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