Fruit. I get a lot of objection
when I tell people that unless it is your cheat day, fruit is not allowed on
the SCD. Let me briefly address this concern. Your body processes all sugar in
the same way. Fruit, although natural and healthy, has an over-abundant amount
of sugar. What we are trying to avoid with the SCD is an insulin spike, which
signals your body to process glycogen as energy instead of burning through fat
reserves. If you think about it, our ancestors were not eating watermelon, grapes, or apples in the middle of winter in Wisconsin – that only came with
the invention of the delivery truck, and chemically altered fruit chalked full
of preservatives to make them last for days longer than they should.
Here is a chart comparing some
different types of sugar contents of various fruits. Tomatoes are allowed on
the SCD because they are relatively low in sugar in comparison to other fruits. Lately I have been adding a small amount of Lime juice to water for additional flavor - it works great!
Carbohydrates are basically sugars
that are processed into many different forms (pasta, cereal, bread, etc.) In
fact, the word “carbohydrate” is a synonym for saccharides – and a saccharide
is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘SUGAR.’ Are we sensing a correlation?
Sugar = excess calories. Beans work as a nice substitute for the white
carbs because they are natural, specialized complex
carbohydrates with a substantial amount of protein to negate their high caloric value.
I always tell people: if you have to
question whether a certain food is allowed on the SCD, chances are that it’s not. Just
save it for your cheat day. For me, one of the most difficult challenges was
the elimination and/or minimization of sauces and dressings.
Ketchup, mayo, ranch dressing, honey mustard, you name it – I probably love it. However, you never realize how fast the calories add up unless you’re actively cognizant
of what is going in your body at all times. Thank you for reading. Happy
dieting!
