Specific Carbohydrate Diet

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The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is a very basic way of eating. It eliminates sugar (with the exception of those found in ripe fruits and honey), starches, gluten, and lactose. It is often used to treat a variety of disorders including Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Celiac Disease, and Cystic Fibrosis. Popularized by Elaine Gottschall's book Breaking the Vicious Cycle, this diet has helped to alleviate pain in many individuals and make their condition better. They become more healthy by their body absorbing the proper nutrients from foods. However, if one is thinking about following the diet, one must not "cheat". One cannot eat forbidden foods because it ruins the whole cycle and so the diet must be started over. If one is thinking about following the diet, it is recommended that Elaine Gottschall's book is bought to better ensure the success of the diet.

1 The diet
- 1.1 Main necessities and substitutions
- 1.2 "Legal" vs. "Illegal"?
2 Support
3 Further reading
4 References

[edit] The diet

The diet was developed by Dr. Sydney Hass. The rationale of the diet as described in Breaking the Vicious Cycle is as follows:

When the body receives disaccharides or polysaccharides the body needs to break them down.
Undigested saccharides are malabsorbed which causes bacterial overgrowth and then an increase in mucus by the gut.
This increase in mucus causes injury to the small intestine which makes it unable to digest saccarides.

The purpose of the diet is to break the ongoing cycle described in Breaking the Vicious Cycle. The goal is to rid the body of complex saccharides so that the gut will be able to heal itself and enable further healing to occur.

The method of the diet is to keep the intestinal flora well balanced and to keep the gut from breaking things down. Accordingly, even small amounts of the proscribed foods are unacceptable since the gut will begin breaking these down.

[edit] Main necessities and substitutions

Nut Flour: Nut flour is the only known substitution for the conventional flour made from grains. Grain flours contain starches which must be broken down when they enter the body. Other flours such as tapioca still contain starch, though they do not contain gluten.
Honey: Honey is always used when a sweetener is needed, as the bees have already broken the sugar down into its simplest form. Other forms of sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup are processed and therefore contain more complex sugars that must be broken down by the body. Stevia is normally a good and beneficial sweetener as it contains no sugars and doesn't present the side effects that most artificial sweeteners do, but it has unknown and possibly negative effects to those on the SCD and must be avoided if possible. Saccharin is allowed.
Milk Products:
- Yogurt: It is not recommended that a commercial yogurt be eaten while on the diet. Most commercially-produced yogurts contain large amounts of the sugar lactose. However, with the purchase of a yogurt maker, lactose-free yogurt can be made from plain yogurt and milk by fermenting it for 24 hours. The fermentation process breaks the lactose down.
- Cheese: Only specific types of cheese can be used on the diet due to starch-containing enzymes that are added to many cheeses after the fermentation stage. The allowed types of cheese include cheddar, colby jack, and brie, among others. Cheeses such as mozzarella or ricotta are not recommended.

[edit] "Legal" vs. "Illegal"?

These terms are used to identify whether or not a person who is following the diet is able to eat the food. In no way does it mean the legal enforcement of certain things; however, it could figuratively be considered as such. It puts foods in a better perspective and subconciously makes the "inedible" foods less desirable.

[edit] Support

The diet is only supported through patient testimonials. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America does not support the diet due to a lack of studies that show that it would be beneficial. Studies are considered too risky because they cost a lot of money and there is no guarantee of patient compliance. They also claim that "decreasing poorly digestible carbohydrates may decrease symptoms of gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea in patients with IBD, but that is not the same thing as decreasing the inflammation, or affecting the disease process."^[1]

It is important to note that there is no current cure to any of the above diseases.