Specific Carbohydrate Diet
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The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is a nutritional regimen, popularized by Elaine Gottschall, which restricts the use of complex carbohydrates (disaccharides and polysaccharides) and eliminates refined sugar, gluten and starch from the diet.[1] It is promoted as a way of reducing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and autism.
Gotschall believed the body lacks the ability to digest complex sugars, resulting in dysbiosis, the overgrowth of harmful bacterial flora. There have been no controlled studies of the SCD, and support for the SCD is primarily anecdotal.[2]
[edit] Theory
The rationale of the diet, as described in Breaking the Vicious Cycle, is as follows:
- When the body receives complex carbohydrates (disaccharides or polysaccharides) these substances must be broken down before they can be absorbed.
- In the body of a person who is not able to break these substances down efficiently, an influx of undigested material causes harmful bacteria to flourish.
- Bacterial overgrowth is accordingly followed by a significant increase in the waste and other irritants they produce.
- Irritation in the lining of the digestive tract results in the overproduction of mucus and injury to the digestive tract, which in turn causes malabsorption and makes it even more difficult to maintain proper digestion.
The purpose of the diet is to break the ongoing cycle caused by an overpopulation of harmful bacteria in the gut. When the body is able to absorb the proper nutrients from simple sugars and other carbohydrates that are easy to digest, the inflammation and other complications caused by many auto-immune diseases can be lessened. 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 bacterial flora well balanced and to allow the gut to digest all of the food it is given, thereby starving out the harmful bacteria.
Certain foods, such as commercial syrups and sugars, starchy vegetables, and dairy products are not allowed while on the diet. Other foods, such as fruits, greens, animal protein, and nuts are allowed.
[edit] Main necessities and substitutions
The diet forbids certain foods. Common substitutions include:
- Nut Flour: Nut flour is one of the substitutions for conventional flour made from grains. (Flours made from grains, tapioca, etc, contain complex carbohydrates.)
- Honey: Honey is one of the permitted sweeteners. Saccharin is also allowed. Other forms of sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup, are not allowed.
- Yogurt: Commercial yogurt is not allowed on the diet. Homemade yogurt made from milk fermented at 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit for 24-29 hours, rendering the yogurt virtually lactose-free, is permitted.
- Cheese: Many cheeses are allowed, including cheddar, havarti, brick, colby, gruyere, Swiss and dry curd cottage (regularly), as well as numerous others occasionally. Cheese must be aged at least thirty days with the exception of the dry curd cottage cheese. Certain other types of cheese are not allowed on the diet, usually because they contain too much lactose (mozzarella, ricotta) or because they are not true fermented cheeses (American). Also, many cheeses are infused with starch-containing enzymes that are added after the fermentation stage, making them unsuitable for use on the diet.
[edit] References
- ^ Gottschall, E (1994). Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet (Revised edition ed.). Kirkton Press. ISBN 0-9692768-1-8.
- ^ Shah, S. "Dietary Factors in the Modulation of IBD: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet". Medscape. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/553039_6. Retrieved on 2009-07-15.
