The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is recommended for: ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and celiac disease. It is also used for autism and its associated gut disease, with the potential to improve autism's neurological deficits.
Elaine Gottschall developed SCD, from the work of Dr. Sidney V. Haas, MD, for her four-year-old daughter. Her daughter had crippling ulcerative colitis and consequent malnourishment; removal of her colon had been recommended. In two years on this diet, the daughter became symptom-free without other treatment.
The concept: Gut disease involves an overgrowth of bad gut bacteria. When carbohydrates aren't fully digested in a malfunctioning gut, they ferment, give off gases and toxins, and feed the bad bacteria. Gut tissue damage causes further dysfunction, as well as malnutrition. A vicious cycle results.
By eating only digestible foods, the gut can
heal completely.
The only carbohydrates eaten in the diet are the simplest sugars, technically called monosaccharides, found in fruit, honey, and fully-fermented (homemade) yogurt. Refined sugar and processed foods are prohibited. Proteins, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables are emphasized.
Meat/Animal
Products: Meat, eggs, certain cheeses, homemade yogurt.
Fat:
Essential.
Carbohydrates:
Restricted to natural simple sugars (fruit, fully-fermented yogurt)
and non-starchy vegetables.
Grains:
No grains; no alternative grains.
Superfoods:
Homemade yogurt.
Website: Breaking the Vicious Cycle