Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Diet is Key
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease, can be helped with diet. In fact, diet is key, particularly the implementation of restricting certain carbohydrates. This method is the called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).
SCD was originally conceived, although not named, by Dr. Sydney Haas, and then popularized by Elaine Gottschall in her book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet.” Elaine Gottschall was a biochemist and cell biologist who was very interested in the effects of food on the human body and brain. She developed a personal interest in IBD when her four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with incurable ulcerative colitis. Her book was the result of her committed efforts to keep her daughter well and prevent surgical removal of her colon. She did this through the diet described below.
The diet outlined in “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” is referred to as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The diet limits the use of carbohydrates called disaccharides (two sugars) which are found in all grains, some dairy and sucrose. The diet works by severely limiting the availability of carbohydrates to the intestinal microbes which contribute to the constant inflammation of IBD. By limiting the food which feeds the microbes, they start to die off and the mucous cells in the gut can settle down. Decreased mucous secretion allows for better carbohydrate digestion and decreased inflammation thus a break in the vicious cycle of chronic inflammation.
The carbohydrates that are allowed on the diet are monosaccharides (single sugar) which are easy to digest with nothing left over for intestinal microbes to feed on. The diet essentially removes a dietary component that perpetuates the inflammatory cycle and allows the gut to heal and repair itself. Once the gut is healed and able to produce enough disaccharide enzymes again, these foods can be reintroduced. Ms. Gottschall recommends that the diet be strictly adhered to for two years before attempting to reintroduce foods containing disaccharides.
As with any dietary change, an adjustment period is needed to try new recipes and get used to reading ingredient labels on all foods. Flour in all baked goods can be replaced with nut flour made by grinding nuts to a granular consistency. The book has many recipes that are quite good. There are also many online resources for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet with helpful tips and recipes along with testimonials from those who are on the diet.
