I have come across an interesting and rather detailed critique of the SC diet:
http://www.mombu.com/medicine/heart/t-t ... 73619.html
It is quite old, so many of you may have seen it already.
Has anyone given the SC diet a serious try? And if so, how did you handle issues like honey, fruit, yogurt, fructose, etc? Or did you use a modified (read, further restricted) version, as recommended by Kent in the article linked above?
About the SC Diet
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Gabriel,
My 2 cents . . . diets like the SCD or this man's version probably worked for their loved ones because those were the food tolerated by those individuals. IOW, we are all different and we all have differnet tolerances. There are many diet books where people find something that works for them and then promote it as a diet to be used for everyone.
If you don't test (enterolab and MRT) to find your own sensitivities, the only way to determine your tolerance is an old-fashioned elimination diet. Start with a few foods, get symptoms under control, and then add a new food every few days to test response.
Mary Beth
My 2 cents . . . diets like the SCD or this man's version probably worked for their loved ones because those were the food tolerated by those individuals. IOW, we are all different and we all have differnet tolerances. There are many diet books where people find something that works for them and then promote it as a diet to be used for everyone.
If you don't test (enterolab and MRT) to find your own sensitivities, the only way to determine your tolerance is an old-fashioned elimination diet. Start with a few foods, get symptoms under control, and then add a new food every few days to test response.
Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Thanks, Mary Beth,
Yes, this is what we are all doing, essentially; testing the waters, one drop at a time. I was just trying to tap into the collective wisdom of the forum to see whether there has been some accumulated experience with SC. I was concerned, for example, with their rejection of potatoes, which I seem to be tolerating, and I'm eating quite a bit of. I also use refined sugar, and I'm not aware of adverse effects. But is that really conclusive, or is it merely a matter of time before these foods begin causing problems?
Yes, this is what we are all doing, essentially; testing the waters, one drop at a time. I was just trying to tap into the collective wisdom of the forum to see whether there has been some accumulated experience with SC. I was concerned, for example, with their rejection of potatoes, which I seem to be tolerating, and I'm eating quite a bit of. I also use refined sugar, and I'm not aware of adverse effects. But is that really conclusive, or is it merely a matter of time before these foods begin causing problems?
Gabriel,
Very, very few people with MC have any problems digesting potatoes. They are one of the "safest" sources of carbohydrates that we can eat. Sugar may or not be a problem for people with MC. Basically, it depends on the severity of your small intestinal involvement in the disease. If you have no small intestinal involvement, then any sugar issues should be minor. With significant small intestinal involvement, though, as the small intestine becomes more damaged, (more inflamed), the brush border region of the small intestine, where our main digestive enzymes for splitting sugars are produced, will begin to restrict the production of those enzymes. Lactase will be the first enzyme to be affected, and this will cause lactose "intolerance", (as the medical professionals choose to refer to it). This is not a true intolerance, though - it's merely the inability to properly digest lactose. Consequently, the lactose passes into the colon, where it is fermented by bacteria, resulting in gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea - the classic symptoms of lactose intolerance.
If the inflammation is not controlled, then as the damage to the small intestine increases, the production of other enzymes will also be curtailed, and as that happens, one by one, those corresponding sugars will no longer be able to be properly digested in the small intestine, so that they too will pass into the colon, where they will be digested by different bacteria, in a fermentation process, again causing gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea.
Once the inflammation is controlled, then as the small intestine begins to heal, the production of those enzymes will be restored, (in the same order in which their respective production was originally curtailed - IOW, lactose will be the last enzyme to be restored to production).
If you don't have any problem with sugars of any kind, (including lactose), then your small intestine is apparently not affected by your MC. At this point, no one knows whether or not the disease might progress to your small intestine, but I would guess that if your MC symptoms were to remain uncontrolled for a long enough period of time, then probably, eventually, it might be affected, also. There are no guarantees, though, since genetics probably play a part, in addition to your diet, and overall health.
In my case, I finally got to the point where the only sugar that I could tolerate, (in any significant amount), was maple sugar. I had to eliminate all other sugar sources from my diet, (including honey), until my gut healed. Any other type of sugar, (other than maple sugar), would make me sick as a dog. Now that I have been in remission for 6 years, though, I can eat any type of sugar, in any amount, without any problems, (it might make fat, but I don't react adversely to it, anyway).
If you click on the red link above, and search the archives of this board, you will find many past discussions about the SCD. Try doing a search using the keyword SCD, or use the keyword specific carbohydrate diet, to find those old discussions.
Tex
Very, very few people with MC have any problems digesting potatoes. They are one of the "safest" sources of carbohydrates that we can eat. Sugar may or not be a problem for people with MC. Basically, it depends on the severity of your small intestinal involvement in the disease. If you have no small intestinal involvement, then any sugar issues should be minor. With significant small intestinal involvement, though, as the small intestine becomes more damaged, (more inflamed), the brush border region of the small intestine, where our main digestive enzymes for splitting sugars are produced, will begin to restrict the production of those enzymes. Lactase will be the first enzyme to be affected, and this will cause lactose "intolerance", (as the medical professionals choose to refer to it). This is not a true intolerance, though - it's merely the inability to properly digest lactose. Consequently, the lactose passes into the colon, where it is fermented by bacteria, resulting in gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea - the classic symptoms of lactose intolerance.
If the inflammation is not controlled, then as the damage to the small intestine increases, the production of other enzymes will also be curtailed, and as that happens, one by one, those corresponding sugars will no longer be able to be properly digested in the small intestine, so that they too will pass into the colon, where they will be digested by different bacteria, in a fermentation process, again causing gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea.
Once the inflammation is controlled, then as the small intestine begins to heal, the production of those enzymes will be restored, (in the same order in which their respective production was originally curtailed - IOW, lactose will be the last enzyme to be restored to production).
If you don't have any problem with sugars of any kind, (including lactose), then your small intestine is apparently not affected by your MC. At this point, no one knows whether or not the disease might progress to your small intestine, but I would guess that if your MC symptoms were to remain uncontrolled for a long enough period of time, then probably, eventually, it might be affected, also. There are no guarantees, though, since genetics probably play a part, in addition to your diet, and overall health.
In my case, I finally got to the point where the only sugar that I could tolerate, (in any significant amount), was maple sugar. I had to eliminate all other sugar sources from my diet, (including honey), until my gut healed. Any other type of sugar, (other than maple sugar), would make me sick as a dog. Now that I have been in remission for 6 years, though, I can eat any type of sugar, in any amount, without any problems, (it might make fat, but I don't react adversely to it, anyway).
If you click on the red link above, and search the archives of this board, you will find many past discussions about the SCD. Try doing a search using the keyword SCD, or use the keyword specific carbohydrate diet, to find those old discussions.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.