The Food-Based Treatment for IBS, Crohn's, SIBO and Other Gut Permeability Issues

The diet plan I am going to discuss here could be given a much thorough treatment than I will be giving it today - I am really just going to scratch the surface! However, this information is so groundbreaking and essential for those battling digestive problems (my family has experienced this!) that I feel like it would be almost morally wrong to keep putting off writing a post about it. So, although the following will be short and far from comprehensive - let's discuss how what we eat and don't eat affects our digestive health, and what a healing treatment diet might look like.

Inflammation: The Root of Gut Issues

Over the last several decades, a specific diet plan has proven to bring significant improvement to an astounding 75% of patients with digestive maladies who have rigidly adhered to it. What kind of maladies are we talking about? Serious ones like Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease and diverticulitis, and less serious but still uncomfortable symptoms of digestive malfunction like bloating, gas, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea and fatigue.

Sound too good to be true? It's not!

The SCD diet (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) is based on the idea that chronic inflammation in the gut causes less than optimal digestive function - and how lowering that inflammation is a primary step in turning around gut conditions for good.  This diet was created and popularized by Biochemist Dr. Elaine Gotschall. She is the author of "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" (find it HERE on Amazon, where it has almost a thousand reviews), a very reader-friendly book appropriate for medical academics and laypeople alike, that outlines her idea of the SCD diet, how it had already worked in the lives of some of her colleagues, and to reveal the science behind her conclusions.

What does the SCD diet claim to do? You can expect to experience no less than:

• Improvement or even remission of digestive disorders
• A reduction of inflammation in the gut
• Improvement of nutrient absorption
• A much lower incidence of symptoms.

How is this possible?

Dr. Josh Axe explains:

The SCD lifestyle...can offer serious benefits to people with compromised digestive systems, including those with inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and SIBO.Even if you don’t have a diagnosable digestive disorder but suffer from ongoing symptoms like constipation or painful stomach bloating, you can find relief by choosing the types of carbohydrates you include in your diet wisely. How so? Eliminating most troublesome carbs, while only keeping specific types in the diet that are the easiest to digest and metabolize properly (such as vegetables), helps lower fermentation in the gut, gas accumulation and gut permeability.The SCD diet targets both the underlying problems within the gastrointestinal tract that can lead to serious disorders and common symptoms related to bacterial overgrowth, inflammation and blocked nutrient absorption. By removing “complex carbohydrates” from the diet — including lactose, sucrose (sugar) and many synthetic ingredients — digestive processes improve, toxins are reduced and overall health gets better as inflammation subsides. (1)

Where's the Proof? 

Is there research to back this up? You bet! Research was done by the Department of Pediatrics of Seattle Children's Hospital and the University of Washington in 2016, resulting in very favorable findings in regard to using the SCD diet for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (2). A study involving children with Crohn’s disease found significant clinical improvements in those who used an SCD diet for 12 and 52 weeks (3). And yet other research involving people with ulcerative colitis has found SCD diets to be highly beneficial with adherence for three to six months - resulting in both symptomatic and clinical improvement and even complete remission in certain patients (4)!

Some Quick Facts

As a brief overview, what you'd be eating on the SCD diet would include: most vegetables, eggs, fish, healthy fats and oils, grass-fed meat, and sprouted nuts, seeds, legumes and small amounts of low-sugar fruits and homemade yogurt. 

What you would be avoiding: grains, most dairy products, starches and starchy vegetables, processed meats, all forms of sugar besides honey, refined oils, and some kinds of beans. 

For more detailed information on what this diet would entail, definitely take a look at the rest of Dr. Axe's detailed post about the SCD diet.

Are you ready to get your digestive health back on track no matter what the cost, but stuck on how overwhelming this diet sounds? You're not alone! I was there at one point too. Community is an invaluable help whenever you're making a big lifestyle change - find someone else who has done this diet themselves, and who can be your cheerleader and trouble shooter through the process! Cookbooks created specifically by and for those on the SCD diet can help simplify meal planning and preparation (here is an example). Here is a link to the official Breaking the Vicious Cycle website as well, which has several helpful resources.

I won't sugarcoat the truth: this diet does feel restrictive at first, and is hard to implement the first month or so due to all of us being so used to our western diet of easy, convenience foods. Now that I've done it, would I start all over and do it again? A resounding YES. For my family and all the benefits that we experienced, it was ABSOLUTELY 100% WORTH IT. Plus, in restricting some foods we've found a great many others to enjoy that we would never have tried if we hadn't had to cut out the foods we normally ate. So what's there to lose?!

How the SCD Diet Has Helped Me

I have been through so much with my own digestive health, that I would never dream of recommending anything to my readers that I hadn't first tested myself and found to be truly beneficial. When I first started this diet in January of 2018, my digestive system was a mess - I had just given birth to my first baby, was compromised already due to having just taken not one but three rounds of antibiotics in a desperate effort to overcome a UTI in my third trimester, and was daily battling chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, food sensitivities and fatigue... my midwife all but told me I was on the road to Crohn's disease. And I think she was right! Today, the diarrhea and pain are gone, and the improvements in other areas are continuing. I couldn't be more grateful that my husband was willing to jump in to this new diet lifestyle with me... we've definitely reaped the benefits.

And like everything, there is no such thing as a fix-all. Exercise, sleep, diet, and peace with God and others all work hand in hand to bring about healing. But each element plays a key part! It is my sincere hope that someone out there suffering from chronic digestive issues will take the plunge and find relief.

As always, if you have any questions about anything I share on this website, you are absolutely welcome to contact me! <3