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Treating a Severe Flare up with Diet

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/18/2020 10:13 AM (GMT 0)

Somebody said...
I wouldn't say SCD is inherently low carb, but in general I don't hear a lot of people say higher carb helped them.

-- OK, SCD is special carbohydrate diet.
-- an example of "high carb" success diet for UC:

https://www.highcarbhealth.com/
Posted 6/18/2020 10:20 AM (GMT 0)

Somebody said...
So what would you say to all of the people with decreased inflammatory markers and decreased clinical inflammation who are on SCD?

It may be coincidence, placebo effect, spontaneous remission, effect of other meds/supplements to name few...
Posted 6/18/2020 10:52 AM (GMT 0)

Somebody said...
The fact that the creator of the SCD diet was following research that had been buried since the 1950s tells you all you need to know.

Somebody said...
The “Specific Carbohydrate Diet” was published by Drs. Sidney and Merrill Haas in 1951, who found that taking a dietary approach to celiac disease and cystic fibrosis with pancreatic insufficiency resulted in complete disappearance of GI symptoms in their patients suffering from these conditions.9

However, Dr. Sidney Haas had been using the SCD to treat his patients for decades before this. The parent of one of his patients with ulcerative colitis, Elaine Gottschall, became a proponent of the diet as a treatment option for patients suffering from intestinal diseases, and popularized the SCD in her book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet.

https://med.virginia.edu/ginutrition/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2019/08/specific-cho-diet-august-2019.pdf

I am sorry but this "buried research" was abandoned many years ago by peers. Yes, of course SCD worked for celiac disease because of gluten exclusion. It does not necessarily mean that it will work for IBD.
Posted 6/18/2020 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
I completely agree with VanJordan and recently took a Viome test to have a better understanding of what my gut is lacking. I recently received my results and am trying a diet based upon the results to help increase folate intake, nitrate intake, and other beneficial nutrients to feed the bacteria that is lacking in my gut and reduce or eliminate food high in sulfur compounds. It was disheartening to discover my gut biodiversity ranks in the 0th percentile, according to my results, but I can only improve from there. I'm only on 12 of the diet and don't have any noticeable changes yet, but I am hopeful. It makes sense to me that an individualized approach would achieve much better results.
Posted 6/19/2020 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Dr. Hawrelak in Australia. He also has many educational videos available online for purchase, if you'd rather do some self-study. It can take months to get an appointment with his apprentices. As far as I know he isn't seeing anymore patients directly.

IBD is not caused by food allergies. It's caused by dysbiotic bacteria that eat the food and then turn it into compounds that cause leaky gut, inflammation, and eventually ulceration. It follows a similar pathology to h. pylori, which nobody believed caused gastritis. The difference with IBD is that more than one species can cause it if they are out of balance, but the preponderance of the cause in most UCers is too much proteobacteria, hydrogen sulfide producers, and not enough short chain fatty acid producers.

The other difference is that h. pylori is a true pathogen, whereas the bacteria that cause UC are normal flora that are out of control. Some UCers have true pathogens though, and those can't be addressed with diet.

Anyway... the key to solving UC is going to be repopulating normal gut ecology. Probiotics won't cut it. Nor will gazillions of supplements. You have to eat the prebiotic foods that feed the good and starve the bad while also taking effective anti-inflammatories. This combo is what has allowed me to recover from the worst flare in my life within a few months, after almost needing surgery. I think if this protocol can help me it can help anyone, since I am pretty much the worst case scenario.
Posted 6/21/2020 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
VanJordan, what does your natural regimen look like beyond prebiotics? I'm assuming you also had to cut out foods that the harmful bacteria consume so you can starve them out. I've been tinkering with diet lately so I'm very interested in knowing what you did to feel better.

Thanks.
Posted 6/23/2020 1:56 PM (GMT 0)

Oligodar said...

It may be coincidence, placebo effect, spontaneous remission, effect of other meds/supplements to name few...


Oligodar said...


https://med.virginia.edu/ginutrition/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2019/08/specific-cho-diet-august-2019.pdf

I am sorry but this "buried research" was abandoned many years ago by peers. Yes, of course SCD worked for celiac disease because of gluten exclusion. It does not necessarily mean that it will work for IBD.

There are not only thousands of anecdotes out there about dramatic improvements from SCD/IBD-AID/Keto/etc but also studies showing decreased inflammatory markers, endoscopic improvements, and ability to ween off medications (all of these are due to decreased inflammation) when following such approaches.

I agree food intolerance is part of the equation, but I don't see how you can think inflammation is not also part of it given we do have data on this.

Ultimately, the common thread I see in just about all of these diets is a focus on whole unprocessed foods. I assume this is in part why we see higher rates of IBD in the westernized world.
Posted 7/4/2020 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Oligodar
My point was this, if the effect of the SCD diet could be replicated in a non generic drug it would be touted as a great treatment for UC and other GI diseases. Because they could make a lot of $$$. The fact that the Western Medical System focuses on $ and not science is seen in the peer review, and research process. Follow the money and you will find bad science backing bad behavior. I.E. the opioid epidemic, white collar big Pharma drug lords that make millions while people die. The Majority Doctors and Researchers are not bad, but the Corporations hold the keys to funding. Real science is neutral, the data not the dollar should steer the research.
But you choose to be the Devil's ........Advocate and say that SCD is a placebo effect. OK, OK I can only speak for myself. I had UC symptoms bad for 3 months, they were horrible, lost a lot of weight, I was not functioning well. I started the SCD diet and Nicotine patches. The patches helped to lessen the pain and inflammation because the diet does not work quickly. The overgrowth was up into my small intestine and the bloating was so bad I could not wear a seat belt in the car normally, I could not stand any pressure on my lower torso. Over next 3 months I slowly got better and eventually achieved remission. I was in remission for 5 years using the SCD protocols, but as I started to cheat on the diet not sugar but bad carbs white bread and the like, I was struck with another flare. I went back to SCD intro and normal diet with the Nicotine patches and fermented food probiotics. 3 weeks later I am almost in remission no pain, regular bathroom frequency. Not all people will be helped by SCD but many are, to deny that the effect is real is not science. Cause and effect are undeniable, there is something here we just need to do the real neutral science to find out what it is. I am also taking a strong anti-fungal medication for another health issue, this may have had an effect of ending the flare quicker. I did not know people used it for UC until I found this forum. Well Oligodar I hope you find some treatment to help whatever your disorder or problem is, if SCD won't work for you keep reading, forums like this are a great resource for us and I daresay the researchers that are looking for new and evolving treatments.
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