Specific Carbohydrate Diet Introduction
The SCD was originally developed by Sydney V. Haas, MD, in 1924 for the treatment of celiac disease and was popularized and refined by Elaine Gottschall for the treatment of IBD in her book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It eliminates high starch vegetables, grains, processed/added sugars (honey is allowed), dairy containing lactose, processed foods, additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients from the diet. It focuses on a diversity of healthy fruits and vegetables, nuts/nut flours/nut butters, fish, poultry, meat, homemade yogurt, and aged cheeses. The SCD has been in use for a long time by some individuals but has only recently been reported in the medical literature for use in IBD with the earliest publication in 2014. Although published patient data is relatively small, the SCD has been studied for use in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, in children and adults. See SCD publications on the NTforIBD website for a listing of the research on SCD.
SCD Food List Overview
The food list provided is a simplistic overview of the basic requirements of the diet, offering a bird's eye view of restricted and allowed foods. It is not an all-inclusive list of the allowed and restricted foods, nor does it define all the rules of the diet. This list should NOT be used as a guide to following the diet.
The final stage of SCD is described in the table. While SCD does not have official stages (it does have an introductory diet to last no more than 5 days and a short list of advanced foods) , the stages described on pecanbread.com are often adopted by patients with symptoms and active disease. These stages are not part of the official diet but can be used as a guide when food introduction proves difficult. The SCD allows for introduction of other healthy foods outside the normal parameters of the diet after sustained remission (generally recommended to wait until 1 or 2 years of sustained remission). Because these food additions could be anything tolerated by the patient, they are not included in the food table. Many recommend sticking with the diet as written and not deviating outside the defined parameters, so addition of foods should be considered carefully.
SCD Food Table
| Fish | Allowed |
| Seafood other than fish, which is listed separately | Allowed |
| Poultry | Allowed |
| Red Meat (not processed) | Allowed |
| Fresh Legumes/Beans | Allowed |
| Vegetables other than starchy vegetables and nightshades, which are listed separately | Allowed |
| Fruits | Allowed |
| Nuts | Allowed |
| Honey | Allowed |
| Eggs | Allowed |
| Coffee | Allowed |
| Dried Legumes/Beans | Certain dried legumes allowed: Peanuts, navy beans, lima beans, black beans, lentils, split peas; soaking required |
| Nightshades (tomatoes, tomatillos, white potatoes [not sweet potatoes], eggplant, peppers, goji berries, etc) | Most allowed: no white potatoes |
| Dairy | Allows homemade 24-hour yogurt and cheeses aged 30 days or more |
| Seeds | Most allowed: no chia or flax |
| Fats/Oils | Most Allowed; No soybean oil, limit processed oils like canola oil |
| Alcohol | Some allowed: dry wine, vodka, gin, rye, Scotch, bourbon, whiskey |
| Processed Meat | Exclude |
| Wheat/Gluten | Exclude |
| Corn | Exclude |
| Oats | Exclude |
| Rice | Exclude |
| Grains other than wheat, corn, oats, and rice, which are listed separately | Exclude |
| Starchy Vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, parsnips, etc) | Exclude |
| Artificial Sweeteners | Exclude |
| Sweeteners other than honey and artificial sweeteners, which are listed separately | Exclude |
| Processed Foods/Preservatives/Artificial Additives | Exclude |
| Cocoa | Exclude |
| Formula (PEN; eg, Boost®, Ensure®, Pediasure®, Modulen IBD®) | Exclude |
| Emulsifiers | Exclude |
