Honey Bigbee

Research shows that there is a relationship between the gut and the brain!!!!! We need to ask ourselves "what are we feeding our child and what are they able to digest?"

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet was originally used for a variety of chronic and auto-immune disorders including Crohn's Disease, Celiac Sprue, Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Celiac Disease, and Cystic Fibrosis.

Now, the SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET is becoming the
OFFICAL TREATMENT for autism and is giving dramatic results for those that follow it carefully.

Remember, every child has a different combination of biomedical, dietary and behavioral intervention. For families with children that have shown little or no improvement on the GFCF diet should consider trying the SCD diet.

SCD proposes specific carbohydrates. This diet includes low sugar (and specific sugar) resources, no yeast products or by-products. Specific foods are to be completely avoided - which is very similar to other dietary interventions. This is due to many Autism Spectrum disorder children having tremendous yeast, parasite, gut issues and intolerances. Any amount of yeast, refined sugars, or high carbohydrates can greatly affect some children in a very negative way and throw the child out of balance.

The diet was originally developed by Dr. Sydney Hass. The diet was popularized by Elaine Gottschall and outlined in her book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, (highly recommended reading). In Elaine's book, she makes it clear that if one is thinking about following the diet, one must do so with what she calls
"fanatical adherence", meaning that it should be followed to the letter for best results.

The diet as described in Breaking the Vicious Cycle is as follows:
1. When the body receives complex carbohydrates disaccharides (sugar, milk) or polysaccharides (rice, potatoes, wheat, corn) these substances must be broken down before they can be absorbed.

2. In the body of a person who is not able to break these substances (more than ½ of kids on the autism spectrum) down efficiently, an influx of undigested material causes harmful bacteria to flourish.

3. Bacterial overgrowth is accordingly followed by a significant increase in the waste and other irritants they produce.

4. Irritation in the lining of the digestive tract results in the overproduction of mucus and injury to the digestive tract, which in turn causes malabsorption and makes it even more difficult to maintain proper digestion.

5. "With the proper digestion, the children with Autism who are implementing SCD are demonstrating remarkable improvements in bowel function, language, eye contact, self-stimulatory behavior, anxiety, and mood. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet unlike other specialized diets works by removing the foods that cannot be properly broken down. The vicious cycle of malabsorption, maldigestion, inflammation, and food allergies seen in children with autism can be corrected using this dietary approach and healthy digestion can begin" (Pam Ferro).

The latest research appears to prove that SCD is the best diet for
Autism Spectrum Disorder!
The researchers are finding out that it is the fungi and bacteria in the GI tract that cause GI problems and neurological problems such as autism. The research studies also indicate that that it is starches and certain sugars that feed these fungi and bacteria. The SCD eliminates the foods that feed these microorganisms. Without these foods, the pathogens starve and leave the body; the child is no longer a hostage to billions of pathogenic invaders that poison the gut and the brain (source: peacanbread.com).

The purpose of the diet is to break the ongoing cycle caused by an overpopulation of harmful bacteria in the gut. When the body is able to absorb the proper nutrients from simple sugars and other carbohydrates that are easy to digest, the inflammation and other complications caused by many auto-immune diseases can be lessened. The goal is to rid the body of complex saccharides so that the gut will be able to heal itself and enable further healing to occur.

The method of the diet is to keep the intestinal flora well balanced and to allow the gut to digest all of the food it is given, thereby starving out the harmful bacteria.

Pam Ferro (our doctor) in Private Practice in Mattapoisett MA, and is a parent of a child on the autism spectrum. She has treated well over 300 children with ASD utilizing biomedical approaches in her clinic. She is the first DAN clinician to implement SCD for autism and started a movement to get recognition for SCD from the doctors who treat autism.

Due to the efforts of Pam and others, SCD is now an optional part of the Defeat Autism Now (DAN) protocol. Pam Ferro has developed a SCD protocol that is getting fantastic results.

Please watch the video of Pam Ferro's talk at the DEFEAT AUTISM NOW conference.

Click Here to watch Pam Ferro's Video

The SCD eliminates all starches, processed sugars,
and complex carbohydrates.

The SCD prohibits:

Sugar, molasses, sucrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, or any processed sugar

Canned vegetables

All grains, including corn, wheat, wheat germ, barley, oats, rye, rice, buckwheat, soy, spelt, amaranth, and others

Some legumes, including chick peas, bean sprouts, soybeans, mung beans, faba beans, and garbanzo beans

Starchy tubers, such as potatoes, yams, and parsnips

Seaweed and seaweed byproducts, such as agar and carrageenan

Canned and most processed meats, particularly those that contain additives such as corn products, starch, and sugars

All milk, high-lactose cheeses (generally soft cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, and processed cheeses and cheese spreads), as well as commercial yogurt, heavy cream, buttermilk, and sour cream

Bread, pasta, and other starchy foods

Canola oil, commercial mayonnaise (because of additives), ice cream, candy, chocolate, carob, whey powder, margarine, commercial ketchup, stevia, baking powder, commercial nut mixes, balsamic vinegar, and products containing FOS (fructooligosaccharides).

There are a lot of SCD recipes out there with butter and/or dairy, yogurt as ingredients. This may be a bit confusing for some people. Dairy (milk, butter, yogurt, cheese) are NOT ALLOWED for the first 3-6 months. As Pam discusses in her video, research shows that children on the autism spectrum have an immune reaction and an opiate reaction to it. The dairy (milk, butter, yogurt, cheese) is a wonderful source of bacteria. To get good bacteria, use homemade nut yogurt, fermented foods, and probiotics. To replace the butter for baking and cooking, use coconut oil.

What is allowed is the diet: For a COMPLETE LIST OF LEGAL/ILLEGAL FOODS go to Elaine Gottschall's
Breaking the Vicious Cycle website.
Unprocessed meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, honey for sweetening (if tolerated), most fresh, frozen, raw or cooked vegetables, a variety of legumes, including dried navy beans, lentils, peas, split peas, unroasted cashews, and peanuts in a shell, all-natural peanut butter, lima beans, and string beans, Additionally, most fruits and nuts are allowed, as are most oils, tea, coffee, mustard, vinegar, and juices with no additives.

Here are Elaine's Children ASD/SCD Protocol

Serve only food that is allowed on the diet. Introduce permitted foods one at a time to determine if the child can tolerate the food. Add new foods slowly.

Keep a food journal to determine if there are any reactions to new foods. Also, write down all the great results you are seeing, sleep log, behaviors.

As the yeast and bacteria begin to die off, there may be an initial bad reaction to the diet.

Use probiotics and/or homemade nut yogurt.

Probiotics should be introduced slowly, gradually building up the amount given. This helps prevent die-off from happening too quickly (source: pecanbread.com)

Use SCD legal vitamins such as GI Pro Health

For your research, here are some other informational resources
http://www.pecanbread.com
http://www.scdiet.com
http://www.scdiet.org
http://www.scdrecipe.com

Click here for some GREAT RECOVERY STORIES

For a COMPLETE LIST OF LEGAL/ILLEGAL FOODS Go to Elaine Gottschall's Breaking the Vicious Cycle website. The legal/illegal list can be found there as well as an enormous amount of helpful information about the SCD.