Thank you, Marilyn

[Guest guest]

Dear Marilyn,

Thank you for developing this amazing list.

It in itself is a healing. supportive and nurturing and generous.

Many thanks for sending your speech-- I hope this will become an

annual tradition. If we all lived closer, what an SCD/BTVC

Anniversary Party e could have! Music! Food! Dogs & Cats!

With appreciation,

Ruth

Speech given by Marilyn L. Alm

to the Kiwanis Club of Algiers

9 April 2003 in New Orleans, Louisiana

Good evening. I’ve been told that the topic of my

speech tonight is supposed to be “A Holistic

Approach to Treating Some Gut Disorders”.

Actually, it’s “A Dietary Approach.” Gut

disorders, including constipation, diarrhea,

Crohn’s Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis affect on

the order of 60 to 70 million people worldwide.

They account for almost 200,000 deaths, 10

million hospitalizations (13 percent of all

hospitalizations), and over 50 million office

visits to physicians, but they are, despite all

the advertisements on TV for Maalox, Ex-lax,

Imodium A-D and other OTC drugs, one of the least talked about.

Gut disorders are essentially a taboo subject in

North American and Western European cultures. How

do we know this? Profanity is usually linked to

taboo subjects, and if you think about it, most

of the profanity we see scrawled as graffiti or

which assails our ears on the street is related

to religion, sex, and bodily functions.

What exactly are some of these gut disorders?

Crohn’s disease causes inflammation in the lower

part of the small intestine, although it can

affect any part of the digestive tract.

Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers

in the large intestine. Irritable bowel syndrome

(IBS) is characterized by recurring abdominal

discomfort or pain, bloating, and altered bowel

function – such as constipation, diarrhea, or

alternating constipation and diarrhea.

I’ve perused an awful lot of web sites and books

regarding these disorders over the last 27 years.

Almost all of them, including the Crohn’s and

Colitis Foundation of America state that diet has

nothing to do with these diseases. In fact, the

Times-Picayune[1] ran an article a couple of

weeks ago which stated unequivocally that diet

could do nothing to help the nearly 3000

Louisiana children who suffer from Crohn’s

Disease. To my mind, the idea that the food we

eat has no effect on the very organs intended to

digest it for our use is pretty foolish. Dr. J.O.

Hunter, in an article in Lancet, the British

medical journal, confirms this fact, as does Dr.

Hoffman of New York City. Other Lancet

articles also state that persons with gut

disorders frequently have intolerances to corn,

wheat, milk, potatoes and rye. What these

substances have in common are complex

carbohydrates, not gluten. Yet the gluten-free

diet popularized in the last 40 or so years as

the gut diet, yields variable results,

perpetuating the myth that diet has nothing to do

with the management of gut disorders.

Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas, coauthor with his son,

Dr. Merrill P. Haas, of Management of Celiac

Disease, which was published in 1951, might not

be surprised at his successors in the field of

gastroenterology, but he would probably be

saddened by the amount of pain and suffering

caused by failure to recognize a simple fact

stated by Dr. Gee: “We must never forget

that what the patient takes beyond his ability to

digest does harm.” The Haas’ book, based on many

years of clinical experience, documented the

experience of these doctors in treating and

curing hundreds of cases of celiac disease.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet as delineated in

Elaine Gottschall’s Breaking the Vicious Cycle

came about because in 1958, the Gottschalls took

their eight year old daughter Judy to see Dr.

Haas. Judy had ulcerative colitis. Years of

medication had done nothing. Her condition was

deteriorating. Surgical removal of her colon

seemed to be the only option. Dr. Haas, then in

his 90s, asked one simple question: “What has

this child been eating?” The result was that Judy

Gottschall was placed on the Specific

Carbohydrate Diet. Two years later, she was

symptom free. Nearly forty years later, she eats

about 85-90% SCD, and remains symptom free, with no medications.

Mrs. Gottschall, though, wanted to know why the

diet worked. Unfortunately, she could not consult

with Dr. Haas, as he had passed away. So, in her

late 40s, she decided to return to college and

get the knowledge she needed to find out why. And

she did, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology,

magna cum laude from Montclair State College in

New Jersey. She also did work in graduate studies

in nutrition at Rutgers. After a move to Canada,

she obtained a Master of Science degree in from

the Department of Cell Biology at the University

of Western Ontario, where she spent four years

investigating the effects of various sugars on

the digestive tract. Not wanting to see others

suffer as her daughter had, she wrote and

published first Food and the Gut Reaction, and

then Breaking the Vicious Cycle, now in its tenth edition.

But why does the Specific Carbohydrate Diet work?

Some gut diseases are the consequence of an

overgrowth and imbalance of intestinal microbial

flora. By altering our diet, we can bring our

system back into balance, healing our digestive

tracts and restoring proper absorption.

The intestinal tract is an astoundingly rich

ecosystem, home to over 400 bacterial species.

Some are harmless, and others not. In a healthy

person’s gut, these various communities of microbes balance each other.

Yet this balance can easily be upset by what we

eat. Overgrowths can occur, triggered by overuse

of antacids, reduced stomach acidity due to

aging, weakening of the immune system through

malnutrition or poor diet, or antibiotic therapy.

Carbohydrates, contrary to the gluten theory,

play an enormous role in our gut health. If

carbohydrates are not fully digested and

absorbed, they feed the bacteria we host, causing a population

explosion.

Bacterial overgrowth inhibits absorption, which

leads to even more undigested carbs. Excessive

protective mucus is produced, which also inhibits

digestion and absorption. Eventually, though, the

mucus-making cells become exhausted, and the

intestinal surface is laid bare. It may be

ulcerated. As even more carbohydrates are left in

the gut, they cause water and nutrients to be

pulled from the body into the colon, resulting in

chronic diarrhea. Absorption is further hindered

as diarrhea increases the rate with which food

travels through the gut. Truly a vicious cycle.

So the question then is, “How do we break the vicious cycle?”

And the answer lies in Dr. Gee’s

statement, “We must never forget that what the

patient takes beyond his ability to digest does

harm.” By changing one’s diet to what one can

absorb, the gut can heal. The symptoms disappear, one by one.

What, then, is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet?

People with IBD can’t fully break down complex

chains of carbohydrates. Thus, the Specific

Carbohydrate Diet excludes most complex

carbohydrates, such as processed sugars, grains,

potatoes and most legumes. Even the slightest bit

of these carbohydrates can cause symptoms to flare up.

Yet grains are imbedded in our thought patterns

as food. Wheat is the staff of life. Who ever

heard of Creole or Cajun food that wasn’t served

on a bed of rice? Grain even infuses our

patriotism, “O beautiful for spacious skies, for

amber waves of grain…”. It’s almost un-American

not to eat grain – and if we are not eating grain

and potatoes, what are we to eat? That’s easy. We eat:

* Fresh or frozen beef, lamb, poultry, pork, fish, eggs

* Vegetables-fresh or frozen, raw or cooked

(with no added sugar or starch)

* Homemade yogurt fermented at least 24 hours

* Natural cheeses with little or no lactose,

such as Cheddar, Colby, havarti, Swiss, dry curd cottage cheese

* Fruits-fresh or frozen, raw or cooked; (with no added sugar)

* Salad and cooking oils

* Honey, nuts and nut flours, spices

* Very dry wine, occasional gin, rye, Scotch, bourbon, vodka, etc.

What we DON’T eat includes:

* Grains, including bread, rice, pasta, cereal, and corn products

* Processed meats, like hot dogs, cold cuts, fast food

* Potatoes (or starchy roots)

* Milk, margarine, soy products

* Chocolate (alas!), starches, added sugar,

including corn syrup, cane sugar, molasses

* Beer, sherry, cordials, liqueurs or brandy

SCD, though, is not a diet which you can follow

Sunday through Thursday, and then go out and eat

whatever you want on Friday and Saturday. Strict

adherence is critical since that one little bite

of pasta, a single Saltine cracker, even a little

bit of grain flour in gravy or coating a veal

cutlet is a veritable smorgasbord to the bacteria in your gut.

I recall, for instance, a year ago Christmas Eve.

The kitchen of the restaurant where we went

messed up my order, coating the meat in flour.

New to SCD, I figured a little bit of flour

wouldn’t hurt. After weeks of no trouble, I

barely made it home before the diarrhea hit, and

I spent the next four hours in the bathroom. The

next time a restaurant did not do my order

correctly, I sent it back. I’m not generally

confrontational, but nothing is worth those hours of pain.

In addition to strict adherence, SCD also

requires label reading, because our food is

becoming more and more processed and so, more

adulterated. Years ago, vanilla extract, which

adds a lovely flavor to SCD ice cream, smoothies

and baked goods (made from finely ground nuts,

not grain flour), was just vanilla bean and

alcohol. The new McCormick’s vanilla, however,

has high-fructose corn syrup in it! Packaged

grated cheese from the market often has potato

starch as an anti-caking agent. Glance at a tuna

fish label in the market, and you’ll see “packed

in spring water”. What could be a problem with

fish packed in water? Read the fine print. It’s

water, vegetable broth and tuna. And that

vegetable broth almost always contains both soy

and MSG. Even worse, sometimes, labels lie.

Canned foods, even if they don’t say so on the

label, often contain sugar and starch, to make the food taste better,

you know!

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet can be

challenging, requiring a significant change in

lifestyle for the patient and his or her family.

No longer can you stop at Burger Thing or Taco

Whistle on your way home from work. You have to plan ahead and cook.

Yet it can be done. And lest you think that

taking away grains and potatoes and convenience

foods means dull, boring meals, my parents, Ross

and Marge Lessentine, have been coming over for

an SCD dinner on Monday nights.

How about starting with a tossed salad of green

leaf lettuce, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, and

crimini mushrooms topped with grated cheddar

cheese and your choice of homemade ranch

dressing, homemade honey-mustard dressing, or

homemade Italian dressing? Then move on to

grilled boneless chicken breast Florentine,

topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and

thick, home-cooked tomato sauce. And then let’s

wind up with something a little light – egg nog

ice cream topped with fresh Bing cherries.

Or maybe we’ll start with nice, ripe slices of

California avocadoes, interlaced with tomato

wedges and topped with old-fashioned creamy-style

French dressing, made with oil, vinegar, and

spices. Next, a piled high platter of flat-style

beef and bean burritos, with lettuce, tomato, and

sour dressing. And afterwards, a butter-pecan satin pudding.

For a casual night, how about a Creole style pot

roast, simmered for hours with a bit of red wine

and spices, with sides of mushrooms and baby new

carrots? For dessert, fresh strawberries.

This week, we started with grilled Portobello

mushrooms topped with a large mound of crab claw

meat and a creamy lemon-pepper sauce. Then we

went to lightly steamed new asparagus, and

thick-cut pork chops seasoned with homemade

blackened seasoning. For dessert, we finished up

the leftover eggnog ice cream, and added some blue berries for good

measure.

A side benefit is that because I make everything,

it’s easy to customize a dish, as for my mother, who is on a salt-free

diet.

There is one problem to mentioning all this yummy

food. Thankfully, everyone here has already

eaten, or I might have the lot of you following me home!

Still, the question which comes to mind when

someone claims that it’s possible to cure these

diseases which threaten not only our lives but

the quality of them is, “If there is a diet which

can put these scourges into remission, especially

a diet which allows such fabulous food, why

aren’t the doctors shouting it from the rooftops?”

Let’s take a look at some figures, provided by

the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America:

* It is estimated that up to 1,000,000 people

in the United States suffer from inflammatory bowel disease.

* In 1990, the total annual medical costs for

IBD patients was estimated at 1- 2 billion dollars.

Reducing this cost in both money and suffering

would seem to be a priority. Yet the CCFA and

many gastroenterologists continue to insist that

diet has nothing to with gut diseases. Why?

The answer, sadly, may be that medicines for gut

diseases are highly profitable. So is cheap food.

* Proctor and Gamble’s Asacol, one of the

primary drugs for these diseases, made $300 million in 2002.

* Also in 2002, revenue from Remicade,

another IBD drug, increased 80 percent, to $379 million.

* Many CCFA corporate donors include the

manufacturers of these and similar drugs. As a

consequence, former CCFA members who have

regained their health through SCD are inclined to

wonder if those donations are why the

organization continues to maintain that

unprofitable diet has nothing to do with gut disease.

According to Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation,

Americans spent $110 billion in 2000 on fast

food, more than on higher education, personal

computers, software or new cars. America’s

service economy creates 90 percent of all new

jobs, and most of those are in the fast food

realm. The golden arches are better known around

the world now than the Christian cross, according

to Schlosser. And every product made by this

industry is illegal on the Specific Carbohydrate

Diet. Is it possible that there is a link between

the rise of fast food, and the proliferation of

gut diseases? Surely not – the experts assure us

that diet has nothing to do with disease!

Doctors also say, “But there are no studies!” and

conveniently forget Dr. Haas’ Management of

Celiac Disease, based on decades of observation

and evaluation of more than 600 cases. Then

again, most medical research is funded by

pharmaceutical firms who have everything to gain

from patentable drugs and nothing to gain from

assisting people to eat a biologically appropriate diet.

So the bottom line would seem to be money.

Physicians and surgeons, pharmaceutical firms,

the CCFA, and all the fast food companies in the

world stand to lose significant revenue if people

do something as radical as changing their diets

to healthy food which they can digest.

There’s another problem with managing gut

diseases by diet. In our modern world, we want

things now, fast, yesterday, even. We don’t like

taking time. Very few people wish to acknowledge

that it has taken many years for them to become

ill, and that it may take months or years to

heal. As a consequence, entirely too many people

would rather pop a dozen pills than give up French fries and wheat

bread.

Yet many will do anything to live a normal life.

There are over a thousand members of an Internet

community dedicated to the implementation of the

Specific Carbohydrate Diet. A thousand active

members, that is, with an average span on the

list of about a year. People come, learn how to

implement SCD, regain their health, and then go

on about their lives. Some of us stay to teach.

True, SCD is not an easy diet. Still,

approximately 90% of the people with Crohn’s

Disease who follow it regain their health.

Approximately 75% of the people with Ulcerative

Colitis also heal. That’s a far better percentage

than any of the drugs currently on the market.

How did I find SCD? Backwards, actually. My

husband Harry and I have had dachshunds and cats

for most of our married life. Most people find a

healthy diet for themselves, then look for one

for their pets. We did the reverse. In 1998, we

became mom and dad to a pair of gorgeous

long-haired red dachshunds, Shadow and Sunny. We

were determined they would get the best food

money could buy – our vet and the breeder

recommended several kinds of kibble. But despite

really small servings of this premium, and mostly

grain kibble, Shadow and Sunny both ended up very

overweight, with soft, mushy stools. I was

frustrated, because this was the same situation I

was in – eating very small amounts, continuously

hungry, and still gaining weight.

Through research, I learned about

species-appropriate diets, that is diets made of

the kinds of foods an animal evolved to eat.

My dachshunds lost weight on a biologically appropriate grain-free diet.

So, I began a search for a grain-free diet for humans.

I found it in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

When I first read Breaking the Vicious Cycle, I

didn’t think I had IBD, so it was a shock to

discover the urgency and soft, mushy stools I had

suffered with for 25 years was not “normal” as I

had been told by various physicians. Nor was my

overweight because I “refused to get a little

exercise by pushing myself away from the table.”

It, too, was a symptom of undiagnosed malabsorption.

I have now been following SCD for 17 months.

Without limiting what I eat, I have, by healing

my gut, lost 120 pounds. For the first time in

many years, I’m confident that I will re-achieve

a healthy weight. I no longer have the problems

which made it necessary to carry spare

underclothes in my purse, and a plastic bag to

put the soiled ones in. I don’t enter a building

and immediately look to see where the restrooms

are and I’m no longer acquainted with every rest

stop between here and wherever.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has truly given me

my life back. The time I spend cooking is minimal

compared to the amount of time I used to spend in

restrooms, doing extra laundry, or generally

feeling too ill to accomplish anything.

Will the SCD ever become the first standard

treatment of gut diseases, rather than the last

resort of desperate people whom conventional

medicine has failed? I don’t know. It’s a dream.

In a write up on SCD in the Wall Street Journal

last autumn, the Journal noted, “The failure of

the IBD diet to gain widespread acceptance within

the medical community is a lesson in the grim

financial reality of medical research. Doctors

don’t accept treatments that aren’t validated by

controlled studies, and drug companies, which

fund most medical research, pay to study pills, not diets.”

And yet, this method of treatment does not, as

its detractors hope, die. Dr. Sidney Valentine

Haas passed the torch to Elaine Gottschall. Now

82, Mrs. Gottschall regularly updates Breaking

the Vicious Cycle, and participates in areas

which support treatment of gut disease by diet.

She has trained several assistants to carry the

torch into the future. And it is to be hoped that

one day, when a patient first goes to his or her

health care professional with a gut problem, that

after carefully noting symptoms and doing

whatever tests seem indicated, the physician of

the future will ask, “And what have you been eating?”

----------

BTVC-SCD is now more than 1800 strong, averaging

2000 messages a month. You, the members, from

Australia to the US to Canada to the UK, to India

and beyond have made this group what it is:

dedicated to the support of the Specific

Carbohydrate Diet as it was written by Elaine

Gottschall, who passed on to us what she learned

from Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas.

Thank you, to all of the people who come here for help and who end up

helping.

Thank you to all of the longer-term and dedicated

members who spend so many hours each week

answering questions and helping others.

Thank you for making this group a healing place.

I like to think of both Dr. Haas and Elaine

looking down and smiling as their healing legacy moves forward into

the future.

Happy Third Birthday to BTVC-SCD!!

— Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle

Ruth J. Hirsch, MA, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

•

44 Main Street

Kingston, NY 12401

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