The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or SCD is based on the work of Elaine Gottschall, and is described in detail in her wonderful book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It is a more restrictive diet than the gluten free / casein free (GFCF) diet. The website is www.pecanbread.com.
This diet revolves around the removal of all starches and complex sugars (honey, as a simple sugar, is allowed). This can be important as overgrown gut pathogens such as yeast and bacteria are probably feeding off of these harder-to-digest complex carbohydrates and sugars. By restricting them from the diet, a deeper level of healing is achievable in the gut wall (much the same as the GFCF diet), making it less permeable for unwanted or undigested substances to enter the bloodstream and impact neurological functioning. Cultured unpasteurized goat's milk yogurt is accepted on this diet, and can be a powerful source of probiotics that also works to promote healing of the gut wall by the addition of "good" bacteria.
The SCD diet is embraced by the DAN! community. Many people try the diet and find it successful for a period of several months. Most people do not add the goat's milk yogurt right away - or some times at all. The majority of people who try this diet for their children with autism are parents that saw initially saw some good results from going gluten- and/or casein-free, but then experienced a "plateau" -- Their children began improving and becoming more interactive, but there were still a few 'issues'. Sometimes this manifests as continued problems with aggressive behavior, stimming, or a continued lack of speech.
The SCD diet is not only for the community of people who are seeking to recover their children from autism, but for people with Crohn's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Colitis. The yahoo support group for this diet is fantastic. Please visit the SCD diet website to learn more detailed science behind this diet: www.pecanbread.com.
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