SCD for IBD

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology at the end of Dec 2016 looked at the impact of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) on children with  active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).  The study was led by Dr David Suskind, a gastroenterologist practising at Seattle Children's, and involved the children following the SCD for 12 weeks.  This was a small study, but of the 10 children who completed the study, 8 or 80%, showed significant improvement and achieved clinical remission.  The SCD removes all complex carbohydrates, including all whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables.  It also focuses exclusively on cooked food for an extended period of time.  The SCD is based around the concept of removing foods from the diet that have the potential to cause inflammation/disruption of the digestive mucous membranes and focusing instead on foods that are easier to digest and that encourage a reduction in inflammation and support digestive mucous membrane healing.  This study is a great confirmation that the food that we eat can have a direct impact on how we feel.  For people with IBD, their symptoms can often be unmanageable and it is great to have this clinical proof that making dietary changes can offer significant support in disease/symptom management.    

S Stands for Seeds!

Seeds are the final component in Dr Joel Fuhrman's G-BOMBS (as discussed in his books The End of Dieting and Super Immunity)!  There are all sorts of healthy seeds to choose from including hemp seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds.  Seeds are an excellent source of protein as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids (seeds tend to have a better omega 3 and omega 6 balance than nuts).  As a protein source, seeds can cover  breakfast (I use chia seeds and hemp seeds as my protein sources in my am smoothie) and snacks, but they don't provide enough blood sugar balancing support to be the main protein source for lunch or supper.  Seeds are rich in a number of minerals including calcium and iron.   Seeds can also help us maintain healthy cholesterol balance and they can also reduce our risk of developing certain cancers.  They are also an excellent fibre source and support healthy bowel movements.  Flax seeds do need to be ground for us to gain full benefit from them and it is best to grind them shortly before consuming them to preserve their omega 3/6 fatty acid makeup.  Seeds are a low FODMAP food, so they do not tend to cause digestive disruption for most people.  Seeds are very flexible and pretty easy to integrate into our diet - they can be added to smoothies, salads, stir fries, baked veggies.  Integrating seeds into our regular diet is a simple and easy way to support our overall health!

Conventional Farming Concerns

In the April 2016 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal, author Harry Hong PhD discusses concerns with our modern food supply in his article "Modern Industrial Foods and Their Effects on the Human Body".  

Some of the concerns with modern/conventional agriculture that he raises include how widespread the farming of genetically modified (GM) crops has become. The top GM crops in the US include soybean, corn, sugar beet, canola (and cotton).  Not surprisingly, GM crops are more contaminated with herbicide (specifically glyphosate) residues than certified organically grown crops.  Interestingly people who eat a conventionally grown diet were found to have higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than people who ate a certified organically grown diet. Glyphosate has been linked to a number of concerns including ADHD, autism, gut flora imbalance, liver damage, MS.

In addition, a number of the substances added to our foods (like nitrates/nitrites and food colourings) have been linked to an increased risk of developing cancer and behaviour concerns.  

The article also mentions that certified organically grown foods have a richer nutrient base than conventionally grown foods and offer higher vitamin and mineral levels. 

The info in this article can feel very overwhelming!  Let's shift perspective and look at some positive help a cleanse can offer!   Because a cleanse focuses on whole and home made foods, we greatly reduce our intake of many of the concerning compounds discussed in the article while doing the cleanse. As well, one of the benefits of doing a cleanse is our liver gets a bit of a break and has a chance to  process breakdown products/toxins more efficiently which can make it easier for us to clear some of these concerning compounds from our system. 

For the long term/post cleanse, while we don't have to focus exclusively on certified organic foods in our diet, when we can, it is a good idea to do so.  It is especially important to aim to eat certified organic soy, corn, sugar, and canola to reduce our intake of GM foods. The Environmental Working Group also provides an invaluable resource in their Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists which can make it easier for us to choose which foods are more important for us to buy as certified organically grown.  The sweet bell peppers pictured above are on the Dirty Dozen list and so are one of the top 12 pesticide residue contaminated foods, so it is best to buy certified organic when possible.  Check out www.ewg.org to see the full Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists. And remember that any change we make in our diet - whether it is eating even a bit less processed foods or focusing on eating only certified organic soy when possible - will make a difference to our overall health! 

Berries! Berries! Berries!

Berries are the B in Dr Joel Fuhrman's G-BOMBS (as discussed in his books The End of Dieting and Super Immunity).  Berries are loaded with antioxidants that offer in depth support for our overall eye and cardiovascular/heart health.  They offer great anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic response support as well as general immune boosting support.  They can also help to reduce our risk of developing a number of cancers.  As well, they are a low glycemic food which means they do not place any stress on blood sugar balance.
Berries are some of the most nutrient packed foods in our diet and are worth integrating on a regular basis.  With living in a cold climate, I find that I am not much of a natural fruit eater and could stand to integrate more berries into my diet!  They go well in smoothies or can be eaten as a snack.  When not blended in a smoothie, fruit is best eaten at least 30 minutes before or 1 hour after other foods - fruit is digested more quickly than other foods and can impact the quality of digestion of other foods if eaten alongside them.
Blackberries and boysenberries are a high FODMAP food, so may be best avoided by people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome/digestive concerns.
Even though berries tend to offer anti-inflammatory support, some people will find that strawberries contribute to skin inflammation/eczema aggravation and are best avoided if this is the case.

Mushrooms - immune stars!

Catching back up with Dr. Joel Fuhrman's G-BOMBS (as discussed in his books The End of Dieting and Super Immunity), the next letter to look at is M which stands for Mushrooms!  

Mushrooms offer excellent immune tonification support.  They can help build the base of our immune system and encourage us out of a cycle of frequent colds and into a space of more immune stability.  They also have numerous anti-cancer actions including reducing the ability of cancer cells to develop their own blood supply (which is necessary for the cancer cells to grow/proliferate - no blood supply, no growth) and helping to neutralize/kill off cancer cells. 

All types of mushrooms offer support, including white button, cremini, portobello, shiitake, oyster mushrooms.  

Mushrooms are most supportive for our system when they are cooked and they are flexible in all sorts of dishes.  They can easily be added to soups, stews, stir fries, bakes.  In general, they are a pretty easy food to integrate into our regular routine and will offer us great immune support!

For some people with yeast/candida overgrowth, they will find that mushrooms can exacerbate their symptoms and are best avoided.  

As well, from a FODMAP standpoint, most mushrooms are high FODMAP foods and may also need to be avoided by people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome/digestive concerns.

Soup - a perfect cleanse food!

One of the main benefits we gain during a cleanse is that our digestive system is considerably less stressed (because we have reduced the amount of foods in our diet that are hard to digest or are difficult on the digestive system) and has a chance to begin to heal and improve its overall functioning.  

In general, our digestive system prefers warm temperature food - warm food is less stressful for the digestive system than cold food and it is easier for us to process and absorb our nutrients from warm/cooked foods.  Focusing on at least 50% cooked foods during a cleanse is a great way to offer further support to our digestive system.   

Soup is a wonderful winter food that is filled with well cooked and often easily digestible ingredients.  Having soup on a cleanse takes even a bit more strain off our digestive system and allows our body to do further healing.

Making soup regularly on a cleanse can also be helpful in reducing the amount of cooking overwhelm people can sometimes feel on a cleanse - it is easy to make extra soup that we can either eat throughout the week or freeze and eat later on during the cleanse.  

Soup is also an easy way for us to eat lots of veggies!  A half cup of raw veggies is one serving of veggies (even if we cook the veggies, we still measure the serving size as raw veggies) - just thinking back to making soup, we can easily picture how many 1/2 cups of veggies go into making one soup!  

For many people, soup is a grounding meal as well - it is warming and filling and many of us have positive memories associated with soup being a favourite or healing food.  

The soup pictured above is from a recipe called Lentil Me Entertain You from Soupelina's Soup Cleanse by Elina Fuhrman.  I just picked up this book and it is filled with loads of delicious cleanse friendly recipes and lots of great health information.  

Week One - almost done!

The first week of the cleanse is almost complete!  For most people, the first week of a cleanse is the most difficult.  Our body is adjusting to the changes that we have made and is likely missing the foods/drinks we have removed.  By the end of the first week though, for the most part, we will have adjusted and will be in the flow of being on a cleanse.  For some people, they will be noticing differences already in how they feel.  This can include more settled digestion, less itchy skin, more balanced mood or energy.  For other people, improvements take a bit more time to manifest.  Thankfully, with the cleanse feeling a bit more manageable and maybe even feeling a bit better, we generally have improved motivation to continue on with the cleanse by the end of the first week!  Keeping a journal of how we are feeling on a cleanse can be a very helpful guide as we continue on and finish the cleanse and then assess the differences we have seen.
One of the quick and easy dishes I made this week was a beet and cauliflower bake - I chopped up the beets (red and golden) and cauliflower, placed the veggies in a casserole with some oil and rosemary, and baked for 45 minutes.  It was a delicious and warming supper (it was mixed with short grain rice and lentils).  And beets and cauliflower both offer excellent liver support during a cleanse too!