Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet
ISBN:9780969276814

I finally have the confidence to write a review for this book. I was diagnosed with Crohn's colitis while I was in medical school and I was pretty traumatized by the whole experience. Before being diagnosed, I had assisted in operations of Crohn's patients and had seen first-hand how ugly this disease can get. So when I was finally told I had Crohn's, I was very afraid for my future. I started out on mesalamine drugs, but continued to eat the way I used to, which was heavy on grains/candy/processed foods. I had seen one of the most preeminent IBD gastroenterologists in the world and he specifically told me, "I can't see how diet can have anything to do with decreasing inflammation." The drugs worked just for a few months before I started to have problems again. I was put on prednisone and eventually Remicade and had to take time off of school. Fed up with this uncertainty in my life, I searched on the internet for some other way out of this (at this point high doses of prednisone were ravaging my mind and body). I encountered website posts regarding Dr. Wolfgang Lutz book Life without Bread and then came across this book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle (BTVC). I decided to follow the BTVC protocol because it seemed more restrictive so I thought I would get faster results. I was aware of the frightening side effects of Remicade but decided to go through with it too, in combination with the diet.

Overnight I started to strictly adhere to this diet. I put full faith in it. I bought the cook books, the yogurt maker, almond flour, everything. I started to make regular trips to Whole Foods and bought almost all organic produce. Being on Remicade and the SCD in combination made it difficult for me to tell which was working, though I always had a gut feeling (no pun intended) that it was the diet that was the major player. I didn't see significant results until about 4 months into the diet. After those first 4 months until a year, I would have very minor set backs here and there, but they would go away within a few days after I went back to a cooked veggie regimen.

After a year I decided to stop the Remicade infusions and let the chips fall where they may. I speak to you now at 1 year and 6 months on the diet and I have no symptoms of Crohn's and I take no medications. I have never cheated on the diet once. I know better than to claim that the disease is cured, so I'm just saying that it's very much under control and I feel better than ever.

As I am in the medical field, I know there is very little data behind using diet to treat inflammatory bowel disease. After going through this experience, I am convinced that this diet is at least helpful. You have to be very motivated to continue this diet. It's also helpful to keep in mind that some restrictions can be lifted after about 2 years. I highly recommend this protocol to the supermotivated IBD sufferer.

This cookbook is a fine way to try out this diet, but alas, and despite all the glowing testimonials, the diet has not worked to ease the symptoms of my husband's Crohn's disease. We've tried it for a month to no avail. He's losing weight and he misses his mashed potatoes, so it's back to those big, bad carbs tomorrow.

I read other people's reviews and though i should give the book a read. I suffer from an auto-immune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis. I tried the SCD diet and it worked within 3 days. The inflammation had really gone down and weeks later i am amazed at the recovery i have made. Please note, that along with Elaine's SCD diet i have also eliminated Starch, Lactose and Sugar along with the Gluten. This is specific for people with AS.

This may well be the missing piece of the puzzle for those with intestinal disorders who have tried other diets and not found relief or progressed as far as they would like.

The premise of the book is that people with intestinal disorders, such as those suffering from Crohn's, IBS, colitis, celiac disease, and gluten intolerance, may be suffering from damage to their intestinal villi causing an inability to break down and digest sugars (disaccharides). But this applies equally to anyone with autoimmune diseases or impaired digestion.

The villi are finger-like projections in the intestines responsible for absorbing nutrients. They also produce enzymes that break down sugars. They can become damaged from prolonged diarrhea, bacterial overgrowth, antibiotics, lack of stomach acid, or various disease states. (Celiac disease is not the only disorder that damages these villi.) When the villi are damaged, they can no longer produce disaccharidases, the enzymes necessary for breaking down disaccharides (double sugars such as lactose found in milk, sucrose found in common table sugar, or disaccharides resulting from the breakdown of starches) into monosaccharides that can then be absorbed.

The undigested sugars remain in the intestinal tract and get consumed by bacteria, which produce waste products, proliferate, and may migrate from the colon into the small intestine. The waste products damage the intestinal tract and can cause the production of mucous to protect the digestive tract. The mucous then forms a barrier between the ingested sugars and the enzymes secreted from the villi. Thus a vicious cycle occurs.

The diet, call the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, is very strict in that it limits all carbohydrate consumption to monosaccharides such as those found in vegetables and fruits. Starches, such as potatoes and grains, are prohibited as are disaccharides such as sugar or milk products. The goal of the diet is to starve out the bad bacteria and replace them with good bacteria, so homemade yoghurt and other probiotics are recommended. The majority of the book contains recipes to provide you with versatility and maximum nutrition.

Gottschall insists on strict compliance so you must be completely dedicated to following the diet. And the diet must be followed for at least a year but people may begin to experience improvement after only a month. Of interest is that those following the diet will experience an improvement in mental health even prior to healing of the gut. Gottschall reports that even those with celiac disease have been able to resume eating gluten grains after healing has been completed.

I ended up reading this book seven times, and I think this diet is well worth the effort involved when you consider the long-term benefits. Not only can you reverse disease states, but repairing the villi will lead to greater nutrient absorption and outstanding health. Highly recommended.

Being someone who has suffered from ulcerative colitis for 21 years, this book has been a Godsend and I am more then happy to follow this discipline. Moreover, learning about it all on a biochemical level and how foods interact and impact the digestive process has been great. Healing these diseases through this educated diet is something so many people would benefit from. I certainly have a number of people I am telling about this book and all the terrific cookbooks that have been published since the authors started her diet. Thank you Elaine and Dr. Haas.