Practitioners Review
May 2009
Tammy Mitchum is a qualified naturopath with advanced diplomas in nutrition, Botanical medicine, Naturopathy and also holds a bachelor of Health Science (Complimentary medicine).
Although I am now a qualified naturopath, I have always had an interest in nutrition and many years ago ‘discovered’ that eliminating grains and starchy carbohydrates from my diet improved my own digestive complaint almost 100%. At this time I had no idea why this was the case, but after studying nutrition and Naturopathy I began realize that there was something about complex carbohydrates that many people could not tolerate. My own clinic brought me many clients suffering with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) who also had huge improvements if they were able to remove many of the grains from their diet. After a period of ‘gut rehabilitation’ we found that these clients could return to grain eating in moderation provided that they had continued to reduce the grains in their diet for a period of time.
It was only after some years of following this regime with my clients that I discovered ‘Breaking the vicious cycle’ by Elaine Gottschall.
It was then I had the ‘ha ha’ moment! This explained to me in scientific terms what I had subconsciously known all along - that many people, for whatever reason, had poor digestive function and could no longer digest or break down food into single molecules of glucose necessary for absorption.
Now I had the complete set of tools to offer my patients – the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - This has always produced outstanding improvement in all digestive conditions suffered by my clients, as long as they were able to adhere to the diet. Although IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is by far the largest condition I see in my clinic, the SCD diet and variations of this, have helped many other conditions including allergies and intolerances, skin conditions, behavioral and mood disorders, diverticulitis, Inflammatory bowel diseases as well as general problems such as fatigue, metabolic syndrome and it also combines really well with weight loss.
Recently I stumbled upon Sandra Ramacher’s beautiful cook book ‘Healing foods’. Being a keen cook myself, I found the recipes to be simple to prepare, delicious and as a bonus, healthy. Now I find myself always recommending this book to my clients, whom without exception sing its praises. For those who can spend a little time in the kitchen, there is no finer introduction to the SCD diet than this book, where each recipe ‘works’ as well as a great introduction to a healthy way of eating.
All of my clients are encouraged to follow the SCD diet or a variation of, as I have found no other more effective tool.
Tammy Mitchum is a qualified naturopath with advanced diplomas in nutrition, Botanical medicine, Naturopathy and also holds a bachelor of Health Science (Complimentary medicine). Tammys’ career in natural medicine began some 14 years ago whilst working alongside one of the UK’s leading nutritionists culminating in the establishment of her busy North Shore clinic, the Natural Medicine Practice 6 years ago. Due to successfully dealing with her own digestive disorder and a wealth of experience in helping many clients overcome their own, Tammy now specializes in Digestive and allergic disorders with a key component being the correction of the diet to that suitable for digestive health.
Tammy has recently joined forces with fellow natural practitioner Ros Andrews to launch www.gutmatters.com an online service that offers step by step home treatment plans for all health conditions that have a relation to digestive health. Here there is a strong emphasis on adequate nutrition for gut health and ‘Gut Matters’ strongly recommends diets such as the Specific Carbohydrate diet and the body ecology diet varied according to the health problem involved.
Tammy Mitchum practices in St Ives, on the North Shore of Sydney.
Phone 02 9988 0491 for appointments or visit the web site: www.naturalmedicinepractice.com.au
Gut Matters offers ‘self-help’ treatment plans for many health disorders and many can be improved immensely by using the ‘Optimal Digestive Health Diet’ , which includes full instructions in how to follow the SCD diet. You will find this on the Gut Matters site:
January 09
Matthew Bourke is a Chiropractic Kinesiologist who graduated from Medical Science at Sydney University in 1995 and completed his Masters in Chiropractic at Macquarie University in 1997. Matthew has studied and worked in Australia, America and Europe. He is founder and co-director of Optimum Health Essentials in Mona Vale, NSW. Optimum Health Essentials is a multidisciplinary holistic health centre that provides an integrated approach to maximizing an individuals health potential by addressing the key interferences to the body’s innate ability to heal itself. These interferences include structural alignment, unresolved emotions, inadequate or unbalanced nutrition, allergies, toxicity, electromagnetic pollution, environmental conditions and genetics.
The SCD diet is an essential part of the process for controlling and reaching remission for almost all inflammatory conditions within the body.
For people with inflammatory bowel conditions there is almost always a history of excessive carbohydrate intake and a period of intense or sustained emotional stress. The combination of these two factors causes the large bowel to become too acidic and this also lowers the pH of the lower small intestine (jejunum and ileum). The acidity in the small intestine reduces the effectiveness of the digestive enzymes from the pancreas and creates an environment where undigested carbohydrates and other food ferments and parasites thrive. The region that is often most effected is the iliocecal valve which is the junction point between the small and large intestine in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. This area is always tender to pressure when this region is too acidic and often corresponds with tenderness of the right sacroiliac joint in the pelvis. People with chronic low back pain that does not respond or is aggravated by manual adjusting will often have an inflamed iliocecal valve.
It is important to note that lactic acid producing bacteria including streptococcus, lactobacillus and bifidus all may contribute to the acidity if the diet contains excess carbohydrate. For each molecule of glucose these bacteria produce two molecules of lactic acid which then lowers the pH of the bowel. Syptomatically you will often experience a burning sensation when passing a bowel motion when this situation is present. Therefore taking any probiotics exacerbates the situation unless the SCD program is in place.
In my experience emotional stress will override even a PERFECT diet. Thus one must address any key issues and make the appropriate lifestyle changes so that the immune system can normalise. We have found Neuroemotional Technique (N.E.T.) and Neurolinguistic Programming (N.L.P.) very effective for dealing with unresolved emotions and repetitive negative emotional states that have a huge effect on the health of our immune systems.
Heavy metal or chemical toxicity will also prevent the immune system from normalizing and reduce the effectiveness of the SCD protocol unless addressed properly. We use homeopathics, ZeoActiv8 zeolite, nutritional protocols and EB Pro advanced cellular cleansing ionic foot baths (www.erchonia.com).
Fine tuning is achieved by looking at what allergies exist including allergies to foods that are included in the SCD. Kinesiology especially N.A.E.T. is a very effective and efficient way of detecting and correcting the abnormal neuroimmunological response to these foods and other environmental substances. For more information check our website www.optimumhealthessentials.com.au or www.naet.com for allergy elimination and www.netmindbody.com for neuroemotional technique.
June 2008
I have been practicing as a naturopath for about 17 years and about 8 years ago, a client presented to me with Crohn's disease. The client was very ill and had told me that if his condition did not improve he no longer considered life worthwhile. My previous work with clients with ulcerative and Crohn's disease had convinced me that immune function had a key role in the disease and for treatment.
I tried many treatment options with this client - including herbal medicine, diet, homeopathy and nutritional supplementation. Although there was some success, nothing gave longer term lasting results. It is a terrible feeling as a health professional when you can't help a client with their health problems. I did some further research using the internet to give me some ideas on new treatment avenues.
I found nothing of any noteworthiness, except information on one diet - the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Initially, I was skeptical of this diet as its basis of treatment largely differed from my training and research of the last 9 years. Basically, I understand the diet to "break the vicious cycle" of immune response causing disease - by excluding certain foods especially complex carbohydrates that are not well digested.
At the time, I didn't believe the diet would help my client at all, but the author of the diet, Elaine Gottschall, was convinced of its ability and she wasn't selling anything! So, I told my client about the diet and asked him to use it to the best of his ability. I was giving him some hope.
Over the next few weeks my client improved. There was a marked reduction in pain, reduced episodes of diarrhea and the absence of blood in his stool. He slowly removed the drugs he was prescribed and with 3 months was free from any drug treatment. Today, this man is enjoying his life, only using the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and some supplements.
I was so impressed with the results that I decided to try the diet myself to treat respiratory allergies. I have found it to be very effective on this front. Since my first case some 8 years ago I have used the diet on many clients with GIT disorders. I also decided to use the diet with many other conditions, including diabetes mellitus, auto immune disorders, weight loss and many other conditions. I now employ this diet for all clients and in most cases I find it highly effective in treating and maintaining the health of my clients.
Chris Wainwright
Naturopath Trichologist
To contact Chris for an appointment please email him at: poie100@iprimus.com.au
Sheila Trenholm (SCD ™ counselor, SCD ™ Consultant and moderator of the SCD ™ discussion group, ‘Pecanbread’)
My name is Sheila Trenholm. I developed Ulcerative Colitis (UC) when I was 14. It has been a lifelong struggle which was nearly insurmountable, until February 1, 2001 at the age of 33, I started SCD.
I had gone through a very bad flare-up of my UC in September of the previous year. I was hospitalized for about a week in September about 40 lbs underweight and put on prednisone (a steroid). Shortly after weaning off the prednisone, the colitis flared again and by the end of November I was back in the hospital. About 9 days later I was sent home again with another round of prednisone. At the end of January, although still on prednisone, symptoms started coming back even quicker than before. The doctors had told me they had no idea what was going on. Some of the emergency room doctors said that most people who had UC for a long time, usually ended up having to have surgery. This really scared me. My husband felt that we needed to take matters in our own hands and said let's check the Internet and see if we can get some ideas about what causes Ulcerative colitis and mechanisms for fighting it. The first link that popped up was about SCD ™. He said let's check further and see if there is more information. We ended up on the Amazon site with the reader's reviews of Elaine's book, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle". The reviews were very encouraging because they were from people who had gone through the same things and were seeing great results.
We agreed that I would start the diet the next morning. I gave up my usual bowl of bran flakes, homemade bread and milk and sugar - laced tea. I think I ate a plate of eggs. By lunchtime the cramps and pain in my gut disappeared. I was completely flabbergasted. Teams of doctors and increasingly higher doses of prednisone had only been able to help in the past and only after days of IV treatments. This had worked within hours. I called my husband at work and told him he had to find this book before he came home that night.
About a year later (and doing amazingly well) my husband and I sat down and talked about putting our kids on the diet. They had been having the same SCD ™ lunches and suppers as me but were still having cereal for breakfast. Our son had been put on IV antibiotics right after he was born and had always had frequent, very smelly, mushy stools. Although frequent, soft stools are pretty normal for a baby, they didn’t improve as he got older. We started him on SCD ™ when he was about 2 1/2 yrs old. Within days of starting the diet awful smell of his stools went away and the frequency dropped from 5-8 a day to 1-3/day. He now has formed bowel movements and is doing great. Even my husband and daughter had surprising results when they went on SCD ™ 100%. My husband lost the 50 lbs that he had fought with over the years and my daughters’ occasional but intense constipation was also brought under control.
After a few years on the diet I developed a very bad, yeast overgrowth. The yeast overgrowth was the result of antibiotics. Along with SCD ™, I used some legal supplements (yeast killing enzymes) along with natural anti-fungals to combat the fungal overgrowth. There is more information on these supplements and the approach that I took at http://pecanbread.com/new/yeastsheila.html Things were slowly improving until I was treated with antibiotics twice unnecessarily (the first round was for a misdiagnosis of pneumonia) and the yeast flared up again along with a flare up of colitis - for which I was hospitalized in the Spring of 2006. In the hospital, I was taken off all drugs including the medication I had been taking for UC; which I had been strongly encouraged to continue while on SCD by my GI specialist. There was some improvement after stopping all the medications, including the UC meds. After getting out of the hospital I decided to try Saccharomyces boulardii; a good, probiotic yeast. After a few of weeks of taking the S. boulardii I was able to tolerate yogurt again along with a greater variety of SCD foods. I stopped using the anti-fungals, but continued the enzyme for a few months – using it before/with meals to help digest foods.
I still take S. boulardii and occasionally L. acidophilus probiotics, but don’t take meds for UC any longer. I have been in continuous remission since the fall of 2006.
Besides UC, SCD ™ has helped me in other ways. After many years of not being able to get pregnant I was eventually diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD). This is a condition, which causes irregular periods and can lead to infertility. With the help of fertility drugs I was very fortunate to be able to conceive and have two beautiful children. After the pregnancies my body returned to having very infrequent periods. While in the hospital for the flare (that brought me to SCD ™), one test discovered that I also had moderate Cervical Dysplasia. After a year or so on SCD ™ I stopped taking birth control pills, which were supposed to help regulate PCOD (but didn't). I had my B vitamin levels checked and found that my malabsorption had been corrected while on the SCD ™ and I was able to stop taking multivitamins and the B complex supplement. Soon after this, the PCOD came under control and the dysplasia "disappeared"- much to the surprise of the specialist and her nurse (both wrote down the title of, “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” and asked for an explanation of the diet). More wonderful side effects of SCD ™, the chronic acne I had since a teenager has improved, as well as the cystic acne, mild eczema and rosacea.
I originally joined the children’s SCD ™ list (now known as Pecanbread) to get some ideas for school lunches and to be able to discuss having children that were doing the diet. I have a degree in Biology and worked at the local university in a Food Science lab where I helped develop new food products, run microbiological tests and test food products. I am now a SCD ™ counselor, SCD ™ Consultant and I am a moderator of the SCD ™ discussion group, ‘Pecanbread’.
I can be contacted at sheilat@nl.rogers.com . The website for children and SCD ™ is http://pecanbread.com/. Pecanbread is a Yahoo discussion group for those implementing the Specific Carbohydrate Diet ™. Many, but not all of the members, have children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). Anyone following the SCD ™ is welcome to join our group. Information for joining the Pecanbread discussion group can be found at http://pecanbread.com/new/local1.html.
Passion4Health - Brisbane, Australia
When I read that almost 50% of gastroenterologist visits are a result of IBS, I am amazed that more people are not following the specific carbohydrate diet. When it comes to recipes for the specific carbohydrate diet, you can't go past Sandra Ramacher's culinary masterpiece, Healing Foods - Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn's and IBS.
This book is the definitive recipe guide for the specific carbohydrate diet, including specific carbohydrate diet legal versions of many dishes I thought I wouldn't be eating again. Sandra's versions of lasagne and apple crumble have become regular items on our dinner table when entertaining, which helps convince others gluten free diets don't need to be like eating cardboard.
We utilise the specific carbohydrate diet extensively in our clinical practice and recommend this book to everyone. This book is the most comprehensive tool we have found for making the transition to a gluten free, lactose free, grain free, life simple, and even tasty. I would not be able to guess, how often this book has saved our clients from throwing in the specific carbohydrate diet because they could not have their favourite treats.
If you are following the specific carbohydrate diet and enjoy great tasting AND healthy food, this book deserves first place on your kitchen bench.
Marianne Fernance is founding Naturopath for Passion 4 Health, a Naturopathic & Wellness Clinic in Brisbane, Australia.