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Below are the responses I received regarding Elaine Gottschall, who
claims there is a "cure" for CD. Her article appears at:
http://www.scdiet.org/7archives/scdceli1.html
Some responses questioned the term "cure", as do I.
Dr. Gottschall says (and I quote), "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has
been shown to completely cure most cases of coeliac disease if followed
for at least one year." There is a question/answer from Elaine (which
was forwarded to me) at the end of this e-mail in which she specifically
reiterates that she means a permanent "cure" for CD.
The responses are varied as to the worth of the carbohydrate diet:
"I tried this regimen for over a month but it was not "my solution" and
additionally I lost too much weight following it. Many in the community
have advised against this as it restricts a restricted diet even
further, though Dr. Fine feels it is a healthy eating plan and follows
one similar to it himself."
A Nutrition Coach wrote: "I agree 100% percent with this approach!
Myself, my children and clients have been following this diet for 15
years and have no symptoms whatsoever!"
"What is for me a problem, is the devoted way of people following this
diet to claim that Elaine has saved their life. For me it sound a
little bit too much like a sect ..."
"I think this diet eliminates all chances of cross contamination and
hidden gluten, as you eat only whole foods. Your body, therefore, has
the chance to completely heal. "
"...I have read the book - Breaking the Vicious Cycle. It's fascinating
and the author does clearly state several times that if one were to
follow the diet for a year after all symptoms have disappeared, one
could go back to eating gluten...It is an extremely difficult diet and
one could never eat anything prepared I don't think, but I bet we would
all feel better on this diet."
"She touts her diet as a CURE for celiac disease. It is much more
restrictive than our GF diet. It probably will bring remission to the
celiac person, but not for long term, unfortunately, if the person
reverts back to eating gluten.
"She's not talking about "curing" celiac disease so that celiacs can go
back to eating lots of wheat. Although she is using the word "cure",
what she describes is more a lasting remission involving continued
healthy eating after finishing the specific carbohydrate diet. I
realize she is the one who chose to use the word "cure" in the title of
the article, but her thrust in all of her writings is on the role of
different types of carbohydrates on intestinal health and illness with
the argument that the exclusive focus on gluten in celiac disease is too
narrow. I was on a gf diet for several months, and my symptoms began
remitting. However, some intestinal pain persisted. When I went on the
specific carbohydrate diet, the pain disappeared in one week!"
"My background is nursing and I have an interest in nutrition, but am
not an expert. Gottschall's diet is a low carbohydrate, high fat and
protein diet. It fits in the category with the Atkins Diet. There are
many health risks associated with the high fat and high protein intakes."
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From: "Elaine Gottschall" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: "cure" for celiac
" The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has been shown to completely cure most
cases of celiac disease if followed for at least one year."
1. Why is one year a magic number?
Answer: One year is the minimum to stay on it. Some may need longer
but, certainly, no one can expect the symptoms to clear up in less than
one year.
2. What do you mean by "cure"? After one year on the SCD, will a
celiac be able to eat gluten-containing foods without damaging the villi
in his small intestine?
Answer: Have you reread the celiac supplement at the back of the book.
I think it is a perversion of the real diet that reverses celiac which
historically is SCD.
3. After one year on the SCD, can a mom get pregnant and NOT pass the
celiac gene to her new baby?
Answer: Most cases of celiac have no history of it in the family. I am
not going to get into a discussion on whether the gene exists or not but
the chances are that the people who have been diagnosed as celiacs do
not have others in their "pedigree" with it.
4. I have 2 young children with celiac disease. Am I understanding
"cure" to mean that if they stay on the standard gluten-free diet, their
symptoms will disappear but they won't be cured? But if they stay on
the SCD for only one year, they will be "cured" of celiac disease, can
eat gluten again and will not pass the gene onto their children?
Answer: I am not working on the premise that it is a genetic disease
which cannot be cured.... As you will learn, the poor people who stay on
the gluten free diet for life are always getting sick one way or another
and they usually get worse even on the gluten free diet as time goes on.
They develop osteoporosis and other things.
5. By "cure most cases", do you mean cure most symptoms of the disease?
I was on the standard gluten-free diet for one year and the only symptom
that disappeared was diarrhea (to be replaced by severe constipation).
The rest of my symptoms remained. So are you talking about symptoms,
because I know I still have the gene?
Answer: I wouldn't be so sure that the testing for the gene is so very
valid. It certainly is not for cystic fibrosis.
6. By "cure most cases of celiac disease if followed for at least one
year", do you mean only if the celiac remains on the SCD?
Answer: You continue to stay on the gene-gluten sensitive wavelength
(SCDdiet) and I ask you to please try and believe that it is bacterial
in origin and by starving out the bacteria, you get rid of the symptoms.
You know that all the hundreds of people who are well and rid of UC and
Crohn's have also been told that these diseases are incurable. I have
many, many doubts about "finding the gene" for everything that ails us.
(End of Ellen G's questions/answers)
------------------------------------------------
My personal responses:
In question #1, Elaine says you must stay on the diet for a minimum of
one year, implying that you may go off the diet sometime after that. In
question #6, it appears you must stay on the diet for the rest of your
life. If you stay on the diet the rest of your life, then how is it a
"cure"?...it is merely an ongoing "treatment", just like the gluten-free diet.
In question #3, she says it is not hereditary. Then how does she
account for the families where the grandmother, mother, and children all
have CD?
It sounds like her diet will help alleviate some of the symptoms that
aren't totally eliminated on the gluten-free diet alone, but I really
question how healthy it is to totally eliminate a food group for the
rest of your life.
I guess each of us will have to arrive at our own conclusions.
Connie
http://www.wfgf.homestead.com/gf.html
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