Comparing the FODMAPS Elimination Diet With the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very popular diet developed many years ago by Elaine Gottschall to help people suffering from a variety of GI complaints manage their illnesses by controlling the types of carbohydrates in their diet. Sound familiar?

I will not attempt to explain the SCD; the rest of this post assumes that you are familiar with the basics of the SCD. For more SCD information, click here. I'd like to highlight just a few similarities and differences  between the SCD and the FODMAPS elimination diet.

The main similarity is the underlying principle that malabsorbed carbohydrates are fermented by colonic microbes, and that symptoms result.

The differences, I believe, are due to changes in our understanding of sugar absorption and malabsorption, and to advances in food technology that had not taken place at the time Ms. Gotschall wrote her book.

One significant difference between the two diets regards the now better understood role of fructose intolerance as a cause of GI symptoms. The SCD relies heavily on honey as a sweetener. Honey has a lot of excess fructose, and is not allowed on the FODMAPS elimination diet. Apples, which also contain a lot of fructose, are allowed on the SCD but not on the FODMAPS elimination diet. On the other hand, granulated sugar is allowed on the FODMAPS diet but not on the SCD.

On the SCD, well fermented yogurt and certain cheeses were the only milk products allowed. With the availability of lactose-free milk on the market, the FODMAPS elimination diet does allow consumption of fluid milk, and products made with lactose-free fluid milk.

An important philosophical difference I will point out regards adherence to the diet. Dr. Gottschall was convinced that only absolute adherence to the diet over an extended period of time could restore the individual to health. She did not encourage experimentation or variation from the SCD dietary principles. With the FODMAPS elimination protocol, on the other hand, experimentation and food challenges are encouraged after the initial elimination phase; "problem foods" can be consumed in moderation. The the aim of the FODMAPS elimination diet is limiting IBS symptoms to a tolerable level, selected by the client. Perhaps this is not as ambitious as the cures to which Dr. Gottschall aspired. It seems there is a place for both of these approaches, depending on the needs and medical condition of the individual.

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Comments

[Linda Simon]

Nice to see a comparison of the two approaches, and the philosophical differences.

[melissa]

i have a question
am i allowed to have the following items on a low fodmap diet?
Linseed (flaxseed) meal
acai berries (freezed dried powder form)
leithicin granules?

thanks

melissa

[Patsy Catsos]

I'm just not sure about the linseed and acai berries. There is a good chance they both contain FODMAPS so to be on the safe side, they probably should not be allowed on the elimination phase of the diet. Lecithin granules, though made from soy, are unlikely to contain either sugar or fiber, so they are probably OK on the elimination phase.

[Heidi]

I don't know if this is a good place to post this, but I wanted to follow up on the flaxseed question because I just assumed that they were ok. Are there any other seeds besides flaxseeds we should worry about? What about hemp milk (hemp seeds)?

Thanks so much!
Heidi

[Patsy Catsos]

Still haven't seen any recent data on seeds of any kind, wish I had more info to share.

[sarah]

I noticed that a significant difference between the SCD and FODMAPS elimination diets are whether or not grains are allowed. On SCD, rice, spelt, oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa, and cornmeal are all "illegal" but they are all allowed on the FODMAPS elimination (maybe with the exception of quinoa, I can't seem to find it on either the allowed or not allowed lists). Could you comment on the difference in the approach to grains?
thanks

[Patsy Catsos]

Well, the SCD doesn't make a distinction between starches, sugars, and fibers in quite the same way that FODMAPS does. To be defined as a FODMAPS, a carbohydrate has to pass three tests: poorly absorbed, highly/rapidly fermentable, and osmotically active. Most starches just don't pass all three of these tests ("resistant" starches might be a different story), and the allowed grains on the FODMAPS diet contain more of those starches and less of the FODMAPS.

As for quinoa, I have recently seen some data on quinoa pasta, not quinoa whole grain, Per 100 grams cooked, it does not have excess fructose. It has "undetectable" polyols and galactans, meaning virtually none, and .14 grams of fructans. For comparison, brown rice has a trace of fructans and whole wheat pasta has .34 grams of fructose. Per 1 cup cup serving it has .22 grams of fructans, so it falls below the .5 grams of fructans per serving rule of thumb I use as a cutoff--it is therefore allowed on the elimination phase of the diet. As for quinoa itself, I haven't seen the data, but sometime when I'm feeling fresher I will do the math to see if I can figure it out.

[Heather]

I followed the scd years back .. literally saved my life. I found your site when researching if it was okay to have lactose free milk on the scd. I read that sugar is allowed on this diet .. sugar gives me insomnia automatic, that very night.

Which makes me question this diet. I always know what food isn't 'good' for my body because I will get an instant reaction. Why is sugar allowed? Sugar is like poison in my opinion. I firmly believe people that regularly consume sugar and certain grains and preservatives might not show the effects now .. but down the road it will manifest in the body somehow. I am going to research FODMAPS.