Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Intestinal Health, and Weight Loss

The specific carbohydrate diet was developed by Canadian biochemist Elaine Gottschall and presented in her pioneering book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle”. The key ideas of this book, based on the research of Drs. Merrill P. and Sidney V. Haas, state that indigested carbohydrates in the intestinal tract can compromise the body’s immunity, weight, and health as a whole.

Although the diet was initially designed to help patients with severe digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease or irritable bowl syndrome, practice shows that the specific carbohydrate diet is very effective in normalizing body’s weight, as well.

Ms. Gottschall says that complex carbohydrates are what we have to avoid in our diet. When carbs are not properly digested, they do not pass harmlessly through the small intestine and colon but, instead, remain in the gut and feed pathological microbes and yeasts. This results in an overgrowth of different undesirable intestinal microflora and parasites. As the bacteria, yeasts, and bad bugs become more plentiful, the inevitable consequence is a damage of the intestinal walls and impaired digestion. If the person continues to eat complex carbohydrates, the harmful microflora have more food to feast on and the intestinal tract becomes further damaged. Eventually, the victim of this unhealthy diet develops allergies, skin diseases, gastro-intestinal disorders, and a whole range of other conditions, among which are weight gain and bloating.

The “vicious circle” will continue as long as the individual goes on eating carbohydrates. As time passes by, the bacteria become more plentiful, digestion is further compromised, and bad microflora get stronger and more aggressive. The specific carbohydrate diet is developed to put an end to this vicious circle. The idea is to change the type of carbs the person consumes and, thus, to substantially reduce the amount of undigested material in the gastrointestinal tract. The allowed carbohydrates are primarily monosaccharids, or single-sugar carbohydrates. Theoretically, if we eliminate them from our menu, the harmful bacteria will “starve” and eventually die out, the digestion will be reversed to healthy, many unpleasant health conditions will subside, and weight will return to normal.

In addition, the dieter will consume less calories, because the consumption of polysaccharides, or starches (potatoes, grains, corn, soy products, etc.), and disaccharides (milk, sugar, canned vegetables, etc.) is not allowed. The permitted monosacchartids, such as natural honey, most vegetables and fruits, cheeses, home-made yogurts, and some nuts, are easier to digest. They do not damage the intestinal walls of the dieter, neither do they feed harmful bacteria. This diet also encourages the growth of potentially beneficial microflora, normalizes overall health, and stimulates the conversion of body fats into energy.

The specific carbohydrate diet has helped thousands of people to achieve intestinal health, balance the flow of energy, treat numerous diseases, and lose excess weight. Elaine Gottschall was one of the first to question the health benefits of the conventional Western-style diet with its predominance of grains, starches, potatoes, commercial milk and sugar-loaded yogurts, soy products, and processed sweets. In susceptible individuals, such diet is the root cause of intestinal disorders, allergies, compromised immunity, and obesity.

The major flow of the specific carbohydrate diet is that the amount of carbs the dieter can eat is not restricted. However, if you want to lose weight more successfully, it would be wise also to restrict the amount of allowed carbohydrates to about 50-70 grams a day.

To learn more about Elaine Gottschall and her diet, visit http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/legal_illegal_a-c.htm.

Hoodia Gordonii HG p57 supports a weight loss process by making you eat from 40 to 60 percent less food than usual

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