Yogurt: Specific Carbohydrate Diet

One of the staples on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is home-made yogurt. Happily, this is a very satisfying thing to make. . . . and eat.

The process involves heating whole milk to just over 180 degrees, to simmer, for 2 minutes, and then cooling it down to below 110 degrees. It takes a good long time for it to cool down. But in the meantime, I sterilze the little jars that I'm going to pour the yogurt in. I boil water, with the jars in it, for 10 minutes, and then just let it sit in the water until the milk is ready.



Next, I take about a cup of the cooled milk, and stir in yogourmet (freeze-dried yogurt start that I buy at a health foods store. If you can't find it, whole milk, plain, Dannon yogurt will work). For each bath, I have to use a packet of the yogourmet or Dannon starter, NOT a portion of my previous home-made yogourt.

SCD is very specific about the bacteria that must be generated in the yogurt, so not just any yogurt will do. And for this to be effective, the yogurt has to be cultured for 24 hours in order to eliminate the lactose from the milk. I have a yogurt maker by Cuisine, so it's very easy to just drop the little jars into the yogurt maker, and leave it on for 24 hours. There are other ways to make this, to provide the heat to a batch of yogurt, but this is the most convenient way.

The theory is that the colon becomes populated with more of the good bacteria, and the bad bacteria is starved out, by restricting carbohydrates. "The allowed carbohydrates are monosaccharides and have a single molecule structure that allow them to be easily absorbed by the intestine wall. Complex carbohydrates which are disaccharides (double molecules) and polysaccharides (chain molecules) are not allowed. Complex carbohydrates that are not easily digested feed harmful bacteria in our intestines causing them to overgrow producing by products and inflaming the intestine wall. The diet works by starving out these bacteria and restoring the balance of bacteria in our gut.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ is biologically correct because it is species appropriate. The allowed foods are mainly those that early man ate before agriculture began," (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle website ) As you can see, there are some similarities to the Paleo diet, although there are a few additional restrictions on the SCD diet.

But I'm relieved to know that 4 weeks into this diet, my symptoms of colitis are improving, and while I can't be certain whether it's the medication, or diet, or just the passage of time, I'm just glad I'm seeing improvement!

And besides, I get to eat some delicious yogurt! Honey is the only sweetener allowed on SCD, so of course, I add to the yogurt.. . .along with some fruit, or maybe coconut . . . or maybe I'll even throw in a little peanut butter (as long as it's "no sugar added".)