After the flare that led to a hospital stay, a month spent in bed, & my ulcerative colitis diagnosis, I SWORE I would never eat anything that wasn’t allowed on the specific carbohydrate diet…
The thought of going through another bad flare gave me so much anxiety. I was determined to do everything I possibly could to keep myself healthy.
In the few weeks that followed my diagnosis, I followed the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) so strictly- thanks to the support of my family, a couple of really helpful books a family friend gave to me, and some great online resources.
Since I’m going into my last year as a Food Science student, it has become second nature for me to turn to research for answers. I was so desperate to get into “remission” from ulcerative colitis (UC) that I spent hours reading these studies in my free time.
My go-to science based resources for all things related to the specific carbohydrate diet include the Breaking the Vicious Cycle website & articles on PubMed, which I am so fortunate to have access to for “free” as a student!
Following the SCD guidelines helped cure my symptoms more than any of the pills and medications I was given by my GI doctor. But after 2 months of following it strictly & after finally feeling almost normal again, I started to second guess my “all-or-nothing” mindset around food.
As I learned more about how ulcerative colitis symptoms are thought to be caused, I started to realize that there are potentially several foods I could start to carefully add back in once the initial inflammation calms down.
After doing my own research & after carefully adding some foods back into my diet successfully, I’m excited to share the 3 groups that I consider to be “safe” now that I’m in remission!
1. Fermented Foods
This group makes up a majority of the “illegal” SCD foods I’ve started to add back in. Fermented foods have been shown to have a positive effect on the balance of bacteria in our GI tract which also impacts brain health, immune health, and overall health! Check out this 2018 study if you want to know more!
- Plain (unsweetened) Greek yogurt
- cacoa powder (unsweetened)
- Kombucha
- Tempeh
- Goat cheese
2. Paleo Foods
The paleo diet is known for being VERY low in processed foods & inflammatory refined starches/sugar. SO since my UC symptoms have subsided, I’ve found that my body seems to feel really good after eating some paleo-approved foods:
- cassava flour
- dark chocolate
- tapioca/tapioca four
- coconut sugar
3. Seed Butters
I’m a BIG seed butter girl. The key to adding these back into my diet has been double-checking the ingredients list. Many brands also contain inflammatory seed oils and added sugars to look out for. These are the three I’m loving right now:
- pumpkin seed butter
- tahini (aka sesame seed butter)
- watermelon seed butter
So far, I’ve felt really good adding in the “illegal” SCD foods above into a lot of my daily meals & recipes for the past 2 months. Although I still eat an anti-inflammatory SCD-based diet to help keep my UC symptoms at bay, a life without chocolate is simply just too difficult!
A couple of my favorite recipes that involve some of the foods listed above include my single-serve key lime pie, goat milk gouda & arugula pasta salad, frozen “peanut butter island” dessert, fudgy avocado brownies, & paleo chocolate cream pie.
I hope to keep writing these posts & updates as a “journal” of sorts for myself, AND as a way of helping and connecting with people in a similar situation! You aren’t alone, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out.
xoxo – hannah
