A study in Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology investigated the effect of the specific carbohydrate diet on active inflammatory bowel disease, to determine whether diet is an effective therapeutic option.
The researchers identified 12 pediatric patients with mild or moderate IBD. They evaluated these participants at two, four, eight and 12 weeks for changes in clinical and fecal microbial symptoms.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Overall, researchers found significant changes in the participants' microbial composition after beginning the specific carbohydrate diet.
2. The mean C-reactive protein decreased over the course of 12 weeks.
3. The mean pediatric Crohn's disease activity index score decreased over the course of 12 weeks, as did the mean pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index.
4. However, the specific carbohydrate diet was ineffective for two patients; an additional two patients were "unable to maintain the diet," according to the researchers.
The researchers concluded, "SCD therapy in IBD is associated with clinical and laboratory improvements as well as concomitant changes in the fecal microbiome."