SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET FOR INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Authors

  • Jennifer Pranger Digging Deeper, Lakehead University's Student Research Club

Keywords:

Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Nutritional Therapy, Drug-Free Remission, Crohn Disease, Pediatric

Abstract

Dietary treatments have been looked at as a method of controlling and reducing the number of exacerbations associated with inflammatory bowel disease. This method of treatment is relatively new and under-researched but is hypothesized to induce drug-free remissions. This meta-analysis compares two exploratory survey-style studies that look at the effect of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) on individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Kakodkar, Farooqui, Mikolaitis, & Mutlu's 2015 article, "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case Series" obtained a sample size of 50 participants using convenience sampling. Medical records, a three-day diet diary, a structured survey of their medical history and a validated disease activity index were used to collect data from this population. Suskind, Wahbeh, Gregory, Vendettuoli & Christie's 2014 article, ''Nutritional Therapy in Pediatric Crohn Disease'' used convenience sampling and had a sample size of seven. All participants had Inflammatory Bowel Disease and were using the SCD to treat it. The second study further narrowed its criteria by restricting the population to pediatric patients. A retrospective chart review was used to study this population. Both studies found that the SCD could be effective in managing IBD, but due to their limitations and in order to provide conclusive evidence, it is clear that more research needs to be done.

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Published

2016-12-11

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Section

Articles