Top Benefits of Following the SCD for Digestive Health

The rise in various health challenges has paved the way for numerous diets and supplements to control and even fix the problem from the root. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is one such diet that was introduced as a viable dietary approach for managing digestive health issues. 

As the name suggests, this diet allows specific carbohydrate items that are easy to break and absorb by your body, facilitating rapid improvement in digestive health conditions. While this diet is restrictive by nature, you don’t have to starve yourself for health improvement.

Most people pair their SCD journey with an SCD complete supplement to ensure their body gets the required nutrients, minerals, and vitamins for maintaining a healthy body. 

As many people are becoming increasingly health conscious, some voluntarily choose to follow this diet, while those with digestive issues are recommended SCD by their healthcare practitioner. 

Regardless of why you’ve started following this diet, it can significantly help you improve your digestive health. This article covers the benefits of SCD in supporting digestive health, so ensure you read till the end.

How Does SCD Work?

Before getting straight to the benefits of SCD, let’s first explore how this diet works. It will help you better understand why people prefer SCD to improve their digestive health. If you’ve never heard of the ‘Specific Carbohydrate Diet’ before, it refers to a grain-free, restrictive diet that can help people solve gastrointestinal problems. 

The concept of SCD is based on the theory that IBD is associated with an imbalanced microbiome, a.k.a. dysbiosis. SCD aims to eliminate food items and beverages that contribute to dysbiosis. 

When you start following this diet, you can only eat simple carbohydrates. However, you can take SCD complete supplement to fulfill the daily macro and micronutrient goals. Your body will naturally break these simple carbohydrates into monosaccharides, the simplest and smallest type of sugar made of just one unit, easily absorbed in the bloodstream for energy. 

Since SCD eliminates any food items containing disaccharides, polysaccharides, and starches, your intestinal inflammation begins to reduce with time, eventually helping your body heal digestive issues. 

Benefits of Following SCD for Digestive Health

Starting SCD can be easy, but sticking to this diet can be challenging for many. Once you start this diet, you are not allowed to eat grains, potatoes, processed food items, most dairy products, etc., but are allowed to consume fermented foods that promote gut health, vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, and other organic food items. 

If you’re determined to fix your digestive health, following SCD consistently and pairing it with an SCD complete supplement can give you the following benefits:

1. Reduced Gut Inflammation

   SCD eliminates complex carbohydrates and refined sugars, so the harmful gut bacteria are eventually deprived of the primary food source, reducing their concentration in the digestive tract. 

   Since your diet will include plenty of fermented food items like homemade yogurt, it will facilitate a steady growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Continuing SCD for a longer period can lead to reduced gut inflammation, allowing the gut linings to heal. 

   While this healing won’t be instant, you can expect it to repair the damaged intestinal cells and strengthen the overall gut barrier over a period. 

2. Better Nutrient Absorption

   Besides reducing the digestive system’s workload and gut inflammation, SCD supports digestive health by enhancing nutrient absorption. When you remain consistent with this diet and SCD complete supplement, it reduces gut inflammation and allows your inner gut linings to heal. 

   As these linings heal, they become more efficient in nutrient absorption. This diet also supports nutrient absorption by only allowing food items that are easier to break and absorb by the body, reducing the digestive system’s workload. While there are numerous benefits to increased nutrient absorption, the top benefits include increased energy, better skin and hair health, and overall improved well-being.

3. Alleviation of Digestive Symptoms

   Everyone knows how much processed and ultra-processed food is harmful to our bodies, yet people continue eating it regularly. SCD strictly prohibits consuming such food items because they’re harder for the body to break down and convert into energy. 

   When you stop eating hard-to-digest carbohydrates, it promotes better bacterial balance and reduces bloating, constipation, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and several other symptoms of imbalanced digestive health.

4. Potential of Medication Reduction

   If you have any digestive health issues or know someone who does, you will know how much medication is required to keep digestive health in check. The best part about SCD is that it starts healing your digestive health from the inside, reducing the need to consume numerous medications. 

   A well-balanced SCD diet and an SCD complete supplement can reduce inflammation, improve nutrient absorption, and manage digestive health symptoms, reducing the reliance on medicines. 

   However, it must be noted that medicines must be paused or stopped based on the doctor’s recommendation. Never change your medicine routine without a doctor’s consultation to prevent severe health consequences. 

Embracing a Healthier Digestive Health

SCD has gained immense popularity in today’s diet culture. From people wanting to lose weight to those desiring a healthy gut- almost everyone is curious to try this diet for its perceived benefits. 

While SCD has been praised by people, you must remember that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution for digestive health.

If you're considering the SCD diet, take it one step at a time. Try our specially formulated SCD complete supplements to support your journey and help you stay on track. Start with small changes, and give your digestive health the support it deserves!