What I have seen:

• A steady stream of studies linking gut flora and/or probiotics to immune system. Here’s one from the American Physiological Society and  another from the Garvan Institute.

What I have not seen:

• Studies that disprove a connection between gut flora and immune system.
• Studies that show that the SCD is harmful.

I don’t know if my perceptions are a result of paying close attention to this area for the past five years, but I’m optimistic that the western medical establishment will one day tell it’s IBD patients that there are ways to improve the quality of their lives other than drugs alone.

Will it be in my lifetime? What’s your bet good reader?

Have you ever had butterflies in your stomach?  How about spiders in your colon?

Italian scientists are developing a remotely controlled pill cam that can crawl around and examine your colon. Creepy.

Link to story with video. Commercial proceeds video.

This just blew my mind.

I was watching The Office on television when a couple of the characters announced that they were expecting a baby. The assembled staff shouted out various things and I swore that I heard someone off camera say, “Don’t vaccinate it”. I was stunned and unsure my ears heard right so I went to hulu.com to watch it again and sure enough, just after the eighteen minute mark someone rings out “Don’t vaccinate it”.

I suspect that more than a couple of you are sensitive to the vaccination issue. Are you as surprised as I was that a major networks would let this get out? Was it a mistake? Do you think someone got fired for it? Do you think NBC got a call or two from big pharma?

Check it out here. UPDATE 10.23.09 – Video is no longer available.

I finally made it to the Asian market to replenish my supply of big flavor. I like Kadoya’s sesame oil for the character it adds to anything from stir-fry to salad dressing. I didn’t use it much pre-SCD, but now it’s a staple in my oil-as-flavor arsenal.

It’s much darker and bolder than the sesame oils I’ve been able to find in my regular grocery store and gives me an excuse to wander around the always interesting Asian market.

A sobering look at genetically modified foods.

Awesome drink ideas from Smitten Kitchen. Easily made SCD.

Melon Agua Fresca

Thanks Deb!

As I’ve been eating SCD I’ve become an avid label reader. I’ve been surprised at times by the number of names and forms that sweeteners take. I won’t make any claims that this is a complete list, but it should at least give you an idea of the large spectrum of sweeteners. As this list consists almost entirely of sweeteners not allowed on the SCD, I’ve elected not to include honey to avoid unnecessary confusion.

What have I missed? Do I need correction? Let me know in the comments.

Refined sugars (definition):

• agave syrup
• barley malt syrup
• birch syrup
• brown rice malt syrup
• brown rice syrup
• brown sugar e.g. Sucanet™
• carob molasses
• coconut sap sugar a.k.a. palm sugar
• corn syrup e.g. Karo™
• date sugar
• date syrup
• evaporated beet juice a.k.a. sugar
• evaporated cane juice a.k.a. sugar
• high fructose corn syrup a.k.a. isoglucose, glucose-fructose, HFCS, HFCS-42, HFCS-55, HFCS-90.
• isoglucose a.k.a. high fructose corn syrup
• maple syrup
• molasses (can kill in large quantities)
• palm sugar
• powdered sugar
• raw sugar a.k.a. demerara, muscovado, turbinado
• stevia (note) a.k.a. sweetleaf, sugarleaf, rebiana, e.g. Truvia™, PrueVia™
• sugar a.k.a. white sugar, table sugar, evaporated cane juice, coffee sugar, sucrose, evaporated beet juice.
• sweet sorghum syrup
• yacón syrup

Sugar alcohols (definition):

• arabitol
• erythritol
• glycerol ¹
• HSH (Hydrogenated starch hydrosylate)
• isomalt
• lactitol
• maltitol
• mannitol
• sorbitol
• xylitol

Naturally occurring sugars ²:

• dextrose ³
• fructose
• galactose
• glucose
• inulin ⁴
• lactose
• maltose
• sucrose
• xylose

Artificial sweeteners (definition):

• acesulfame potassium e.g. Sunett™, Sweet One™
• aspartame e.g. Equal™, NutraSweet™, Canderel™
• cyclamate
• fructooligosaccharides (FOS) a.k.a. oligofructose, oligofructan
• neotame
• saccharin (allowed on SCD)
• sucralose e.g. Splenda™

Just a few International names:

• baker’s special – India
• blanco directo – India, South Asian
• cane syrup – India
• castor sugar – India
• dibis – Arabic?
• dibs – Arabic
• fancy molasses a.k.a treacle -UK, India
• golden syrup – India
• Gur – India
• harnup pekmezi – Turkish
• invert syrup – India
• jaggery  - India
• jallab – Middle East
• keçiboynuzu pekmezi – Turkish
• treacle a.k.a fancy molasses – UK, India
• muscovado sugar – India
• panela – Latin America
• panocha- Latin America
• pão-de-açúcar – Latin America
• pekmez – Turkish
• pile – Latin America
• piloncillo – Latin America
• pingbian tang – China
• stevia as known in various countries
• sugar as known in various countries

Footnotes:

(1) Wikipedia says that the FDA classifies glycerol as a sugar alcohol, but the BTVC legal/illegal list contradicts. [return]

(2) Naturally occurring sugars refer to the sugars made by plants, not the ones refined by human. For example, fructose in a fresh apple is allowed on the SCD, but fructose as a food additive is not. [return]

(3) SCD allows dextrose in iodized salt, but not otherwise. [return]

(4) Inulin is generally disallowed on the SCD as it is considered a Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), which is a polysaccharide. Inulin is found in several plants however, some of which are allowed on the SCD – most notably onion and garlic. [return]

From Scientific American:

Celiac Disease Insights: Clues to Solving Autoimmunity

Research into the process of celiac disease may help scientists understand the workings of other autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis.

Alessio Fasano, the researcher and author of the article is developing a first of it’s kind drug to treat celiac. I found thirteen studies of the drug Larazotide Acetate (a.k.a. at1001) on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Personally, I’d rather not take a drug when I could use diet, but if this research can help us understand the mechanism of inflammatory bowel diseases more clearly, then all the better.

Found on Slashfood:

Florida Honey Laws Prohibit ‘Fakes’

Let’s hope the rest of the states take up similar bills.