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The article does not accurately represent the science behind the SCD. It mentions doctors saying that the diet is contradictory, in that table sugar is not allowed, but fruit sugar is. This has to do monosaccharides (such as fructose) versus disaccharides (such as sucrose), and how they are fermented in the gut. The science of this process is well explained by the medical doctor who originally designed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

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You are right the digestion of monosaccharides is different that disaccharides. And this is the foundation of the SCD diet. Dr Haas and Elaine Gottschall (a biochemist not a doctor) believed that since monosaccharides require no splitting by digestive enzymes in order to be absorbed by the body. They did not consider how monosaccharides and disaccharides are transported (absorbed) across the wall of the GI tract. This is were the problem lies.

Sucrose is digested in the stomach where it is split into fructose and glucose. The glucose facilitates the transport of the fructose across the intestinal wall. When a fructose molecule is not accompanied by a glucose molecule (i.e. some fruits and honey) as it is in sucrose it can be malabsorbed. In other word, instead of being absorbed into the blood stream it can go directly to the colon where it may act as fast food for colonic bacteria which can produce IBS symptoms. Unfortunately, this information was discovered long after Dr. Haas died and after Elaine Gottschall, a biochemist, published her book. You can read about how sucrose and fructose are actually digested using modern science in the reference below and the articles in my signature.

There are many kinds of short chained fatty acids. Not all are beneficial to colonic health. Many of the benefical short chained fatty acid come from the fermentation of soluble fiber and resistant starches.

It is problems with the basic science of the SCD that need to be sorted and clinical trials performed before reliable conclusions can be drawn about its efficacy. I look forward to seeing what the clinical trials show.

Good luck with the diet


Reference
Skoog, S. M. & Bharucha, A. E. Dietary fructose and GI symptoms: A review. . American Journal of Gastroenterology 99, 2046-2050 (2004).

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