Milly Gaines
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a restrictive diet that eliminates certain carbohydrates and sugars, designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The diet is based on the principle that not all digestive tracts have evolved to optimally digest complex carbohydrates and other processed food products. The diet is grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free, and unprocessed, and includes homemade broths and soups, such as chicken broth, turkey broth, and beef broth. So, is beef broth okay for the SCD diet?
Is Beef Broth OK for the SCD Diet?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To improve the microbiome and promote mucosal integrity in patients with IBD |
| Food Classification | Foods are listed as either "legal" (allowed) or "illegal" (excluded) |
| Allowed Meats | Beef, unprocessed meats (sugar-free bacon, chicken, turkey, pork), eggs, fish, wild game, lamb |
| Allowed Vegetables | Most commonly eaten vegetables, fresh or frozen (asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, etc.) |
| Allowed Fruits | Fresh, frozen, or dried fruits with nothing added (apples, bananas, berries, avocados, etc.) |
| Allowed Dairy | SCD yogurt, natural 30-day aged cow and goat cheeses, butter, ghee, dry curd cottage cheese |
| Broths | Homemade broths allowed, including beef broth, chicken broth, and turkey broth |
| Diet Type | Restrictive, grain-free, low-sugar, starch-free, unprocessed |
| Goals | Improve inflammatory markers, achieve clinical remission, improve gut health and digestion |
| Considerations | Introduce one new food at a time, 2-day intervals recommended |
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What You'll Learn
Beef broth is homemade
Homemade beef broth is an essential part of the paleo/primal/real food type diet and is becoming a popular addition to many food menus worldwide. It is also allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which is a restrictive diet that removes specific carbohydrates and is designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
SCD has been around for over 100 years and was first developed in the 1920s by Pediatrician Sydney Haas, MD, for the treatment of celiac disease. The diet gained popularity in 1987 when Elaine Gottschall, a biochemist, and the mother of one of Haas’s patients, published “Breaking the Vicious Cycle”, detailing how her daughter’s IBD improved with the use of the SCD.
On the SCD, it is recommended to introduce only one new food back to your diet at a time, with a 2-day interval between new foods. This way, you can determine whether your body can tolerate each new food. Homemade broths and soups, such as chicken broth, turkey broth, and beef-bone broth, are allowed on the SCD.
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Beef broth is a good option for the introductory phase
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free, and unprocessed diet designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The diet focuses on allowing only simple carbohydrates—monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, and galactose—that can be directly absorbed through the intestinal lining without requiring enzymatic breakdown.
Beef broth is made from allowed meats on the SCD diet, which include unprocessed meats such as beef, sugar-free bacon, chicken, turkey, pork, wild game, lamb, and fish. Broths made from chicken and turkey are also allowed on the SCD diet.
When starting the SCD diet, it is important to introduce only one new food at a time, with a 2-day interval between new foods. This allows you to determine whether you can tolerate each new food. The introductory phase of the SCD diet typically lasts for 3 to 5 days, during which time easily digestible foods like homemade meat broths, well-cooked carrots, diluted apple cider, and fermented yogurt are recommended.
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Broth is soothing and healing
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a restrictive diet that removes certain carbohydrates and has been designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and Crohn's disease. The diet lists foods as either “legal” (allowed) or “illegal” (excluded). Homemade broths and soups, such as chicken broth, turkey broth, and beef bone broth are allowed on the SCD diet.
Broth can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. It can be sipped on when sick or enjoyed as a warm drink throughout the day. It can also be added to recipes as a base for soups and stews. Bone broth, in particular, is made from animal bones and is high in many nutrients. It has been shown to have benefits for gut healing, joint repairing, and improving sleep.
There are many recipes for making broth, but a basic recipe involves combining bones, onion, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sea salt, and bay leaves in a slow cooker or instant pot. Water is added to cover the bones, and the mixture is cooked on low heat for an extended period. After cooking, the solid ingredients are strained out, and the broth is stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Overall, broth is a soothing and healing food that can be a beneficial addition to a healthy diet, especially for those following the SCD diet.
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Beef broth is a legal food
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a carefully designed, grain-free and low-sugar diet that allows some carbohydrates and bans others. The SCD diet is a form of medical nutrition therapy for people with inflammatory bowel conditions, including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, and chronic digestive distress.
The diet focuses on allowing only simple carbohydrates—monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, and galactose—that can be directly absorbed through the intestinal lining without requiring enzymatic breakdown. By eliminating complex carbohydrates such as disaccharides (e.g., lactose, sucrose) and polysaccharides (e.g., starches), the SCD starves out non-beneficial microbes in the small intestine that would otherwise ferment these undigested carbs.
Meats that are allowed on the SCD diet include unprocessed beef, chicken, turkey, fish, pork, wild game, bacon, and lamb. It is important to note that only one new food should be introduced to the diet at a time, with a 2-day interval between new foods, to determine tolerance.
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Broth is a good option for people with IBD
Broth is a good option for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as it has been found to have many therapeutic properties. It is a liquid that may have benefits for the digestive system. People make it by boiling animal bones in water. Bone broth is observed to be one of the most beneficial foods to consume to restore gut health and support immune system function and a healthy inflammatory response.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is an extremely restrictive diet that removes specific carbohydrates (polysaccharides, some oligosaccharides, disaccharides, and polyols). It has been designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The SCD diet is frequently discussed in medical circles as a form of medical nutrition therapy for Crohn's disease.
The goal of the SCD diet is to improve the microbiome and promote mucosal integrity in patients with IBD. Studies have shown that SCD improves IBD outcomes such as improvement in inflammatory markers and clinical remission. A retrospective study demonstrated that SCD helps improve inflammatory markers in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease. The DINE-CD study compared the SCD to the Mediterranean diet and found that both diets resolved symptoms in almost half of the 194 participants.
Homemade broths such as chicken broth, turkey broth, and beef bone broth are allowed on the SCD diet. Bone broth has been found to help heal the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Critical components for digestion support found in bone broth include collagen (proline/glycine), gelatin, and glutamine. These are most helpful to many IBD patients that have difficulty successfully digesting and passing bowel movements. A healthy digestive tract consists of a single, tight layer of epithelial cells, a thick mucus layer, and a diverse group of microbes (bacteria in the gut).
Bone broth has also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties that can help relieve some symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A 2018 study reports that bone broth is a good source of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and iron. Vitamins and minerals offer benefits to the digestive system, as the body uses them to build and repair the intestines.
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Frequently asked questions
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free, and unprocessed diet that removes specific carbohydrates (polysaccharides, some oligosaccharides, disaccharides, and polyols). It is designed to help people with conditions such as celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, diverticulitis, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Yes, homemade beef broth is allowed on the SCD diet. It is recommended to have meat broths during the introductory phase of the diet, which typically lasts 3 to 5 days.
Allowed meats include eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, pork, wild game, bacon, and lamb. Most commonly eaten fresh or frozen vegetables are acceptable, such as asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumbers, garlic, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, and more. Commonly found fresh, frozen, or dried fruits with nothing added are also allowed, such as apples, bananas, berries, avocados, mangoes, and so on. Dairy options include SCD yogurt, aged cheeses, butter, ghee, and dry curd cottage cheese.
