Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the large intestine. The inflammation usually occurs in the rectum and lower part of the colon, but it may affect the entire colon. Ulcerative colitis rarely affects the small intestine except for the end section, called the terminal ileum. Ulcerative colitis may also be called colitis or proctitis.
The inflammation makes the colon empty frequently, causing diarrhoea. Ulcers form in places where the inflammation has killed the cells lining the colon; the ulcers bleed and produce pus.
Ulcerative colitis is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the general name for diseases that cause inflammation in the small intestine and colon.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a strict grain-free, lactose-free, and sucrose-free diet intended for those suffering from Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, IBD, and IBS.
The basic premise of the diet is that Colitis is caused by an overgrowth of 'bad' bacteria in the colon - which cause irritation, inflammation and eventually ulceration & diarrhoea. These bacteria feed off carbohydrates which are floating around in your colon. The aim of the diet is to starve these bacteria out by only eating simple carbohydrates (monosaccharides) which will get broken down and absorbed by your gut further up - before they get down to the colon.
Of all dietary components, carbohydrates have the greatest influence on intestinal microbes (yeast and bacteria) which are believed to be involved in intestinal disorders. Most intestinal microbes require carbohydrates for energy. The SCD works by severely limiting the availability of carbohydrates to intestinal microbes. When you eat carbohydrates which aren't digested, they aren't absorbed and they remain in the intestinal tract, encouraging microbes to multiply by providing food for them. This can lead to the formation of acids and toxins which can injure the small intestine. Once bacteria multiply within the small intestine, they can destroy the enzymes on the intestinal cell surface, preventing carbohydrate digestion and absorption. At this point, production of excessive mucus may be triggered as the intestinal tract attempts to "lubricate" itself against the irritation caused by the toxins, acids, and the presence of incompletely digested and unabsorbed carbohydrates.