Dr. Wolfgang Lutz Canadian Elaine Gottschall's book "Breaking The Vicious Cycle", introducing "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet" is the basis for the SCD online support group which was started in August 1996. Her book has sold over 250,000 copies so far. As it turns out, the Austrian doctor Wolfgang Lutz has published another book, "Life Without Bread", which suggests a very simular diet, though based on different hypothesises. "Life Without Bread" has sold close to 80,000 copies, most of them in German. The English version of this book is entitled "Dismantling a Myth - The Role of Fat and Carbohydrates in our Diet", and there is also a new version out, entitled 'Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life' (Authors: Christian B. Allan, Ph.D. and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D.) None of us in the online support group had read it, most of us had never heard about 'Life Without Bread', when the correspondence about Dr. Lutz began in our group in April 1997. The letters below on this page illustrate how it all began. We have placed three excerpts from Dr. Lutz's book, "Dismantling a Myth", at the SCD web library:
If you find Chapter VII too heavy to load because of the many figures, try these alternative pages where we have separated the text from the figures: Chapter VII: Gastroentestinal Tract (without the figures) The figures of Chapter VII (without the text) The SCD web library editors Experiences and theories of Dr. Wolfgang Lutz Sat, 19 Apr 1997 18:08:10 GMT Hi All, In 1994 - one year after I was diagnosed: ulcerative colitis / Crohn's - I contacted a homeopath who told me about a an Austrian doctor named Wolfgang Lutz. This doctor apparently had achieved some very good results by treating his patients with a diet low in (refined) carbohydrates.
Wolfgang Lutz - the continued story Fri, 16 May 1997 22:41:55 GMT Hi everyone in the Group, Today I received a letter from Dr. Wolfgang Lutz in Austria that I want to share with all of you. It has really been encouraging to learn that in Austria there lives a doctor who since the 1950's has researched and written about the role of carbohydrates in diet - and in particular, the relationship between Crohn's / colitis and a low-refined-carbohydrate diet. He writes that he himself has "adhered to this diet and has observed for over 26 years its effects on well over 10.000 patients", as he states in the preface to the English edition. In his letter, Wolfgang Lutz enclosed a copy of the English version of his book "Life Without Bread" as published in 1986, entitled: "Dismantling a Myth - The Role of Fat and Carbohydrate in our Diet" For SCD'ers, chapter 7 -"Gastrointestinal Tract" (53 pages, from page 127 to 180) - is interesting reading! Is there maybe someone in the group who'd have the time to type it in, so we can place on the SCD website? In any case, you'll hear more about this as we go on... Wishing you well, all of you. It's nice to be part of this group. Yours, Mik - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Letter from Dr. Wolfgang Lutz: 12.05.1997 Dear Mik Thank you very much for your letter of 08.05.97 and the enclosure. I am in touch with the Price-Pottenger Foundation (editor's note: actual name is "Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation", can be found at http://members.aol.com/ppnf/main.html) which is spreading books on nutrition. They have promised to publish "Life without Bread" in America. I am notwithstanding thankful for the address given by you. With separate mail I send a copy of a pilot edition of the book in English to you. We have had an American publisher, which, unfortunately, did not move very much to promote the book in 1988, so it got out of print some years ago ... lost years. But some people had got a copy and contacted me, I am including a recent letter. I will contact Mrs. Elaine Gottschall by fax and I would be thankful if you could put me into the Internet. Unfortunately, I have only some days ago ordered a PC and am not yet familiar with the Internet, it will take some time but I am sure I will manage it in the end. Yours sincerely, Wolfgang - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Excerpts of the first pages, the introduction to the book
Lutz article in "Medical Hypothesis", Sat, 17 May 1997 16:20:59 GMT Dr. Wolfgang Lutz, in the face of epidemiological studies that failed to support the current belief that fat intake was at the root of coronary disease and cancer, has done his own explorations of epidemiological data. His findings show a clear, inverse relationship between these civilisatory diseases and the length of time the people of a given region of Europe have had to adapt to the high carbohydrate diet associated with the cultivation of cereal grains that was begun in the Near East, and spread very slowly through Europe. (1)
I have a text version of the article that I can e-mail, but I can't make it available on the web or on a list for copyright reasons. It lacks exhibits, so the real article is better. If you want a copy, please e-mail me. It is 17K in length. Don.
Wolfgang's book Sat, 17 May 1997 22:06:55 GMT I found this listing at; http://www.amazon.com Bob ________________________________________________ "Dismantling a Myth : The Role of Fat and Carbohydrates in Our Diet" by Wolfgang Lutz 1st english Edition Hardcover Published by Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd Publication date: August 1987 ISBN: 0398053561 Availability: This item is out of print, but if you place an order we may be able to find you a used copy within 2-6 months. We can't guarantee a specific condition, binding, or edition. If we find a copy, we will notify you via e-mail and request your approval of the price. We'll also notify you if we can't find a copy. PLEASE NOTE: Each out of print item is shipped and billed separately. ________________________________________________
Dr. Wolfgang Lutz - the continued story - part II Tue, 3 June 1997 16:49:16 GMT Hi All, Just received a letter from Elaine Gottschall who sent me a copy of a fax that she has sent to Dr. Wolfgang Lutz in Austria. It explains about about the relationship between these two "prominent" carbohydrate researchers. ________________________________________________ Letter from Elaine Gottschall to Wolfgang Lutz: May 26, 1997 Dear Dr. Lutz, Was so surprised and delighted to again hear from you (your letter of May 11, 1997). How could you possibly remember your correspondence with me about 20 years ago when I saw your letter in Nutrition Today. I have your book, Life Withour Bread, and have recommended it to many who are sceptical of the conventional wisdom of fat being the culprit for everything and anything. Your past letter did not carry a date but at that time you had sold only 150 books. How wonderful that now the total is up to 80,000! In your first letter to me, you talk about gliadin and I realize that like cholesterol, gliadin has been conventionally blamed for celiac disease. I had the good fortune of being around when the cure for celiac was also perverted and just recently wrote a history of this disease which I am enclosing. Although my hypothesis for the corbohydrate specific diet in my newer book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, may be different from your hypothesis as to what the mechanism of action is, the fact is we are RIGHT. So much points in our direction: (1) The reversal of epilepsy with the high fat diet which is really a very low carbohydrate diet (2) The reduction of weight in the "Carbohydrate Addict's Diet" by Heller and Heller, and, of course (3) The Atkins Diet which has been low in carbohydrate. We have sold over 250,000 books on this subject but not without a struggle but what gratificiation one receives with every person who has had his/her life given back to him/her. We have planted good seed and let us hope that we will live long and in good health so we can continue to help people in this political climate where biology has been trashed and politics reigns supreme. Sincerely, Elaine Gottschall, M.Sc.
From: ted.kyle@vantis.com (Ted Kyle) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Flare up if you give up on the SCD diet please read Dr Wolfgang Lutz's diet for colitis/chron's at: http://www.inform.dk/djembe/scd/scdlutz.html it describes a diet which limits your carbohydrate intake to 72 grams daily max, while eating all the protein and fat that you want, you will eat more then less as you progress on the diet. lutz writes that it takes about 2 years for 60% of his colitis patients to enter remission, and it takes about 5 years for 80% to reach remission. he also uses the diet for MS, heart disease, and arthiritis. he says people with chron's do best without relapse. it certainly is interesting, the book is out of print, but i read it after finding it at the local university. you can read the chapter on the GI tract online. hope you get some help eventually. ted
Lutz and the evolution of our intestines Sun, 15 June 1997 11:41:23 GMT Consider this: Life on earth began some 3,250,000,000 years ago. Now, to get a more clear idea about the evolution of our eating habits, let's imagine that life on earth began 650 years ago, in the Middle Ages, year 1350. If this was the case, then the mammels appeared on the surface of earth only around 45 years ago. (=225,000,000 years ago). The first humans, the Homo Sapiens, left the rain forests of East Africa, and began hunting on the savannahs 1 year ago (=5,000,000 years ago), learning to create fire and build weapons for the hunting. We did that for a whole year untill the invention of agriculture, enabling us to settle down, specialize in trading and build cities, came into our lives 14 hours ago (=8,000 years ago). Our stomachs have only had to deal with the consumption of white sugar since approximately 21 minutes ago (= 200 years ago). I was looking in some of my old books to find one of those "If life on earth were a 1-hour film, but couldn't find it. Then I looked up the facts in a lexicon and started with the calculator, because I think the 14 hours compared to one year gives you some kind of an impression of what it is Lutz (and others) are talking about, concerning carbohydrates and what our intestines is "built" for. If you find these theories of Lutz intesting, you will also find the Paleodiet Listserver group really interesting. There has been a continual discussion about the absence of grains in the early Man's diet. We have posted two of the letters from the discussion here: Response to molecular mimicry comments - 17 Jun 1997 and Enig & Fallon Reply to Dr. Cordain - 29 Jun 1997. Also, you should visit Raymond Audette's web site of "NeanderThin": http://www.sofdesign.com/neander/ To touch bases with him: in his latest comments he talks about how he cured himself of diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, and how other people who've tried the diet have (among other illnesses) cured themselves of colitis. Raymond Audette is an author, living in Texas. The web site also contains a "Low Carbohydrate Diets Information Center": http://nmcs.com/lowcarb/ On Liz's Link page, you'll find four different mailing list concerning Low-Carbohydrate Diet (and weight loosing) Mik & Dietmar
Re: Information about Wolfgang Lutz Journal Article Tue, 8 Jul 1997 23:04:36 GMT Roberta Gelatt wrote: > Does Anyone know any details about the diet that Wolfgang Lutz recommends? > > Thanks again. > > Roberta Lutz' diet looks very much like the SCD. It is not as extreme, though, but generally, it is the same things that should be avoided. For instance, in Lutz's diet bread is allowed, if only you eat very little of it. I'd recommend you stick with the SCD! Check this page about the Lutz diet Yours, Mik
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 18:39:45 -0400 From: Don Wiss <donwiss @ panix . com> Subject: Dr Voegtlin's "Stone Age Diet" (fwd) Sounds like Elaine and Wolfgang have another with a similar diet. Don. Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 20:21:11 -0700 Sender: Paleolithic Eating Support List <PALEOFOOD@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Ray Audette <rso456@AIRMAIL.NET> Subject: Dr Voegtlin's "Stone Age Diet" Dr. Walter L. Voegtlin was a gastrointerologist who's book "The Stone Age Diet" was self-published in 1975. It was based on the treatment he used for decades to treat colitis, Krones Disease, Irritated Bowel Syndrome, and indigestion. It can still be obtained through inter-library loan (OK State U has a copy). The diet described is very similar to "NeanderThin" except that he allows some dairy products (those that contain no sweet milk) and forbids most fruits and vegetables. The few fruits and vegetables he does allow must be cooked and separated from their juices. For people who are "only" obese he does allow a few raw fruits and vegetables. Dr. Voegtlin justifies this more carnivores approach by point out that in almost part of the world, vegatable consumption is very seasonal. Without the recent invention of canning, they are practically imposible to obtain during winter or the dry seasons that occur everywhere. He references all known hunter-gatherers to make this point. As does my book, he also states that the human digestive system most closly resembles that of a dog. He does this in three chapters and concludes with charts that compare man to dogs and herbavores. These charts compare; teeth, jaws, stomach, colon, cecum, gallbladder, digestive activity, feeding habits, ratio of body lenth to total digestive tract and small intestine, and survival after removal stomach, colon and cecum, microorganisms, plant food and animal proteins. His book discourages the use of laxatives or high fiber suplements claiming they only irritate and strain the system. He also covers the history of vitamins claiming that they weren't considered important to the average person until farmers discovered that they could be used to sell fresh vegetables at exhorbitant prices to gullible yankees during winter. I'm doing some research on Dr. Voegtlin and will hopefully report more about him in future posts. Ray Audette Author "NeanderThin:A Caveman's Guide to Nutrition" http://www.sofdesign.com/neander
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 07:13:55 -0400 From: Don Wiss <donwiss @ panix . com> Subject: Going beyond an SCD, was Re: new list Tom Robinson <tomr@VADER.INOW.COM> wrote: >My story, which you avoided responding to, is that >initially my CD improved dramatically on the SCD, but then stopped improving >in spite of following it as religiously as I was able. Such a scenario on the celiac list can happen when a celiac's gluten-free diet isn't strict enough. This is because often the digestive system will become ever more sensitive to smaller amounts of gluten as it heals. For these people I ask that they write out in detail what they're eating, so I can analyze it. Celiacs will often try to keep packaged foods in their diet. Then I'd really like to see a comparison of the three published IBD diets. The differences may be useful for helping Tom tweak his diet. Dr. Walter L. Voegtlin's diet, which is touted as being for colitis and Crohn's, does allow some dairy products (those that contain no sweet milk) and forbids most fruits and vegetables. The few fruits and vegetables he does allow must be cooked and separated from their juices. Has someone written up the differences between the SCD and Lutz's diet? And then we have the elimination diet routine as discussed in the Lancet article. The main food intolerances listed in the article are wheat, dairy products, brassicas, maize, yeast, tomatoes, citrus fruits, eggs, tap water, coffee, banana, potato, lamb, pork, beef, rice, tea, fish, onions, chicken, barley, rye, turkey, additives, alcohol, chocolate, shellfish, swede (rutabaga). Many of these are allowed on the SCD, but must be troubling to some people. I hope some of these ideas are successful for Tom. Don.
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 1997 16:11:33 +0200 From: gwozdz <gwozdz@HRZ.TU-FREIBERG.DE> Subject: Dr. Lutz: "Life without bread"; Dr. D'Adamo: "Eat right for your type" Hi everybody! First I want to say that I don¥t understand the reasons for setting up another mailing list. I have always enjoyed discussions about the aspects that go beyond the SCD. In my opinion no one woman or one man is able to find "the diet" that suits all sufferers from IBD. Our greatest problem is lack of information, especially on the part of doctors. Limiting ourselves to discussing only E. Gottschall's book (as much as I appreciate it) in my eyes means limiting the chances for some of us to get better. The SCD points in the right direction but it doesn't necessarily have to be the magic key to IBD. So we have to collect what other doctors found to be effective in healing IBD, and by comparing different strategies we might find out what they have in common. On this basis everyone will then be able to finetune their diet according to their specific needs. E.g. I found out that I do much better without dairy products and by reading Dr. D'Adamos book "Eat right 4 your type" I found out why: dairy products commonly don't agree with my blood type (A). Before I tell you what I learned from Dr. Lutz's book I want to let you know my experience with "budesonid" (brand name:Entocort) enemas. About 2 months ago, after aprox. 3 months on the SCD, I started feeling worse. A rectoscopy showed excessive inflammation of my lower colon (the area where it has been before). You guys know what that means: blood, mucous, frequent bowel movements etc. For the first time I opted for a cortison drug, and this budesonid seems to have helped enormously. I have been using it for 2 weeks now and since I stopped having dairy products I have got much better: one bowel movement a day, normal stool, some blood. And it seems I am getting better and better. I don't only attribute my improvement to the drug but as much as I dislike drugs I know they are necessary sometimes. Dr. Lutz's book, as you who have read the excerpt on [this] site now, is based on the theory that the human digestive tract has not adapted to our westernized high carbohydrate diet. Therefore he recommends a diet limited to a daily intake of 70-80g of carbos. Contrary to the SCD he does not differenciate between good and bad carbos, just the daily amount is important. As to why this diet helps in most cases of IBD he does not give an explanation in "Life without bread". But he does so in his new book "Sick stomach, sick bowel, what really helps": Without being able to repeat the medical details the bottom line is that to many carbos cause a faster passage of food through the digestive tract, and this causes especially the ends of the small and big bowel to inflame because of the not properly digested food. So according to Dr. Lutz eat like our prehistorian ancestors: lots of meat and some vegies and fruit. This dietary recommendation is largely confirmed by Dr. D'Adamo in his book "Eat right 4 your type". He reveals a very interesting connection between a person's bloodtype and dietary regimes following therefrom. The bottom line of this book is: Eat as the ancestors of your bloodtype did, and since most people have bloodtype "0" it is best for them to have lots of meat and hardly any grains. As for my bloodtype "A" more grains and no red meat is recommended, I can have fish though. Get a copy of the book! It is definitely worth reading. Since grains are forbidden on the SCD and the intake of the remaining foods containing carbos will probably not exceed 80g/day my conclusion is that these three diets are basically the same according to the majority of the people. Interesting, isn't it? As for me I am going to stick with the SCD trying to limit my carbohydrate intake and finetuning it following Dr. D'Adamos recommendations as to which foods are BENEFICIAL, NEUTRAL ore DETRIMENTAL for my bloodtype. It seems to work. And never forget the psychological implications of your disease, mostly it is not only diet! If anyone is interested in the parts of Dr. Lutz's new book concerning IBD I can mail it to him/her, in German though! All the best Miroslav Germany
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 15:37:44 +0200 From: gwozdz <gwozdz@HRZ.TU-FREIBERG.DE> Subject: Dr. Lutz, "Life without bread" Hi, Roberta wrote: "I converted 80g to ounces and it's about 3 ounces. That's about one small apple isn't it? The SCD as I've interpreted it allows for fruit and vegetables at every meal, so the total would be way over 3 ounces. Following Dr. Lutz's theory that too many Carbos speeds up digestion and causes inflammation at the ends of the intestines, it would seem that the SCD would contribute to inflammation rather than calm it." In terms of the 80g carbos a day what counts is the amount of carbos in certain foods. There are foods that are pure carbohydrate like sugar or flour. Others contain a certain percentage. So lets say apples contain 10% carbos (it is a bit more) you would be allowed to have 800g of apples a day. "Life without bread" contains a list of different foods with their respective carbohydrate content. According to this most vegies contain around 5-7% carbohydrates. So you can have quite a lot of vegies everyday. Excessive intake of fruit is not very positiv, though. As for your other question, Dr. Lutz allows bread and products made from flour in the diet (even potatoes), but due to their high carbohydrate content the amounts are very small. For myself I decided to keep on forgoing these foods and stick with vegies and fruits. All the best Miroslav Germany
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 00:36:16 -0400 From: "Mazer, C. & Blank, J." <103120.612@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: paleodiet Ellen (and all), I'm not sure this discussion is appropriate for this list, but since it's inspired by some remarks Ellen made on the list, here goes anyway. Also, this is a long post, my first one, for which I ask forgiveness. <<The author [of _Neanderthin_] advocates a paleo diet which eliminates all foods which could not be ingested without the aid of technology.>> (Ellen) I haven't read this particular version of "the" hunter-gatherer diet, but I would like to point out that the reason the human race gave up on this type of diet around 13,000 years ago was a global climatic catastrophe: the melting of the ice sheets. With the disappearance of the ice came the disappearance of tundra and the increase in the growth of forests, with the concomitant disappearance of the large herds of grazing animals that constituted the principal source of human protein at the time. Agriculture, which people were probably aware of all along but which, in the presence of easy-to-hunt protein was a relatively ineffecient source of food, came to the fore at that time, and technology was developed (irrigation, new forms of cooking, plows, oxen, etc.) that increased the nutrtional yield from plant foods (over plain gathering). Of course, the impact on human social life was profound: the agricultural revolution, the evolution of fixed settlements, cities, etc., down to modern times (a mere blip of 10,000 years in human history). For background, I recommend Marvin Harris' books "Our Kind," and "Cannibals and Kings." Paleo-enthusiasts should consider the problem of the entire species adopting their diet (as opposed to a few people like ourselves with specific medical problems). I mean, what are we all supposed to do? The agricultural revolution, disaster as it may have been in many ways, happened basically out of necessity. Although perhaps difficult for SCDers and celiac sufferers, I think as a race we're stuck with agriculture in one form or another (this doesn't mean there's no necessity for vast improvement!). Then there's the "diet for a small planet" problem. Growing grain to feed animals is a very inefficient way to produce protein for humans. Remember "Diet for a Small Planet?" <<The diet eliminates all grains and starchy vegetables (among other things).>> BTW, it's not at all clear to me that paleodiets are or were starch-free. Many modern hunter-gatherers depend on roots they dig up, for example the "yams" (not the sweet potatoes we call "yams") in use all over the Pacific Islands. These were a mainstay of the Pacific Islanders at the time the Europeans showed up there. Also worth checking out is "Native Nutrtion: Eating according to ancestral wisdom," by Ronald Schmid, N.D. He summarizes much of the research on hunter-gather diets and health and longevity. Yes, agriculture -- cooked grains -- turns out to be a problem, but chiefly for our teeth. In terms of protection against (non-dental) chronic disease, certain agriculturalists at any rate seem to do OK. (The more raw foods the better, though. Again, difficult for us SCDers.) With regard to meat, Schmid also points out that "primitive people's" diets focus much more on the organs of their prey -- heart, liver, brains, etc. -- than on the muscle meat that we eat. Organs of course are a big source of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, not just protein. But of course, 13,000 years ago animal livers were not full of the carcinogens modern cows' and chickens' etc. are. Also, Schmid points out that the fat composition of meat changes when range animals have their diets changed to grains. Range-fed animal fat tends to have an EPA composition similar to that of cold-water fish (which seems to be protective against a range of chronic diseases). So supermarket beef would be not be very helpful here. Even "range-fed" animals are usually fattened up on grain for the last couple of months of their lives -- which changes the EPA content of their body fat. (And if the use of "technology" is at issue for the paleos, that pretty much cancels out anything from the supermarket. Consider the technology involved in modern cattle-farming, from stable to table!) In this regard, Lutz (and others) have pointed to studies showing that the French have less heart disease than others, though they eat more butter fat (they're famous for it -- and their butter is delicious!). Perhaps the reason for this is that dairy cattle there are grass fed (not grain fed); this changes the quality of the milk, and milk fat, and makes it more protective. Cf the studies discussed by Schmid. (Perhaps also, probably at least a third of the French eat a "Mediterranean diet" which has been shown to be protective against heart disease.) One more point about Lutz' theory. The agricultural revolution has been around for more than 10,000 years. This is plenty of time for evolutionary adaptation to agricultural products, and so the evolutionary argument -- that we should eat the way we evolved a million years ago -- is not conclusive here. Case in point: people in Northern Europe have evolved so as to be able to eat lactose from cow's milk without any problem -- not counting IBDers, of course. : -) (a combination of living in places where sunlight, hence Vit. D, is in short supply for large parts of the year, and the availability of dairy). The point I'm trying to make is that there are a lot of complicated issues here: it's not just a matter of "technology" (although yes, that is one issue -- especially modern food-processing technology, involving growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, oil-based fertilizers, etc). Again, sorry this post is so long, and so rambling. But I hope it's interesting to somebody. John Blank
Re: Wolfgang Lutz book "Dismantling a Myth..." Mon, 15 Sep 1997 20:01:56 GMT VSKVE@aol.com,Internet writes: >Dear Mik, >I am very interested to know if Wolfgang Lutz book is going to be in print >again and was wondering if you knew anything. I am new to the SCD net page. > My husband has Crohn's Disease and to make a 34 year story short, he has had >many ups and down times including 4 surgeries. The last surgery, an >emergency one 18 hours after his 3rd surgery, about killed him. This surgery >was one year ago and he has battled recovery since. He is told now that he >has good bowel left with no active Crohn's but only 8 feet small bowel left. > So he is dealing with short bowel syndrome, keeping the Crohn's at bay and >weaning off of 18 years of prednisone. We have searched and tried many >alternative approaches to dealing with this terrible disease. I have read >the 7th chapter of Wolfgang Lutz's book online and am desperate to find his >book. If it is not going to be in print for a while, I was wondering if you >could share the diet part of the book with us now until it is in print. My >husband is not doing well as far as eating although he is being sustained >through TPN or IV feeding. He has been on TPN for 2 months now and I am at a >loss as how to feed him. Any help you can give me would greatly be >appreciated. > >Thank You, >Sharon Dear Sharon, Thanks for your letter. I am very sorry to hear about your husband. It sounds really terrible! One of the reasons I have only placed in particular chapter 7 of Lutz's book, "Dismantling a Myth", is that this chapter is the only one that specifically touches the subject of digestion and intestines, Crohns and Colitis. The rest of the book speaks of other subjects concerning "Myths" about cholesterol and fat, about the evolution of man, etc. What I find fascinating about Lutz's experiences is that he, independently, apparently has come the very same conclusions as Elaine Gottschall (the author of "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" which is the basis of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet) but based on quite different grounds and theories. Having had great success with Elaine's Canadian diet myself, I find it interesting to learn that Lutz at the same time has been successful treating his Colitis/Crohns patients with a simular low-carbohydrate diet in Germany and Austria. Lutz's experiences shows that a low-carbohydrate diet makes a lot of sense and that it probably is much more important to health in general than the "establishment" likes to hear. But even so, it seems to me that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is... yes, more "specific" and certainly more "focused" in particular at solving intestinal problems. To me, SCD is like "medicine", while Lutz is "philosophy". Lutz's book IS out of print in English. Hopefully, a new edition will come out within a years time. In the meanwhile, I'll highly recommend to you to get hold of Elaine Gottschall's book. For a person like your husband I believe it will be much more beneficial. I do have a copy of Lutz's book, (which was sent to me directly from the author) and if you are very insisting, I COULD make a photocopy and mail it to you. But as you can see, I hardly think it is worth the effort,1) because the rest of the book is NOT about intestinal problems, 2) because the SCD diet is much more extensive, detailed, and directed towards intestinal problems. Concerning the content of the SCD diet, once you have the book, there is a lot of advice to obtain from subscribing to the SCD mailing lists. (See at the SCD Web Library). Sharon, I wish the best for your husband, and for you too! Yours, Mik
Fax from Informed Gmbh, 20/08/1998, AT/MT-NR2151 Life Without Bread What is new in the recently released 14th edition? 1.) The evolutionary theory includes the new Adeptation Theory published by the author in - Wiener Klin. Wochenschrift 1989,101,429 - Wiener Med. Wochenschrift 1994,367 - Medical Hypotheses, 1995,45,115 This theory not only shows that it is in fact the corbohydrates which cause the civilisatory diseases in Europe (and from there in the parts of the world which have been settled by Europeans), but is explains the differences in the incidence among European peoples as well. It also shows that curbing carbohydrates is the only way of getting rid of all these ailments as it is obvious that it would need further 5,000 years or more with high carbohydrate intake and the accompanying diseases to render our genom carbohydrate resitent for most of human beings and futher 10-20,000 years to eradicate our diseases for all people eating much carbohydrate, an ominous threat for mankind. The adaption theory shows a solution for the "French Paradox", the fact that the French suffer only 1/5 of strokes and myocardial infarctions of the Finns though both consurme about the same amount and quality of fat; The French have been settled by Romans which, as a Mediterranian people, were already pretty adapted to carbohydrates against the Finns which got agriculture and carbohydrates much later and are still less adapted to this modern nutrient. A similar process leads to a decrease of heart infarcts in the USA owing to the late immigration from Mediterranean people with aldready good adaptation coming now into the age of infarcts and strokes. 2.) Initiated by the author and Dr. E. Idris there was conducted a propestive randomised study by German gastroenterologists to assess the efficacy of a low carbohydrate diet in Crohn's disease as asserted by the author in several papers. It showed a cease of relapses after between 90 and 200 days of diet in contrary to former English and German studies on a low sugar otherwise carbohydrate-unrestricted diet confirming the authors conviction that not only sugar but all carbohydrates are to be restricted to reap the effects of a low carbohydrate diet. 3.) From the chapter of the metabolic syndrom, arterial hypertension has been excluded because this ailment obviously is caused by salt and only in its effects on the arteries is to be included in deliberations about carbohydrates. The author gives his notion about the causes and developments of high blood pressure based on the vision that humans after having passed the aquatic period with salty food from the sea had to adapt millions of years to a salt-free environment and got only of new in contact to salt in the Neolithic, where salt was traded from sea shores or salt mining locations to settlements not to mention the misuse of salt in modern societies. 4.) Side Effects There are two of them able to disquiet persons not intimate with the diets working in the hormonal system. a. The obvious increase of growth hormon levels which causes swelling and bleeding of the gums especially in former adipose patients, and b. reduction of sexual hormons. Both, [a] and [b] are probably caused by the decrease of insulin levels with less carbohydrate eaten; both are limited to several months and disappear without leaving symptoms. 5.) Point of no return? Clinical experience and animal experiments by the author show that our principal adversarary, arteriosclerosis, is favourably influenced by a low carbohydrate diet. But not every far advanced patient can be surely safed from a breakdown in some areas of the arterial system in which the defect in the inner walls of an artery has reached a certain degree. It is therefore important to begin with the diet as early as possible and to install in endangered patients measures (aspirin, etc.) which are apt to cover a certain time span from the beginning of the diet.
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 21:52:51 +1000 From: leos@surfnetcity.com.au To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: To the Partridge Family Recently I read a fascinating article which I accessed via the SCD Web page. One of the many interesting points was that since colitis is an auto-immune disease, every time a colitis sufferer's immune system is triggered by a health-threatening virus or bacterium entering the body, the immune system will also attack the bowel. So Martine must have contracted some bug which triggered this off. (Is Crohn's colitis like ulcerative colitis or is it Crohn's of the large bowel?) The article stated that the immune system never forgets that the bowel was once considered an enemy (when it had active disease), but then the author kind of contradicts that point and goes on to say (more positively) that as years go by with a healed bowel, the immune system does not bother attacking the bowel as much any more and in some cases it actually does eventually leave the bowel alone - just as some of our immunities (eg chicken pox) may wear off over time and in later years we can catch it again as shingles. SOmehow we have to both heal the bowel (with diet)and convince the confused immune system that the bowel is no longer an "enemy". The author is Dr Wolfgang Lutz, whose theories have been discussed in earlier archives of this list. He can be tracked down, as I mentioned, via the SCD Web Site. I heartily recommend reading him - especially Crohnies. He and Elaine have corresponded by letter. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that it is imperative to use as much cortisone as it takes to subdue a flare as soon as possible - to "nip it in the bud", so that the I.S. doesn't get back into the habit of attacking the bowel again. This usually means, for us, more than 25 mg, decreasing carefully. Otherwise we find that things just deteriorate.
I think you are doing exactly the right thing keeping her on protein foods
and meat/veg soup. We have found that when things are bad, GO LO-CHO - ie
Keep away from fruit and honey and dine only on low carbohydrate foods.
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 18:52:00 -0700 From: "Protocol Consulting" <protocol@shaw.wave.ca> To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Corn, rice, etc. Eileen: I subscribe to a number of low carb and stone age diet lists and rice and corn are always shown as difficult for human digestion. I also have a number of years of university education and deep interest in the prehistory of humankind and so have an intuitive grasp (I think) of this diet. Humans really never considered grains of any kind to be edible until about 3500 years ago and the first manifestation of their use was in beer, not bread. The more I research and interact on the web, the more I come to understand that the state of our human digestive health is degrading. The only reason we see less in the way of serious concern from the health communities in countries in which rice is a staple is that if you live in a country where you eat rice three times a day you cannot afford to buy processed food. I believe it is the combination of processing and high levels of complex sugars which hurts so many people in the wealthy counties of the world. I deal with (for example) Chinese immigrants (many of them literally rocket scientists) and many have never had processed foods or sugar and they come here from the highest positions in their society and the most populace country in the world. Hope these thoughts help. Mike Windrim PS: Dan: Thanks for the good posting.
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 07:23:54 -0500 From: "Deborah Idol" <cat@cloud9.net> To: <SCD-list@longisland.com> Subject: empirical evidence for diets (long) Hi everyone, I'm on the BARF email list, which is for those who feed Bones And Raw Food (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) instead of commercial pet food. One of the goals of those of us who feed BARF is to educate other pet owners and vets about the health consequences of a lifetime of poor diet and the benefits of feeding a pet its natural diet. It can be just as difficult as it is to educate doctors and sometimes, fellow sufferers of UC and CD about the benefits of a diet that is actually so much closer to what we evolved on for millions of years. It can be no surprise to anyone who has read about the research on what humans ate for millions of years, and what homo sapiens ate for most of his existence, that a diet of grains and processed foods will not heal an injured gut. An eminent pioneer in animal nutrition, Dr. Ian Billinghurst, who has written the superb books on diet, *Give Your Dog a Bone* and *Grow Your Pups With Bones* was asked by the wonderful woman who runs the BARF list for more empirical data. As we on this list were discussing the possible need for controlled studies, or even more empirical data to convince the medical establishment about the benefits of the SCD, I thought that Dr. Billinghurst's reply, which makes so many excellent points that apply to our situation, would interest many of you. He kindly gave me permission to post this, as he is also interested in human nutrition. Dr B writes: Unfortunately, masses of empirical data would lead to nothing more than highly educated discussion which would lead nowhere. The only thing that will impact on vets and fellow dog lovers is results. Give Your Dog a Bone is written to be understood by twelve year olds and up.Grow Your Pups has been aimed at 16 year olds and up. Why? So people would understand the ideas as basic common sense and adopt them. I left out references and footnotes which only serve to confuse. The only people who seem to experience difficulty with the concepts in these books are my fellow vets and other highly educated professionals who are blinded by a limited view of medical science designed to test drugs and surgical procedures. They have little knowledge about basic scientific philosophy, or sources of knowledge in the real world. Unless we become as little children we cannot enter the kingdom of BARF. Having said that let me also say that feeding dogs is not a religion where all you require is faith. Raw feeding is based on hard science. Evolutionary science and epidemiology. Unfortunately today's vet is totally unaware of this. They have been kept ignorant for a very good reason. To help perpetuate the sale of pet foods. Sadly this also perpetuates ill health in our pets which of course keeps vets in business. Do realise that all vets today are trained in companion animal nutrition by representatives of the pet food comanies. They have absolutely no training in the use of Biologically Appropriate Raw Food - BARF - in the feeding of companion animals. This situation is akin to our medical doctors having their nutrition courses run by reps from the major fast food companies. If you want to discuss science with your vet and other educated individuals, the whole discussion about BARF reduces to the UNDISPUTABLE scientific fact that BARF is the evolutionary diet of dogs. Ask your vet for the hard evidence that today's dog has a digestive physiology that has shifted from both requiring and being able to handle a diet based on raw whole animals, faeces, gut contents, fruits, nuts and berries - to a diet based on cooked grain. There is not one trial to substantiate such an hypothesis. There can be no doubt that BARF is what dogs require on the basis of evolution. Their whole body screams for it. It is what they require genetically. What their bodies were designed to use by long evolution. Go to any zoo and see what the canids are fed. You can bet it will not be a dry [or wet] cooked/grain based dog food. The success achieved by the thousands of modern dog owners who feed BARF in some form or another is testimony to the validity of this way of feeding. The sickness seen in the dogs fed modern foods is testimony to the role modern food plays in producing ill health. This is Epidemiology. Realise, processed foods were never tested against A DOG'S BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE DIET by the pet food companies. These products were simply introduced and promoted by clever advertising. Since that time, all research has been directed towards comparing processed food with processed food, [between companies and between years] or the products have been subject to analysis to determine if minimum [changing and limited] standards are being met. Let me repeat, they have never been tested [by the dog food companies]against a dog's gold standard diet. Its BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE RAW FOOD DIET - BARF. Of course lifetime feeding trials walk through the doors of every practicing vet daily. However, there are none so blind as they who will not see. All we can do is be a shining light - an example - so that these people may have the opportunity to be removed from their ignorance in the gentlest way possible. You cannot bludgeon people from stubborn ignorance to enlightenment. Masses of empirical data will make little impact on a mind made up. All you can do is set an example. The observation of your brilliant results together with your cheerful refusal to be pushed off your path and your humble and yet consistent approach to what you do will go a long way towards turning the light on for such people. Change is occuring. Be patient, be examples and continue to learn All the best Ian B.
From: yoda@inch. com Date: 14 August 2000 4:39.13 Subject: Message sent from the SCD Website Mik, I noticed that you have a page about Wolfgang Lutz on your web site. You may be interested in knowing that a new English version of Lutz's book about his low-carbohydrate diet has just been published. The details are: Title: Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life Authors: Christian B. Allan, Ph.D. and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D. (Allan's bio says he was a researcher at various academic and government labs, and now works for a biotech company). Published by: Keats Publishing, Los Angeles, 2000 (paperback, 240 pages, includes index and references). ISBN: 0-658-00170-1 Price: US $16.95 (Canadian $24.95) Available from Amazon.com. I have read the book and found it to be an interesting complement to Elaine Gottschall's book -- it seems that while the two books advocate similar approaches, each book has interesting information that the other is missing. (I've been on the SCD for a while, and have recently started experimenting with a low-carbohydrate version of the SCD.) This version of the book seems to contain pretty much the same information as is in the chapter of his earlier book that appears on scdiet.org. You may want to update your web page to note the availability of this new edition. I would also like to thank you and Mike for the wonderful work you do in maintaining the scdiet.org web site. ..Yoram  This page has had Revised & info accurate as of |
