The Legal / Illegal list D to N
The following is a list of foods that are allowed (legal) and foods that are not allowed (illegal) while following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™, as outlined in the book,
Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall. The SCD™ is a progressive diet and the introduction of many of these foods should be delayed until healing has taken place, please read the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" for further information.
Some general guidelines are, no grains (i.e. rice, wheat, corn, oats, etc.), no processed foods, no starchy vegetables (i.e. potatoes, yams, etc.), no canned vegetables of any kind, no flour, no sugar, no sweeteners other than honey and saccharin, and no milk products except for homemade yogurt fermented for 24 hours, prepared according to the instructions in the book.
List compiled by Kim Hesche
Click on the letters below for other sections of the list.
Food |
Legal / Illegal | Note |
| Date sugar | Illegal | May be tried after being on the diet for quite sometime and symptom free but it is not recommended. |
| Dates | Legal | Medjool and California dates are allowed. They must be loose and not have anything added. |
| Decaffeinated Products | Illegal | Decaffeinated products are not legal since the manufacturing process may introduce questionable ingredients or reactions.. |
| Dextrose (contained in commercial products) | Illegal | The problem with the dextrose and fructose which is being sold as a granulated form as well as the dextrose contained in commercial products is that it is not pure dextrose which should be the same as the single sugar glucose found in fruits and honey. |
| Dried milk solids | Illegal | |
| Drumsticks | Illegal | No okra (bhindi) or drumsticks. Since they are a mucilaginous food, they are illegal. |
| Dry Curd Cottage Cheese (DCCC) | Legal | DCCC sources |
| Durum Flour | Illegal | Its a type wheat grain flour |
| Echinacea | Legal | Especially if it is in Alcohol, but even it is in pill form with a bit of lactose. It can be very helpful if a cold or flu is coming on. |
| Edam cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Eggplant | Legal | |
| Eggs | Legal | |
| EMPower | Illegal | Has many Illegal ingredients, Brown Rice Bran, FOS, Bifidus, flax seed |
| Ethanol | Legall | Ethanol is alcohol - the kind in gin, etc. |
| Evaporated cane juice | Illegal | Fancy name for sugar |
| Ezekiel Bread | Illegal | Sprouted grain breads are illegal. |
| Faba beans | Illegal | |
| Fenugreek | Illegal | |
| Feta Cheese | Illegal | Feta may be used after about 6 months of improvement. But used only in small amounts. |
| Filberts (hazelnuts) | Legal | Nuts sold in mixtures are not allowed, as most are roasted with a starch coating. Nuts should only be used as nut flour, in recipes, until diarrhea has subsided. |
| Figs | Legal | Figs unpolluted by chemicals or additives are fine, however I find them, especially in dried form; to be a laxative. They also contain hundreds of tiny hard seeds which can be hard on the intestines. I'm still unable to tolerate them after almost a year on the SCD. If I were you I'd leave figs until you've been symptom free for at least a while. - Rob B |
| Fish | Legal | Fresh and frozen are allowed as long as nothing has been added during processing; check the labels carefully. |
| Flax seed oil | Legal | see Flax seed and flax seed oil |
| Flax seed | Illegal | see Flax seed and flax seed oil |
| Flour | Illegal | |
| FOS | Illegal | Also known as fructooligosaccharides. See, FOS |
| Fowl | Legal | All types including turkey, chicken, duck, goose, pheasant, pigeon etc |
| Frozen Orange Juice (concentrated) | Illegal | If orange juice is just frozen and has no additives then it is legal, however frozen orange juice is normally concentrated before freezing and the process to concentrate it makes it illegal see frozen orange juice processing |
| Fructose (granulated) | Illegal | Granulated fructose (or even liquid) that is sold as "fructose" has a mixture of other trisaccharides, etc. in it. It is extracted from corn and they are not too fussy about eliminating a few molecules of whatever that may get in with it. |
| Fruits (canned) | See note | Fruits canned in their own juice are allowed. |
| Garbanzo beans | Illegal | |
| Garfava flour | Illegal | Made from two types of beans, Garbanzo beans and Fava beans, neither are SCD™legal. |
| Garlic | Legal | Use fresh garlic; garlic powders have starch added as anti-caking agents. You may also make your own garlic powder from fresh garlic by dehydrating it and grinding it yourself. |
| Guar Gum | Illegal | |
| Gelatin (unflavored) | Legal | It is a denatured protein that has lost its tertiary structure although it is not the best protein. |
| Ghee | Legal | It's clarified butter |
| Gin | Legal | Only have it occasionally. |
| Ginger | Legal | |
| Gjetost cheese | Illegal | |
| Glucose candy | Illegal | Contains granulated glucose is known to contains other sugars in addition to glucose. |
| Glycerin | Legal | Since glycerin is not a sugar to begin with, the "ol" at the end does not make it a sugar alcohol. Glycerin is considered to belong to the fat family. So does glycerol. |
| Glycerol | Legal | Since glycerin is not a sugar to begin with, the "ol" at the end does not make it a sugar alcohol. Glycerin is considered to belong to the fat family. So does glycerol. |
| Goatein | Illegal | It is a Protein powders that contains Bifidobacteria Bifidum. Protein Powders are a bad idea in any case as they're generally oxidized cholesterol - damaged by heat. - Deborah |
| Gorgonzola cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Gouda cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Granulated glucose | Illegal | It is known to contains other sugars in addition to glucose. |
| Grape juice | Legal | White or dark grape juice is allowed. We use Welch's bottled grape juice, as it has been checked out and does not have sugar added. Avoid frozen grape juice, it usually has sugar added. Juice should be diluted with water before drinking. |
| Grapefruit | Legal | |
| Grapefruit juice | See Note | Only legal if fresh. Frozen, or canned grapefruit juice is not allowed. Juice should be diluted with water before drinking. |
| Grapes | Legal | |
| Grapeseed oil | Legal | |
| Green tea | Legal | Limited to 2 cups per day. |
| Gruyere cheese | Legal | |
| Gums | Illegal | All gums are illegal. |
| Ham | Legal | Only if cured with salt, it is illegal if cured with sugar dextrose etc see Ham |
| Haricot beans | Legal | These are legal and are the same as navy beans. Dried legumes must be prepared according to the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. |
| Havarti cheese | Legal | May be used freely. |
| Hazelnuts (filberts) | Legal | Nuts sold in mixtures are not allowed, as most are roasted with a starch coating. Nuts should only be used as nut flour, in recipes, until diarrhea has subsided. |
| Hemp seed, Hemp protein powder | Illegal | |
| HN-Zyme | Legal | |
| Homemade yogurt | Legal | See, Yoghurt for instructions on how to make legal yogurt. |
| Honey | Legal | |
| Horseradish sauce | Legal | If homemade, if manufactured only if you know they have not added illegals |
| Hot dogs | Illegal | Commercially produced hotdogs will normally be illegal but here is a legal recipe on SCDiet by Marilyn |
| Hydrolyzed Protein | Illegal | This is another term for MSG. Regardless of whether it is SCD™ legal or not, we should all try to avoid it. MSG can be a potent neurotoxin. |
| Ice cream | Illegal | Commercially prepared ice cream is not allowed. However, there are many wonderful recipes for homemade ice cream. |
| Inositol | Illegal | Inositol is a sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohols will feed bacteria and that is something we do not want to do. Sugar alcohols generally cause diarrhea but small amounts in supplements are ok - Elaine |
| Inulin | Illegal | Inulin is a FOS and is illegal, see Inulin |
| Iron supplements | Illegal | Please do not get vitamins with iron; they encourage all kinds of infections especially in the gut, and iron has had much research done on it re other diseases. No oral iron if you can help it. Just eat the liver pate and if you like liver, eat it at least once a week. |
| Isoglucose | Illegal | It is a new sweetner likely to be used in many products in future. See Isoglucose |
| Jaggery (gur) | Illegal | |
| Jalapenos | Legal | |
| Jicama | Illegal | |
| Juice from concentrate | Illegal | Juice from concentrate is normally illegal because when it is reconstituted they often add other things (like sugar). Often additives are not listed on the label |
| Kale | Legal | |
| Kefir | See note | See, Kefir |
| Ketchup | Illegal | Commercially prepared ketchup contains sugar and is not allowed. See the gourmet section of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle for a ketchup recipe. |
| Kidney beans | Legal | (All Types) May be tried when symptom free. Dried legumes must be prepared according to the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. |
| Kimchi | Legal | See Kimchi |
| Kiwi fruit | Legal | |
| Kohlrabi | Illegal | see Kohlrabi |
| Kudzu (or kuzu) | Illegal | It is a mucilaginous herb. Mucilaginous herbs are loaded with starch. This starch is food for the pathogens that the SCD™ is designed to starve out. |
| Kumquats | Legal | |
| KyoGreen powder | Illegal | |
| L-Theanine | Legal | It is an amino acid, as long as its pure without illegal binders, etc its legal, as with any new food go slow introducing it. - Seth |
| leucine | Legal | (supplement ingredient) |
| Lactaid Milk | Illegal | The rate of flow of galactose to the liver when one drinks lactose hydrolyzed milk is high. With lactose hydrolyzed milk, you are ingesting the two sugars: glucose and galactose at the same time. Note: Lactaid Milk is Lactose Hydrolyzed Milk |
| Lactose Hydrolyzed Milk | Illegal | The rate of flow of galactose to the liver when one drinks lactose hydrolyzed milk is high. With lactose hydrolyzed milk, you are ingesting the two sugars: glucose and galactose at the same time. Note: Lactaid Milk is Lactose Hydrolyzed Milk |
| Lamb | Legal | Fresh and frozen are allowed as long as nothing has been added during processing; check the labels carefully. |
| Leek | Legal | |
| Lecithin | Legal | Derived from soy (illegal). There is plenty of good lecithin in egg yolks, and Elaine sees no particular need to take it outside of a whole food. |
| Lemons | Legal | |
| Lentils | Legal | Dried legumes must be prepared according to the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. |
| Lettuce | Legal | All varieties of lettuce are legal. |
| Licorice | Illegal | Licorice is both a demulcent and a laxative. For more info on demulcents see, Licorice and Demulcents |
| Lignin | Illegal | Grinding lignin and tough stuff does not prevent certain microorganisms from thanking you for chewing up their nutrition. The little buggers then respond by eating faster and making more babies and toxins. |
| Lima beans | Legal | Dried or fresh are permitted. Dried legumes must be prepared according to the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. |
| Limburger cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Limes | Legal | |
| Liqueurs | Illegal | |
| Liquid Clorychlorophyll | Illegal | |
| Macadamia nuts | Legal | |
| Macadamia oil | Legal | Makes the best tasting mayo - Deborah. Withstands heat well |
| Magnesium citrate | Legal | (As a supplement ingredient) |
| Magnesium Stearate | Legal | (As a supplement ingredient) |
| Maltitol | Illegal | Sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol are all sugar alcohols and are not SCD™ legal. They fall under the category of indigestible carbs and sugars, and so allow companies to label things 'sugar free', even though they are providing nutrition to the bacteria that live in your digestive tract. |
| Maltodextrin | Illegal | Maltodextrin is the worst of the small molecules of sugars. It is a very short chain of glucose molecules (derived from starch). The chances of digestion are practically nil. It therefore will feed bacteria and because of its particular structure, Elaine feels it is worse than even lactose. |
| Manchego Cheese | Legal | |
| Mangoes | Legal | |
| Mannitol | Illegal | Sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol are all sugar alcohols and are not SCD™ legal. They fall under the category of indigestible carbs and sugars, and so allow companies to label things 'sugar free', even though they are providing nutrition to the bacteria that live in your digestive tract. |
| Maple syrup | Illegal | Maple syrup is a disaccharide. |
| Margarine | Illegal | |
| Marshmallow | Illegal | It is a mucilaginous herb. Mucilaginous herbs are loaded with starch. This starch is food for the pathogens that the SCD™ is designed to starve out. |
| Mastic gum | Illegal | |
| Mead | Legal | If homemade and ingredients are honey and yeast, commercial is likely to have sugar added and is illegal |
| Meats | Legal | All fesh or frozen meats with no additives or processing are legal including beef, lamb, pork, liver, kidney, oxtail and tongue |
| Meats (canned) | Illegal | |
| Meats (processed) | Illegal | Most have additives such as starch, lactose and sugar e.g. hot dogs, turkey loaf, spiced ham, bologna, smoked meats. |
| Melatonin | Illegal | |
| Melon | Legal | All types are Legal |
| Milk | Illegal | Fluid milk of any kind is not permitted. |
| Millet | Illegal | |
| Miso | Illegal | |
| Molasses | Illegal | |
| Molo-cure | Illegal | The main constituent of Molo-cure is aloe. Aloe is not SCD™ compliant as it contains mucilaginous polysaccharides as well as increasing the release of tumor necrosis factor which is associated with IBD inflammation and increased immune stimulation. |
| Monterey Jack cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Mozzarella cheese | Illegal | |
| MSG | Illegal | Regardless of whether it is SCD™ legal or not, we should all try to avoid it. MSG can be a potent neurotoxin. |
| Mucilaginous Herbs | Illegal | Slimy, mucilaginous substances are often prescribed as some think the "coating" properties are helpful to the intestines. They aren't. We who have compromised guts cannot digest this stuff but our bugs can have quite a party on it. |
| Mucilaginous Polysaccharides | Illegal | Slimy, mucilaginous substances are often prescribed as some think the "coating" properties are helpful to the intestines. They aren't. We who have compromised guts cannot digest this stuff but our bugs can have quite a party on it. |
| Muenster cheese | Legal | May be used occasionally. |
| Mungbeans | Illegal | |
| Mushrooms | Legal | |
| Mustard (plain) | Legal | Mustard is legal as long as it doesn't contain illegal ingredients; read the labels carefully. |
| Natural Flavors | Illegal | "Natural flavoring" can be used to refer to anything, including the chemicals coming from big "flavor" companies which sell chemicals to food processors. |
| Natural cheeses | Legal | See the appendix of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, for a complete list of allowable cheeses. |
| Navy beans | Legal | Dried legumes must be prepared according to the instructions in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle. |
| Nectarines | Legal | |
| Nettles | Illegal | Adverse effects from consuming nettle tea can range from upset stomach to burning sensations in the skin, difficulty in urination and bloating. |
| Neufchatel cheese | Illegal | |
| Noni Juice | Illegal | |
| Nutmeg | Legal |
Click on the letters below for other sections of the list.