COOKBOOKS

The Grain-Free Gourmet cookbook series helps people with limited food choices rediscover the joy of eating. Each book contains over 100 gluten-free, low-lactose, refined-sugar-free recipes that use only whole foods.

The dishes in the Grain-Free Gourmet books are inspired by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which was made famous by Elaine Gottschall in her book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health through Diet. The concept of the SCD is simple. It eliminates most complex carbohydrates so food is easier to digest.

The basic SCD ingredients — beef, veal, chicken, lamb, fish, seafood, eggs, honey, some forms of dairy, nuts, seeds, pure spices, fruits, and most vegetables — are combined in the Grain-Free Gourmet books to make delicious whole foods.

Renowned pediatrician Dr. Sydney Valentine Haas developed the SCD in the 1920s to treat people with celiac disease — in fact, according to Haas, hundreds of celiacs who started the SCD in childhood were reportedly cured of their condition. However, the SCD fell out of favour when Dutch physician Dr. Willem Dicke discovered that gluten was a key trigger of celiac symptoms and the gluten-free diet became the standard treatment for celiac disease.

Even though not all celiacs respond well to the gluten-free diet, most people with celiac disease choose it over the SCD due to a lack of awareness. There is also currently no formal research being conducted on the SCD, despite its potential for curing celiac disease and demonstrated promise in treating other conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder.

Nevertheless, the SCD has been adopted by thousands of people worldwide and there is hope that it will undergo clinical trials so it can be integrated into mainstream medicine and provide new treatment options for millions of people.

Grain-Free Gourmet: Delicious Recipes for Healthy Living is endorsed by registered dietitian Fiona Press who specializes in nutrition for improved health of the digestive system, and Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner is endorsed by holistic nutritionist Beth Golden.