Following dietary therapy can be challenging. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has evolved over the years since Dr. Sydney Haas first reported on it. Since then we have learned much but there is still much more for us to learn. Below are foods that are allowed (legal) and foods that are not allowed (illegal) based off of Dr. Sydney Haas's initial description of the diet and Elaine Gottschal's Breaking the Vicious Cycle and our current research. In addition this food list includes up to date evidence based information on current research in foods.
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| Type of Food | SCD Approval | Explanation | NiMBAL Research |
| Walnut oil | Legal | Only good for cooking at low temperatures. A good source of omega-3 fatty acids. | Consumption of walnuts prevented colorectal cancer, had anti-inflammatory effects, and incorporated anti-inflammatory fatty acids into the colon in this mouse study. |
| Walnuts | 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. | Consumption of walnuts prevented colorectal cancer, had anti-inflammatory effects, and incorporated anti-inflammatory fatty acids into the colon in this mouse study. |
| Wasabi | Legal | Legal if the wasabi is in its natural state and hasn't had fillers added by a manufacturer. | Wasabi contains allyl isothiocyanate, which alleviated colitis and improved the gut mucus layer in this in vitro and mouse model of IBD. |
| Water chestnuts | Illegal | A crunchy vegetable that contains a lot of starch. | Consumption of starch has been shown to increase bacteria harmful to patients with IBD in this review. However, water chestnut also has anti-inflammatory properties. More research is needed to understand water chestnut’s effects when consumed by patients with IBD. |
| Watercress | Legal | A vegetable which grows in water. A great source for vitamin K. |
A component of watercress improved clinical symptoms of UC and decreased mucosal inflammation in this IBD mouse study. |
| Watermelon | Legal | A red melon. Don’t eat the seeds. |
Watermelon was tolerated by patients with IBD in this dietary study. Also, inflammatory biomarkers were improved in animals that were fed watermelon. |
| Wheat | Illegal | A grain that contains gluten. | This cross-sectional study showed that a gluten-free diet reduced clinical symptoms in patients with IBD. Gluten-rich foods often also have high levels of FODMAPS, which increase IBD-symptomatic bacteria. Many IBD patients are celiac, which is why avoiding gluten often helps. More research is needed to understand if gluten itself (without FODMAPS) is harmful for non-celiac patients. |
| Wheat germ | Illegal | Extracted from wheat. | This cross-sectional study showed that a gluten-free diet reduced clinical symptoms in patients with IBD. Gluten-rich foods often also have high levels of FODMAPS, which increase IBD-symptomatic bacteria. Many IBD patients are celiac, which is why avoiding gluten often helps. More research is needed to understand if gluten itself (without FODMAPS) is harmful for non-celiac patients. |
| Whisky | Legal | Only have it occasionally. | Alcohol caused inflammation, overgrowth of bacteria, and intestinal permeability in this review. |
| Wine | Legal | Very dry wine is legal. |
Wine contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that has been shown to have beneficial effects on IBD in multiple studies. However, alcohol caused inflammation, overgrowth of bacteria, and intestinal permeability in this review. |
