Highlights of SCDROCKS 2023

 

I wanted to give the highlights of the third SCDROCKS conference held in Bellevue Washington earlier this month, put on by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Association. In a nutshell, the speakers were fascinating, we gorged ourselves on spreads of SCD catered food, the weather was heavenly, the Blue Angels were in town both days, and there was plenty of time to socialize with like minded people. It was a delightful weekend. As usual, Texas was well represented, even though this was a smaller conference. I even met new Texans!

The keynote speaker was the world renowned Dr. Alessio Fasano (picture above with me and Miriam). His presentation was titled "How nutrition can impact the microbiome composition-permeability-immune response". He discussed his experience in discovering the endotoxin "zonulin", and the role it plays with genes, the immune system, and epigenetics in causing chronic inflammatory diseases (CID), plus the role of diet in disease.

Tracee with Sherry Lipp (Happy Gut for Life), Dr. Ali Arjomand (Modulla Health),

 Miriam Richard (Dogs in Vests), Tali Guday (Gut Harmony), and Stella

Dr. Christine Bowen, ND, FABNG (Bothell Natural Health) spoke about IBD and other conditions. Her talk and slides were loaded with nuggets of valuable information. I have Celiac disease and learned more than I thought I knew. Her slides were great:

Dawn Sabine talked about her experience as a UC patient and award winning professional bodybuilder while following the SCD. 

Sherry Lipp, (Happy Gut for Life) blogger/author/health coach, shared her journey and motivational tips.

Dr. Ali Arjomand, PhD. (Modulla Health), spoke about the oral microbiome and oral health. A look at how everyday products and devices can change our oral microbiome and therefore our health. He also taught us about the role of the oral microbiome in nitric oxide production.

Natalie Hill, RD, LD, (GI Care for Kids), spoke about pediatric SCD. She went over each age group, starting with infants. She talked about issues each group dealt with and strategies for success. I found the teen and early adult section very useful since my son is now that age. 

Notice the windows behind the speaker. The Blue Angels were in town for a Seattle event and performed in the afternoon on both days. The window blinds raised up and we had an amazing view of the show. (thank you Jan for the pic)

And of course, who could forget the food! It was a fabulous spread 4 times a day. Here was our daily feeding schedule: In the morning there was a breakfast spread (which included salmon the first morning), followed by the first speaker, followed by a snack spread, followed by the second speaker, followed by a lunch spread, followed by the third speaker, followed by a snack spread, followed by the Blue Angels, followed by lots of social time. We were so spoiled! I wanted to try every dish offered but just didn't have enough room.

Chef Laura Taylor (Honest to Goodness Personal Chef Services) was the talent behind the food. She has also catered for Camp Oasis, a camp for children with IBD, so she is an SCD pro. 

We received a Wellbee's swag bag which included honey sweetened Halva and a Wellbee's catalog. The catalog has recipes in the back. A few Wellbees products were served during the meals, which allowed a chance to sample their products. The BBQ sauce was very good on the chicken nuggets.

You can watch the presenters from prior SCDROCKS conferences in the video library here. Eventually this conference will likely be in the library as well.  It's definitely worth watching. But I have to say, if you ever get a chance to come to a SCDROCKS! conference in person, it's a wonderful experience. I think the friendships I made are my favorite part, and you can't get that from a video.