I agree - diet is not a cure, and the extent to which it can help minimise Crohn's (or UC) symptoms varies hugely from person to person - in some cases it can't help at all.
I think many doctors should be more helpful regarding diet. When they tell patients diet has nothing to do with it, I think they mean that diet cannot cause or cure Crohn's, and it can't put people into a flare or into remission (except under special circumstances, like bowel rest). It is a different matter when it comes to managing symptoms.
Diet helps me a lot, by going low fibre, and minimising the volume of food I consume my symptoms are considerably better, and I can avoid stoma blockages. I tried many other diets, and none of them had any benefit - some made things worse.
I'd advise people to not venture into any extreme or overly restrictive diets, unless recommended by conventional medicine. E.g. giving up gluten or lactose can be vital, if coeliacs disease or lactose intolerance or whatever is present. I think low-fibre is different, not just because I've personally experienced benefits (though it's certainly nowhere close to relieving all my symptoms), but because it's supported by conventional medicine, and isn't overly restrictive, and because it is adapted to the individual - it's not that all fibre is always "bad", or that all high-fibre foods are always "bad", it's about finding the level of fibre tolerated by each individual at a particular time.
I wouldn't try SCD, or paleo or things like that, - I just haven't seen any high-quality evidence to support them or distinguish them from similarly unsupported diets that I tried which failed. I realise that some people believe in adapting these diets to the individual as well, but overall, from what I've read, these diets are often applied in a very all or nothing kind of way, with foods labelled as illegal or legal, without sound reasoning behind it.
I think it's good to recognise that diet "only goes so far". This recognition will stop people being disappointed when they can't achieve remission, or manage without meds. We don't have control over this disease - even with meds and diet, there's only so much we can do, though medication stands a better chance of doing something than diet. Side effects are a big issue, but sometimes it seems to me that that's almost a sign of something's potential to do good. Powerful drugs and surgeries tend to have a lot of risks and side effects.
But thinking that a drop of sugar can cause bacterial chaos with no med to "hold back" the immune system has me wondering...
