Raw Food Forums

Hi everyone,
After a number of false starts with raw over the last 6 years I have finally decided to stay with it, though I'm easing in slowly - about 70-80 % raw at the moment.
In the past I borrowed a friend's dehydrator and enjoyed making great *live* foods, but we've lived in 9 towns (and 5 states!) over the last 8 years so getting into a rhythm was hard, especially as my husband and teenagers are NOT into healthy living.
This last month I made the decision to finally move forward with our dietary lifestyle, even if with them I can only move pebbles and not rocks for a while(we're not moving anymore YAY!).
I just bought a dehydrator of my own, a decent blender, a food processor, and am now trying to find good sources online for all the things I want to make. We live in Esperance, WA, with not a health food store or organic grocer for 450 klms. This means buying packaged supplies over the internet, and starting my own little garden at home in our tiny backyard.

I have a question - I've been mostly raw for the last 2 weeks, but battled with constipation and last night had the worst stomach pains and back ache. I had so much gas in my stomach I thought I was 6 months pregnant. Is this normal? I am shocking my body?

hi Amethyst. Nice to 'meet' you!

Constipation and gas can be a part of detox. The constipation seems to be a build up before release.

Are you having loads of fruit and veg? High water content foods are soooo important. It's so easy to get carried away with the dehydrated foods yummy and all that they are!

The back ache could be a part of the constipation. Weird as that may sound, if you are backed up then this can cause pain just about anywhere in the body. The bowel at some point touches on every major organ in the torso and can do incredible things if it's not cleaned out.

Have you been introduced to the Green Smoothie? They are amazing. Fruit, water (or juice or young coconut water) and greens. The sugar in the fruit balances out the greens. it's amazing, full of fibre and loads of goodness.

Also, drink lots of water. That will help soften what is in the bowel too. You can massage your bowel to help break up (i've just tried to explain how but was not really good at it. I'm sure someone else will know how to explain it) what is in there and others may recommend enemas or colonics too.

Rest... loads of rest. If you can lie down and nap throughout the day then do it. If you have loads of energy then exercise. Funnily enough these two things go hand in hand.

It's been recommended here before to drink warm water with lemon juice first thing in the morning which can help loosen things up. Also, if you have a mini trampoline, or even a big one, gently bouncing on that can help (personal experience there!).

Anyhoo... I hope this helps.

xoxoxxo

Hi Jennie,

I haven't had any dehydrated foods yet as I only got the dehydrator yesterday, but have been living on fresh fruits and veg, almond milk, loads of water. I've been taking chaste tree tablets for the last month as it stops the hot flushes (I'm menopausal) and one of the side effects is constipation (just discovered this by googling!) so perhaps that is the problem too?
Have finally gone to the loo in the last 10 minutes - good grief it STUNK! I think I emptied a kilo of waste. Hope this means things are finally leaving my system.
My 14yo daughter just told me she is going to attempt to eat more raw foods, so this will inspire me to stay with it.
Yes - the back ache is already going (yay!!) after the dump. ;-) You were right.
Rest? Ok...I'm a pretty adrenalin driven person so don't tend to rest during the day but I think that's what my body has been screaming for lately. I homeschool my 14yod and 16yos so my life is full, but this also gives me ample opportunity to watch their eating and offer good foods. I just must remember to have a bit of a rest too, eh...

you are an amazing lady!

I'm glad you are releasing in such a way! You might find that you need to stay close to the loo for a day or two. Detox comes and goes.

If you are running on adrenalin then you need to rest! i found this out recently. i've learned to tell when my body is running on adrenalin and when it's not. I tell you, I slept like never before when I stopped letting my adrenals do all the work. I like my thyroid to function well!

Yaaaaaaaaaay that the back ache is going.

If you can get lemons that would be great. In your water they will help alkalise your body if it's acidic as well as support your bowels while they let go. I was told recently too by one of our forum members that if you have lemon juice in your water it will help your body absorb the water. Interesting!

Have a great afternoon!

xoxoxxo

Lemons - I'll use them! Thanks!
I take thyroxine for my thyroid (hypothyroidism) -  didn't know adrenalin could stuff that up? Interesting talking to you Jennie, you have been a wealth of info for a newbie!

LOL... thank you!

yes the adrenals usually go first and then the thyroid. It can be fixed. Would you  like me to send you a link that I was sent awhile back? If so do you mind if I go into the system and ferret out your email addy? then I can send it to you direct from my email.

xoxoxox

That would be great! Thank you! yes, go ferret....

*ferreting now* LOL.

xoxoxox

Amethyst... I know how your feeling... I've got Hypothyroidism, plus the other think.. eek can't bring myself to say the word! .. the M one! and ive been raw 3 years and I still suffer with the constipation.. omg and I eat like a fruit bat plus lots of greens, salads and green smoothies.. but stick with the raw it makes you feel amazing.. ride with the highs and lows.
xx
k

Thanks for the encouragement, Karen. :-)
I hate this M thing too...but I think going raw can only help it become more bearable.

I just went grocery shopping with my daughter and had to laugh as we walked along the aisles and found barely anything I wanted to buy! Came home with buckets full of fruit and veg, and am now snacking on an almond milk smoothie with banana, dates, strawberries and a tiny sprinkle of raw cocoa, while I make a salad.
This IS the life is it not?! Sorry it took me so long to get with it, but better late than never.

Question again.... :-)

Even though I've been raw for a couple of weeks, and I walk 4klms with the dog every morning, I hadn't lost any weight. I actually found that the more raw days that passed by the less hungry I was, yet the scales did not show any difference.
As I mentioned earlier I was pretty constipated too.
Then my digestive system finally kicked in and I've hardly been off the loo for the last 3 days!
Yesterday my daughter and a friend both commented on my eyes 'suddenly' looking clear and very blue (I have blue eyes but they went grey years back), and I've discovered my appetite has come back.

So, when I lost my appetite about 10 days into raw could that have been because my body was focussed on ridding itself of toxins and didn't want more food to process? Is this a hint with our bodies to focus just on water and juices for a couple of days or so?
I wondered because today I seem to have gotten over the constant trips to the loo and my stomach isn't hurting anymore, and today I got my appetite back.
Btw, I also lost a kilo in the last 2 days.

I'm finding it easier and easier to stay raw, but I've gone from constipation to having the runs. :-\ One extreme to the other so quickly...trying to work out now what I need to eat to bring some balance.
I'm craving de-caff coffee at the moment but I think that's cause it's cold today. Have been sprouting buckwheat, barley and millet and now I've got a few things going in the dehydrator so I can have something different to fruit and veg, which might help the runs.
I'm scared to go for my walk today - need to stay close to the loo. Bother.

Hi there :-D
So glad to hear that you are finding it easier and easier to stay raw, thats a big part of the challenge!
I would have to agree with your earlier assesment when you lost your appetite, your body has its priorities and sometimes food isn't number 1 when there is lots of internal cleaning & healing to be done.  That's why animals in nature instinctively lose their appetite or fast when they are sick or injured. 
Another reason could be that the water content in the rawfood is filling you up more.  There is virtually no water in cooked food so this can leave us unsatisfied.

We have to learn to become good listeners when it comes to our bodies and you are really trying to do this, thats great :-)

In regards to the alternating runs and constipation....
What are you eating at the moment? including in what combinations...& do you take any medications/potions/supplements/superfoods?
I suffered from the runs most of my life before lowfat raw but now its a thing of the past. 

To me it is a reflex response in the colon to an incoming toxin, I liken it to when we sneeze when we get something up our noses....
my theory is this reaction is telling us that something we have just eaten or a particular mixture of foods in our intestines is not accepted by the body..

This is one theory, but it may also be a build up of gunk in the small intestine finally having a chance to be released since you've been mainly raw for a while.

butttt....harping back to the reflex response being the most likely reason...
because you are now high raw your body is rejecting the incoming cooked food...what cooked food are you having?  It is a one way street, once you increase the amount of raw you eat then the body will CLEARLY (in the form of runs etc) tell you its not happy with the cooked invader preferring the pristine rawfood and going back will get harder and harder until we truly listen... just depends on how much pain we can endure.

Lovefreexo

Hi Free,

Thanks for all that info - I hadn't even considered all the raw had more water content, making me full very easily. Wow! That's really great news.

The runs...I see what you mean about the body possibly rejecting cooked foods. The only cooked I've had has been a few tiny slices of my home-made sour dough bread, and some pumpkin I baked to toss into my salad. As I've always done better off breads of any kind I'm thinking it was the sour dough bread.
I take thyroxine for my hypothyroidism but have never had any runs issues with it in the past.

Today I made a few recipes in the dehydrator from Serene Allison's "Rejuvinate Your Life" - Power Bars made from sprouted buckwheat, sprouted barley, coconut, dates, raisins etc; some Apple Cinnamon Bagels from sprouted barley, apples, cinnamon, raw honey, pistachios etc; and the Savoury Nori Snacks from the free book here. Tomorrow I'll pop some flax crackers in the dehydrator - with all that I should at least have enough things to tempt me away from sour dough when I need a bread fix.

Apart from the sour dough and the pumpkin I haven't had anything cooked.

One thing I am reacting to is cucumber - it gives me a horrible ache in my stomach. I had an idea about that a while ago but going mostly raw I really noticed what happened in my body when I ate it.

I haven't eaten any bananas today...that might help.

Can anyone give me some good sources of iron and B12 please? I have always had low iron - my body does not hold it well so I'm concerned about that. When I was pregnant with my eldest son I was hooked up to an iron drip.

My pleasure, maybe remember this everytime you go to eat a peice of sourdough - grains are like shards of glass on your intestines, they rip away at the delicate membranes and as a consequence the body builds a thick layer of mucous membrane to protect the intestinal walls...which then makes it hard for the nutrients to cross the wall to the cells, their fibre is insoluble and harsh,they are acid-forming which can lead to calcium leaching from the bones and they are ment for birds....
Hopefully this has attached some pain to bread for you, as this is what worked for me.

The main reason you are craving bread is because you are most likely not absorbing enough fruit sugar across your intestinal wall maybe due to previous damage from grains etc, or you are just not eating enough fruit...trust me your cravings will go as long as you eat lots of fruit and combine it properly...try it for a week sometime.

I doubt it is the cucc causing you probs and more likely to be what it is combining with...it is a very high water content food so it digests very fast in comparison to other foods...did u have bread or anything concentrated close to the cucc, like fats etc? Even within several hours it can affect you.

All fruits and vegies have iron, I got 126% of my iron requirements today.  Green leafy veg & fruits are great sources...As far as b12 goes - lower your fat intake and your absorbtion of b12 will increase.  Go without overt fats  and get plenty of fruit,more than you think you need and watch your health significantly improve within a week.

The medication will unfortunately be affecting your health in some way, not sure how but I know Dr Doug Graham has experience with hypothyroidism sufferers.

Simplify your eating as much as possible, lower the fat considerably and you will reap the benefits  :-DD

When you say to lower the fat do you mean stop eating nuts as well? The only fat I'm getting is from avocados, nuts, and seeds.
I had no idea about the effect grains have on the intestines - so many natural food books (Nourishing Traditions for example) tout grains as the way to go. I have known for years that my body and bread are enemies. Thanks for filling me in on the why.
Yes, I do crave bread like I craved sugar...in fact I'd rather have bread than sugar! I'll focus on fruits for the next week and see how I go.
You've been a wealth of information Free.

Jenergy sent me info about my thyroid that I'm going to check out, just waiting till our internet download cycle comes back on next week so I can get it.

Thanks Amethyst, In your case I would recommend you did ommit nuts for a while, your system needs a good break & digesting fats will drain your vital lifeforce and vitality further. Nuts fall less than a month out of the whole year and are only truly fresh when they are picked off the tree, cracked and eaten then and there or that month or before,not sure of exactly how long the oils will stay ok when kept in the shell but its not long...unfortunately the fats/oils in the nuts go rancid, every food, especially once it is exposed to the atmosphere begins to oxidise (& live food is very quick) and then we eat them causing further oxidisation/aging to our cells.

i know you are transitioning and it is challenging to stay away from the nuts but even if you do for a little while you will experience massive health gains.  Too much fat (the amount you should have depends on your health status/digestive strength/exercise levels etc) slows your whole system down and this coupled with trapped sugar in our bloodstream causes many different issues, a big one is a candida overgrowth leading to blood sugar surges resulting in depression followed by continued unhealthy food choices/cravings leading to a sick bodymind....and this viscious cycle keeps getting repeated until we get the fat out....at least for a while.

Little scary about the grains isn't it?  It's pretty obvious they aren't a human food, one example of this is if you were to look out over a field of wheat.....would your mouth water? Could you go into the field and break off some wheat and eat it?
Might have to suggest that on the show 'Who dares,wins' or more to the point...loses.

When you say you would rather have bread than sugar its more likely to be that you are addicted to the bread, especially if it is still circulating in your system.  Grains produce an unnatural addictive response, fruits don't.  If you eat a lot more fruit (enough to meet your requirements, in the right combinations), tender greens, eliminate the fats for a while ,drop the bird food and aim for 3litres of water a day your body will thank you.

Fats & proteins have to broken down through an energy-draining process into glucose before the body can uptake it and use it as fuel
Its natural to crave sugar, our bodies primary and preferred fuel is glucose, it would make sense to then feed the body accordingly.

Great to hear you will focus on fruits next week but what about the rest of this week?

Glad you got some info off Jen :-D

hey warmest welcome Amethyst

i am so with Free on lowering your fat intake...its a def advantage in gaining optimum digestion and ultimately the best health you can have...

and up your fruit intake

Well, I'll *try* to stay just with the fruits for as long as possible...today all I've had is a banana, some strawberries, and a couple of pears. I'm just thirsty, not hungry.
Thanks ladies!

it doesnt mean you cant have some fat...and greens are super important...just dont over do your fats....when transitioning you will naturally gravitate towards heavier raw fats,and this will be the sensation you are use to having after a meal, a sense of fullness .....

maybe try a nice ripe avo.....some sundried raw olives....always best for digestion if you eat one raw fat at a time,and eating fat at the end of the day wont slow you down and make you feel sluggish...have fruits as your majority of calories you have in a day...thats what Free and i are really suggesting for you....and its only a suggestion,because it works so beautifully for us!

if you're just thirsty...drink up and rest from eating...our bodies are very very smart...and when we get use to the bodies subtle whisperings its best to follow this intuition(before the whisperings turn into yelling and body break down...)

Hi Amethyst,
How have you been? I hope you and your family have been well. How are things going on the raw front? You were looking t doing all fruit for a week - how did that go?
I've been shocking with eating cooked food over the past week and a half. Have had a pretty good last 2 days but still finished the day on cooked meals. It's all good though. I'll start afresh tomorrow.
I saw the pediatrician with my daughter yesterday - he backed up his thoughts from 6 months ago and confirmed the diagnosis of ASD. I knew this already of course, but i guess it has been made official now. She's responding to diet and intervention so we are doing all we can for her. She's a happy, healthy litlle girl - well not so little - she's just gone 2 and has the measurements of a 3 year old!
Thinking of you, take care,
Carmel
xoxo