Sluggish Digestion???

[Brianna]

I seem to have a really slow system, especially when it comes to digesting and eliminating. Being all raw really helps, but I feel bloated and backed up. And when I get up in the mornings, I often feel like last night's dinner isn't digested yet and I will burp up tastes of it!!! I know it's gross! I don't really know what to do about it. I take digestive enzymes and probiotics, which help amazingly, but I'm not quite sure what else to do. Any suggestions?

[sport]

Are you good on food combining.

[HappyCat]

What does a typical day of your diet look like? Are you eating alot of nuts and or dehydrated foods? if so are you drinking enough liquids? Are you totally raw, or still eating cooked foods once in a while?
Just like sport said you might also want to look at food combining fas well.

[Brianna]

I food combine properly 99% of the time. I eat all raw and I try to stay away from too many nuts and dehydrated foods because they make me feel sick. I drink a gallon of water plus green juices every day. I think part of the problem may be that I just eat too much because my body can live on very little food, but I love eating and I don't want to. I eat massive salads. Maybe it's just too much fiber at once or something. Has anyone experienced that, where you get bloated and all you ate was raw salad vegetables? Maybe I don't have enough hydrochloric acid. I don't know.

[muse27]

Hello,

Is this a problem that you have had for a long time?... It could be IBS or your body creating to much mucus build up due to a food sensitivity. The GI is a tough thing to repair if you are having problems and while some people might be against this, I did a coffee enema treatment for 30 days, and ate 100% raw avoiding nuts and eating lots of avocados and other fats ;) and supplemented veggies with veggie juice always and just ate fruit and raw honey whenever I wanted and this helped me alot in getting my digestive system moving a little bit better. Another thing, I stopped all supplements, sometimes they have ingredients that make things worse.

Hope something here helps, and I encourage you to do alot of research about coffee enemas benefits and the nasty effects not being regular can have on the body. You need to start getting all that toxic material out of your body. I hope you solve the problem, and wish you the best of luck.

Dan the man

[Gosia]

My guess is that, although you may pay attention to proper food combining in a particular meal, perhaps the space time between the meals is not long enough for the meals to digest properly. I too observed that when I do this, I may experience bloating, even though I combine perfectly (mono)!

Best,
Gosia.

[rawnora]

Hi Brianna,
If you're still eating sprouted legumes, these will cause gas, bloating and other symptoms because they do not get sufficiently broken down before they leave the digestive tract and therefore will ferment before they can be eliminated. Often since they take so long to digest, they are still in the system the morning after they are eaten and anything eaten on top of them will ferment as well. Best to delay eating the next morning as long as possible and/or replace legumes with fats like avocados, coconuts, or even nuts in moderation and properly combined. Also, you mentioned in another thread that you thought avocados combine well with anything since they are a fruit. It's true that they are a fruit, but they are so high in fat that they should be treated like nuts and seeds, and combined only with greens and non-sweet fruits. It's also best to choose only one kind of fat per day, or at least only one kind per meal if you're just starting out. Mixing fats slows things down even more. Another thing that might be causing the problem is eating too late (after approx. 6 pm), which causes both digestion and sleep to be compromised. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com

[veganman]

Hi Brianna -

are there times that you find this happens more than others? Like after having nuts or grains or legumes? For myself, I don't seem to have a problem digesting sprouted lentils or grains.

As far as HCL - I have been researching this and it does affect a lot of people. I think it is more an issue with protein or high-fiber meals (according to Steve Meyerowitz aka "The Sproutman") than with starch-based or fat meals.

You will figure this out. It might just take some experimenting and patience. :)

[Brianna]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all of your advice. I do seem to be fine when I just eat plain fruits and veggies, but when I get into more complex foods and more fats, things don't go as well. I think I burn fuel very slowly because I can go all day on a piece of fruit and not get hungry. It's really weird. I'm probably overeating because I'm not hungry that often, but I love to eat. And I think I probably do eat meals too close together sometimes. Thanks everyone!