Is raw for me?

[rayelynn]

I really want to get healthy. My health has gone WAY down hill since I quit smoking 2 years ago (ironic). I have horrible headaches, I cant breathe most of the time, I have gained 70 pounds, I am out of shape and sick all the time. I have been introduced to raw due to my exposure to it in massage school. I do believe in it with some concerns that will be discussed later.

However, my problem is now that I am 4 months pregnant. I have been eating SAD for 29 years. I want to be raw, but I was told I shouldn't lose weight and that it would be toxic for the fetus. But, isnt the SAD diet toxic to the fetus too? I am very confused and dont know what to do.

If I decided to start now, I want to do the 30 day challenge.

Thanks for your advice in advance.

Raye Lynn

[Rawkinlocs]

Hello and welcome! (and congrats on your baby)

Well, you could go all raw, but if you're concerned and not sure of a raw pregnancy, I'd say the next best thing would be to eat as MUCH raw as you can and whatever you eat that isn't, make sure it's healthy. See, the SAD isn't the same as a healthy vegan/vegetarian diet. SAD is full of grease, salt, sugar, refined and/or processed foods and junk.

You could start out by eating a diet of mostly raw and maybe one meal a day of healthy cooked items.

I'm not sure if going from a highly SAD way of eating to strictly raw is good for an expectant mom or not. Part of me wants to say, "GO for it...be all raw" but there is the other side saying that perhaps you should take it slow and work your way up. I'm not sure. Jinjee of thegardendiet.com had raw pregnancies, but she was already raw and not going from SAD to raw, if you know what I mean.

Others will probably come in and give you some suggestions as well and I'm interested in what others have to say on this matter as well.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I agree. The best thing you can do now is eat tons of raw and as much healthy cooked as possible. Stay away from processed, empty foods if you can. Eat lots of whole foods. In the long run your health will be better, you may even lose unecssary weight and for sure the baby will be getting the best nutrients available.

[DotfromOz]

What Rawkinlocs says is exactly the way I started out raw. It worked really well for me, as I gradually got to the point that I felt great all day until after dinner and realized that cooked food was not being nice to me. As a result, it hasn't been that hard for me to go 100%. So far, knock wood.

[rayelynn]

thanks everyone and please keep the comments coming. Typically, I am an all or nothing kind of girl, but I have a feeling that the whole experience will teach me patience among other things.

What was very odd for me was that on my last doctors appointment, she said to not eat presugared cereals, lots of ice cream, etc... But, then the midwife said no more that 1 fruit a day!!! She said the sugar is too much! 1 fruit a day!! I thought that was ridiculous.

thanks again

raye lynn

[Rawkinlocs]

1 piece of fruit and plenty of ice cream huh? Now if THAT isn't going out the world a** first I don't know what is! LOL!

Honey, do what you know in your heart is right to do and leave the doc and midwives to monitoring and delivering the baby. Take control of your health and nutrition and that of your baby and eating PLENTY of raw fruits and veggies and NO ice cream is one of the best things you can do for the both of you! If it's calcium that made her/him tell you to eat all that ice cream, then you can do green smoothies and eat leafy greens to get the BEST sources of calcium, along with sesame seeds and/or tahini. See http://notmilk.com

Now, if you want some REAL ice cream that's good for you and tasty too...make some banana ice cream with frozen (very ripe) bananas, vanilla, little sea salt and any fruit or nuts (pecans are great) blended in the food processor. YUMMY!

[Revvell]

1 fruit a day, huh? Methinks you might consider another midwife. It's o.k. to eat all the packaged cereals, soups, etc. you want, but only 1 fruit per day? pffffffttttt!!! The sugar that comes from/within fruit is balanced with all the other nutrients in that fruit. It goes the way real food should ~ through the whole digestive system whereas processed sugar goes almost directly to the pancreas ~ therefore sugar highs and lows.

I think Rawkinlocs gave you some really good information. I would add, do LOTS of green smoothies. They will assist in digestion and flushing out the lymphatic system. Oh! and walking (which, hopefully, your doctor has recommended). One thing I would like you to be aware of. I'm not dispensing medical information here, just what people I know have experienced. Doctors tend to recommend iron pills. People I know who take them have expienced constipation. (maybe mothers who did can assist on this) One can get enough iron through a truly good food program which includes natural foods which contain iron ~ and I'm not talking about dried fruits here. IF you are going to use dried fruits (all the dark ones ~ unsulphered, of course), soak them overnight, eat in the a.m. OR soak all day, eat in the p.m. so you can have a b.m. in the a.m. :D

Injoy ~

Revvell

[rayelynn]

sorry raw, that was supposed to be not a lot of ice cream, but gave me full reign to eat it, just not in large quantities. I just thought the fruit was WAY off. They have such little knowledge of nutrition. It kills me. Thanks for the great suggestions. I know dairy is a problem for me. I have been drinking LOTS of it due to recommendations from books, doctors, etc... I am now at home with an upper respiratory infection and a bottle of antibiotics. Thats why I got deep into the research of this again.

Thanks again,

raye lynn

[Sharon in Colorado]

I strongly urge you to go with a midwife you feel comfortable with. I was referred to this crazy midwife and she wasn't very nice. She was awefully moody and it being my first child and a home birth at that, I regretted going with this woman. I just stuck it out with her because I was young and impressionable and didn't have enough chutzpah (that's nerve folks) to go with my gut feeling.

If you have any strange feelings, doubts or whatever, please, use a midwife, or even doctor who makes YOU comfortable. With my 2nd I had to use a doctor for insurance purposes, but I was able to have a drug-free natural birth like I wanted and the experience was much better than the one at home with the midwife.

One fruit a day, huh? That sounds very wrong to me. Fruit is a beatiful natural thing. You eat all the fruit you desire and try to abstain from using dairy to get your calcium. There are much more sound sources of good calcium without having to resort to dairy. You can get every nutrient from nature too, so do be cautious about pre-natals vitamins, as many can be toxic.

[Autumn]

I agree with the posts here, that maybe going from high SAD to 100% raw all at once while already pregnant might be a bit much.

I had a similar experience with the 1 fruit a day recommendation, however I was told to eat NO FRUIT. That's right. My doctor, after diagnosing me with PCOS, told me I could eat sugar-free candy (absolute chemical-rich toxic junk) but no fruit! When I complained, she relented to Within a couple months I was craving fruit so badly I stopped the diet and stopped seeing that doctor as well.

[VeganVixen]

that sounds so obnoxious......fruit has anti oxidents,immune bulding and cell regulating properties-they are great for you both!!!

I would try to get different colors of fuits and veggies in also

like red (strawberries,tomatos,razberries,watermelon,apples ect...);

PURPLE (VERY GOOD FOR YOU) from blueberries,dark grapes,blach berries,beet juice, cabbage

green - apples,leafy greens,cucumbers,green grapes ,melons

orange-oranges,carrots,cantalope,nectarines,peaches,mango s,yams and sweet potatoes

yellow/white - squash ,bananas,cauliflower,jicama, turnips,corn,rutabegas (this group isnt as important as the ones above)

also if you want more genuine tasting ice cream the try rice dream or almond ice cream -yes it is cooked but thats for when the raw stuff wont do the trick.....

also transition with whole grain bread,pastas,brown rice ,steamed veggies,maybe try japanese cooked foods ,mediteranian style italian( the low fat, nonmeat and low/non cheese type(or substitute with rice cheeses or nut cheeses ) or indian cooked foods (they tend to be more wholesome),figs,dates and raw veggies and fruits...........