Eating Raw and IBS

[kiniro]

I'm new here (hence the #1 being next to the word "posts") and have a quick question about eating Raw.

I believe I have IBS - this is debatable as my symptoms seemed to have disappeared or subsided after they first, er, presented themselves. Regardless, I've read up on it and have learned what the main trigger foods are. Certain ones like spinach (and most other leafy greens) can mess with a lot of IBS'ers and I think I have had issues with them as well. So how should I go about this if I switch to eating raw? I'd imagine that eating raw would be pretty difficult if I have to avoid eating trigger foods like spinach/romaine/kale.

As long as I can manage eating raw for a while and keeping my IBS under control is there a good chance I can eliminate my IBS? Or any chance at all, really?

Oh, and don't worry, there's plenty more questions where this came from. I just wanted to warm you guys up (I'm plenty warm already).

[Cherry-tree]

I have (had???) IBS but ever since doing raw my stomach has been feeling 100 times better. I had so many darn issues and now, my tummy feels calm most of the time and I do not feel sick before and after eating (bascially I felt sick all the time. Yuck!).

Do you know for sure that the dark greens you mentioned are truly your trigger source? I have a feeling that you may actually have another trigger, like wheat? Even if the dark greens are a trigger for sure, I think that you will not know if they really are until you try going raw because the combo of cooked food and the greens (even if you eat them raw or cooked) may set you off.

I hope that you try the raw food for at least 30 days and see if your IBS improves. I did and mine improved so greatly!! I find the greens super easy to digest and do not cause me any issues. However, if I were mixing those with a cooked diet, I am sure I would be in distress!!:(

[Coriander74]

Oh I'm SO glad you posted this!

I'm not glad about your IBS... omg, that's awful stuff.

For more than 2 years I was essentially housebound due to pain and other gastrointestinal nastiness from an unnamed illness that I had. Through tests and surgery to remove my gallbladder and more tests and billions of pills, nothing worked. Anything and everything I ate went right through me, or I would get sick.

Until Raw.

One month of going 100% Raw and my pain was gone. My nausea was gone. My other GI ickies were gone. I still had "detox sickness" for a whole two days where I felt tired and yucky. Who doesn't?

I fell off Raw after developing a blood clot which has me on blood thinner, which has me off all leafy greens. But I"m back on now, and I'm happy, and feeling great (after 7 months of YUCK) and I have mostly fruits and nuts to eat right now.

Try the 30-day challenge. Try having the greens. You never know :) All I can do is tell you how it changed my life.

Rawk On!

[Nurse in the Raw]

My stomach/bowel problems have completely stopped since going raw a month ago. As a matter of fact, so have the headaches now that I think of it. Ahhh to be pain free!

[lytlsprout]

If you're really worried about leafy greens do green smoothies. That way they're all ground up and not hard on your bowel. I also don't believe what the doctors tell me about what not to eat with colitis (IBD) because what they told me to eat makes me so sick! And they told me not to eat raw veggies and I eat them all the time and I don't get sick from them. So I suggest going raw and see how it works out. Another good way to get your greens without eating them straight is juicing! Good luck.

[vwinters]

Hi Kiniro,
I completely eliminated longstanding and debilitating daily bouts of painful IBS symptoms within one week of living on a diet of just green smoothies. I eat between ½ pound and 1 pound of greens blended up every into smoothies every day.
VW
http://www.tagworldresources.com/Tagworld-Graphics/Animated-Emoticons/c7e1e1d10f04269f8860db57cea5962b.gif (http://www.tagworldresources.com/TagWorld-Graphics/Tagworld-Animated-Emoticons/TagWorld-Image-1258.aspx)

http://www.ketoforum.de/diet-ticker/pic/weight_loss/11398/.png (http://www.diaet-ticker.de)

[tanawana]

As you are familiar I'd imagine, what effects one person has the opposite effect in another in the IBS, IBD, etc. world unfortunately. After being 100% raw for many years, then going off, blah, blah, blah, I ended up diagnosed with a twisted colon, plenty of misery and many IBS symptoms and found lettuce or greens couldn't be taken even if blended at all. Unbelievable tough time in my life :(

Green smoothies with a little Baby Spinach at times and juiced celery were the ONLY way to get some greens I could handle. This I found through a time of misery and experimenting. Sprouting was discovered later on and that could be tolerated. Very tough being a raw foodist without greens I thought. But greens can be left out for a time. Green Smoothies can be a great help but if you can't digest ANY greens due to a health issue you need to rebuild that health. Find out what works for you. IBS diets tend to be individualistic. A raw diet can be done and many, many times is the relief when all is said and done.

Through time things can be built up and greens worked back in. Greens can be left out for a period of time and you can still survive. Rebuild the health as much as possible and find what works and what doesn't and go slow. Sometimes steaming veggies should be considered if needed. David Klein has a good book dealing with IBD relating to a raw diet and www.helpforibs.com has some good guidelines based on a plant food diet to consider. The site and message boards is filled with SAD eaters though it seems and the basic plant based idea is lost to most. But some good information can be had if you read between the lines. For example stick to banana, mango and papaya for some good soluble fiber and watch the insoluble fiber foods such as melons, lettuce, etc.

I wouldn't look to TRULY eliminate IBS, but rather one should look to eat and live healthier, thus making IBS a non-issue then. If that makes sense. ;)

And also, I believe it is wise to be diagnosed and don't second guess digestive issues. Serious issues undetected can lead to a life of misery. Alot of people misdiagnose themselves with IBS and may treat it incorrectly and makes things worse. Be careful..