Raw foods making me sick??

[bunnybunny]

I knew that title would get your attention.

Okay, so last week I was in the hospital over night with gastroenteritis, they gave me IV fluids and Compazine for nausea, sent me home. I was eating a diet consisting of bananas, plain Ritz crackers, eggs, baby food, and Gatorade for a couple of days, and then I felt better and went back to eating raw. I've been fine this whole week, and then suddenly this morning during class started feeling sick again...ended up in and out of every bathroom in the building, I think I vomited in a total of 4 locations in one building. What the hell is going on??? I haven't eaten any of the things I had eaten last week before I got sick. Last week I had made that Spanish Rice with the cauliflower, avo, chili powder, cilantro, red pepper, and whatever else was in it... I thought maybe the spices had something to do with it. At the ER the MD said I probably had a virus. But why would I be fine this whole past week and then suddenly get sick again? There's the chance that the virus was still in me but not being active, and the slight chance that I got ANOTHER virus this time... But I don't know. Last night I felt a little ill (but mostly just full) after my dinner which was spinach, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and dressing (olive oil, ACV, basil, and a pinch of garlic). These aren't the kinds of things that make people sick! :( Everyone keeps saying to me, "Maybe it's the diet you're on. Maybe raw foods don't agree with you. Maybe your body is so used to toxic food that it rejects the good stuff." (ha) I just don't know what to think anymore. I know that raw isn't the perfect cure for anything and there are plenty of conditions it can't be helpful for, but is it possible that it's actually making me sick?

[diali36]

bunny
I am so sorry you are having such a bad time.
I really don't think raw is at fault. There is a lot of stomach stuff going arround here in WA St and all my co workers and I have had it. It makes you feel like *&*& for a day or two and then you think you're all over it only to get sick again the next week. This happen to me the whole month of July.
Also maybe try to limit what you are eating for a while to real simple foods like just bananas for a meal so your tummy doesn't have to work to hard for awhile. I truly hope you are back to great health soon
Diane

[StarFire]

I think it sounds like a stomach flu or virus of some kind (and maybe there's a bit of detox in there too??). Wash your spinach really well, drink lots of water, and keep putting the vibrant live foods in you -- it can only help! I'm so sorry you're going thru this... sending healing energy your way... blessings bunnybunny... feel better... http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/hug.gif

[Veganforlife]

You need to get a PRObiotic in you. I had a stomach thing this past spring (?think it was spring?) and I started taking a probiotic (health food stores carry them) and felt much, much better. Your tummy (intestines) needs to replace the flora that's been lost by vomiting. So I suggest getting a probiotic and taking it soon. My HFS carries them in the refrigerated section.
Then eat light. Bananas to replace potassium. Maybe even banana/water smoothies for a day or two. GRADUALLY get back into raw. Don't do the spice for a week or so. I truly don't believe raw food is making you sick. For those telling you your body may be used to toxic food is bunk! Your body will readily accept the healthy, living foods once again.
Good luck.

[vgloveforlife]

Yes it is possible it is making you sick...see my post in this thread
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30567&page=2

[Rawkinlocs]

Raw and living plant foods do not make people sick. I'm sorry but I just cannot fathom that at all.

What I DO believe is that (and I'm no expert here, but this just makes more sense to ME), raw and living foods "pulls the band-aid off" and "reveals the 'wound'". I think that in cases such as this, there are underlying issues/problems that the cleansing power of raw fruits and veggies actually REVEALS. I have a good friend who I spoke with a while ago and she was asking me about the raw foods diet. After I shared with her, she then said to me, "That's so good. I wish I could eat that way but my body is SOOOO toxic, I can't even eat any raw fruit or veggies at all." She acknowledged the toxicity of her body. She then proceeded to tell me how anytime she tries to eat even something as simple as lettuce or an apple, it comes right back up. So, she eats no fresh produce, not even a salad, yet, she is overweight, has medical issues, hair loss. I know that is only HER experience...but my point is, how can something so natural be considered "bad" and a CAUSE of sickness...it's not. It's whatever is going on in that body already that is causing the reaction once you start eating such a cleansing diet as the raw food diet. Stuff will resurface and as the body tries to work it all out and heal itself, etc...there may be some discomforts along the way...it just really depends. Not everyone goes through it like this. And if two people are accustomed to eating the same type of diet and ate the same type of diet then of course it stands to reason they may have the same reactions just like the diseases that so-called "run in the family"....if the family members eat/ate the same diet then yes, they are susceptible to the same health challenges.

I know that sometimes when that "band-aid" is lifted off and things exposed we may think to ourselves, "But I never suffered anything like this before!" Well, it was probably just a matter of time if the previous diet kept going on that these issues and something even worse may have surfaced! We don't always know what is going on within or what is forming and about to rear it's ugly head. Eating raw seems to expose it, though, and then the body tries it's best to cleanse and rid itself of stuff and heal itself but because it's only human nature to not like to suffer of because we have all been conditioned to believe that the very symptoms the body gives off in it's attempt to cleanse and heal are actually 'bad' and a sign of sickness or ill health, then we panic and want it reversed/stopped immediately. Yes, we have to be kind and gentle to our bodies but we have to find ways to help along the process of cleansing and healing as well via rest, water, and sometimes even bowel management and perhaps taking a slower, more gradual approach to going raw. This isn't the case for all...but for some.

[vgloveforlife]

Rawkin,
Although what you do say could be true, my daughter was only 5 yrs old when we went high raw, I mean would she really have that many underlying problems??? She was 100% vegan prior and breastfed for 3 yrs. I just can't believe that she was very toxic. The sickness (vomiting, fever) was a persistant one through almost a whole yr of being raw (previously she had never gotten these sicknesses)...when was the "detox" going to finally go away..when she died from it??? At times I seriously thought she was going to...one time I rushed her to the ER because it was severe..very scarey stuff. I tried raw in so many different ways for her and she was just plain sick on it. I really don't know why, I AM still so confused by her mysterious sicknesses and I'm not sure what and who to believe.
Now being off high raw she is in supreme health! She is mostly a vegan with lots of whole foods...some raw and some not. She hasn't gotten the sickness since going off high raw and she was getting it monthly when we were raw. Very weird!

[Rawkinlocs]

Yeah, that IS very weird, I agree. But you also have to realize VG...again, so many other elements could have contributed. Environmental for example. I'll give you a good example. My husband was on a job once and there was this room with all this old, dusty, moldy stuff and he got sick. He then started breaking out in hives...at first only when exposed to this work area (that he eventually quit) and then later, it seemed like EVERYTHING was causing a reaction. Then one day, I made him a smoothie with bananas and strawberries. Almost immediately after drinking the smoothie, he had a really bad outbreak of hives. This had never happened before. So, we then did the process of elimination-thing and came to the conclusion that he was "allergic" to strawberries and bananas. So, he stopped consuming them but then we proceeded to learning more and more about raw foods and once he started eating high raw and doing some colonics and other cleanses, he re-introduced strawberries and bananas and has been eating them ever since.

I know that at 5, we don't expect a high level of toxicity but it CAN happen...it can happen from, again, environmental elements but it can also happen from our breast milk (I had oral thrush when I was nursing my eldest daughter and from my diet and the yeast present in my body, whenever she nursed, her mouth broke out in the oral thrush sores). My youngest daughter, at age 2, had SEVERE eczema that was so bad, it was in her scalp and caused her to lose her hair in large patches all over her head. This stemmed from MY diet while pregnant with her as well as probably before I got pregnant AND while I nursed her and it spilled over into her after weaning because her diet was not clean. The switch to raw (mostly raw for her) healed her eczema BUT, not before causing a major bout with it first as her body cleansed itself and brought it out through her skin. But my point is, yes, little ones can be "that" toxic depending on the situation and what's going on with mom.

Also, I know many vegans (cooked food-eating) who aren't the picture of health or who suffer from health challenges because they are still eating cooked food, vegan or not. Also, they eat a lot of fake meat analogs, a lot of high starchy foods and even junk foods so long as they have been deemed vegan. Vegan doesn't always mean healthy because a lot of folks tend to lean a lot towards starches and things to feel full much like a lot of raw fooders tend to lean toward a lot of fat in order to feel satiated.

But I don't know what you or your daughter's vegan diet was like prior to going high raw or raw period and I don't know what your diet was like pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and while nursing.

But you are doing fine by your daughter because I wouldn't allow my children to just be in a constant state of vomiting either...they're too young, IMO, to have to suffer such severe detox symptoms. However, I would gradually get them to more and more raw...taking a slower approach and keeping their cooked food meals as healthy and "clean" as possible...much like you seem to be doing. I'd say as she gets older, just keep introducing more and more raw into her diet gradually and maybe even some probiotics that are safe for her to take to heal any possible damage done to her digestive system.

[Veganforlife]

vegloveforlife - I agree with Rawkinlocs (which btw - very well said). I too cannot fathom that raw foods can make someone sick. There are so many underlying factors. Mold allergies are a common illness that so many are mistakenly diagnosed for. It mimics lupus, lymes disease, MS, etc. Check this out:
www.moldwarriors.com
This is something that is growing (pun intended) and is going to become more known. So many mis-diagnosis are happening that are mold allergies. I'm not saying that's what your daughter had, but it's a possibility. It could have been the laundry detergent, something in your water (did you have that tested - are you still living at the same place?) are you still using the same laundry/dish detergent, shampoo, soap, etc.
Could it have been ONE food causing this?
I'm glad she is not sick anymore and if it helps you having her high raw -then by all means go that route.

Bunnybunny - you still need a PRObiotic to replace what's been lost.

[vgloveforlife]

Rawkin-I didn't immediatly blame raw foods and I'm still not sure if it was this diet. So many things went through my brain at the time and still do to this day. I only know these two things-
She was sick when we were high raw and and she is not sick now since being off the raw diet. I don't know if there is a connection with raw foods and her getting sick but just from these facts they make me think yes and I will not put her on a limited diet again.


vegloveforlife - I agree with Rawkinlocs (which btw - very well said). I too cannot fathom that raw foods can make someone sick. There are so many underlying factors. Mold allergies are a common illness that so many are mistakenly diagnosed for. It mimics lupus, lymes disease, MS, etc. Check this out:
www.moldwarriors.com
This is something that is growing (pun intended) and is going to become more known. So many mis-diagnosis are happening that are mold allergies. I'm not saying that's what your daughter had, but it's a possibility. It could have been the laundry detergent, something in your water (did you have that tested - are you still living at the same place?) are you still using the same laundry/dish detergent, shampoo, soap, etc.
Could it have been ONE food causing this?
I'm glad she is not sick anymore and if it helps you having her high raw -then by all means go that route.

Mold can be a concern but we are in the same place as we have been for the last 3 yrs. Maybe with such a pure raw diet her body wasn't able to tolerate the mold?? I suspected dehydrated foods but I'm not sure...Yes I did think she was perhaps allergic to some foods and kept a food diary...I didn't really find out anything from this though. We eat pretty much the same foods as before (in addition to other cooked foods) except for dehydrated foods.
We use the same exact laundry detergent (natural stuff) and we drink the same water. Nothing much has changed.

Perhaps she had a deficiency or her body became unbalanced on raw. I really don't know and I really wish I had an answer. It made me go crazy and I'm glad it's over with and she is now her healthy self again!