New with questions, of course

[care99bare]

Hi all! I'm fairly new - i've been reading around here for a while and trying to incorporate more raw into my diet, around 50%. I'm not quite ready for a full conversion and my goal is to be 75% before considering another change.

My biggest questions (for right now, at least) concerns hypoglycemia. I'm hypoglycemic so some sort of carbohydrate is a MUST at every meal, and i've got to seriously watch my sugar intake. Even orange juice has enough sugar to make me feel ill. Is there anyone else here who has experience with this, or does anyone have any ideas about how i can pack my raw diet with carbohydrates to avoid feeling bad? I'm hoping if i go raw, it will eventually work itself out, as many people have experienced reductions in diabetes/symptoms.

I'm also a bit alarmed at my bloating. At first i thought it was due to my monthly bloating, but reading here i realize i'm not the only one. I know eating SAD foods make some people bloat, but i felt VERY bloated for a few days when i started trying to put more raw food into my diet and it still hasn't completely gone away. Any ideas or suggestions? I just got the chart on combining foods today and i'll be taking that into consideration in the future (i opted to wait on my apple after having a grapefruit for lunch!).

Thanks! Glad to be here!!!

[StarFire]

Aloooha and Welcome to RFT!!
I wish I could help you with your question. I don't know too much about hypoglycemia... if you look at the main directory page - at the bottom -- there is a section there for 'OTHER - health related' maybe if you post the question there - someone familiar with this issue will see your question.

also... if you look at the top of the page -- see the banana? you can do a search for any threads covering this topic... there must be a lot of threads out there discussing this very thing!

I do know that no matter what the ailment -- the raw vibrant lifestyle helps! blessings on your journey... I look forward to hearing about all the benefits you will be experiencing as you go forward!

rawk on and ... enjoy the ride...

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/welcome.gif

[halikatak]

What type of carbohydrate are you required to eat?
Does it have to be a bread? You get carbs from fruits and veggies too.

[justinesmith]

Buckwheat sprouts are also a GREAT carb. Low glycemic and yummy. I used Alissa's enzymes for bloat.... they make raw life very easy! WELCOME TO RFT :D

[StarFire]

Buckwheat sprouts are also a GREAT carb. Low glycemic and yummy. I used Alissa's enzymes for bloat.... they make raw life very easy! WELCOME TO RFT :D


ooooo...I just started soaking some buckwheat this morning... GUNNA HAVE RAW PIZZA THIS WEEKEND!!! YEAAAAH BABY!!! :D

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/woohoo.gif

[EZ rider]

Hi all! I'm fairly new - i've been reading around here for a while and trying to incorporate more raw into my diet, around 50%. I'm not quite ready for a full conversion and my goal is to be 75% before considering another change.IMO there are two good ways to approach raw. The first (this is what I did) is to just stop eating cooked food and put nothing into the body that is not totally 100% all raw. For some people this "all or nothing" approach works well. The other way that makes sense to me is the tapered approach. To do this a person slowly increases the amount of raw food in your day as it feels right. It can be done on a "feel as you go" basis listening to your body keeping in mind that detox occurs as the raw foods clean out the body of old debris and cooked food slows the detox so adjusting the raw/cooked balance controls the detox. Also when using the slower approach the grocery cart can be a useful tool as you use up the cooked food in your kitchen you can buy less and less of the cooked food buying items that help to use up the cooked items until they can be closed out. During this "phasing out" of the cooked foods the amount of fresh garden foods from the produce department can become a larger % of the grocery cart. This "gas pedal / brake" approach takes longer but is better for some people. I personally like the first approach ("pedal to the metal") better because I think its harder to straddle the fence with one foot in raw and the other in cooked.


I just got the chart on combining foods today and i'll be taking that into consideration in the futureAbout the food combining - I have practiced food combining for many years and still do because it works. There is one simple method that I follow when in doubt about how long to wait before eating again. All you have to do is wait for a SLIGHT hunger signal that comes from your stomach and not your brain and then you can eat again. This is based on your stomach being empty and ready to go when it delivers a true hunger signal. The key to making this simple method work is in listening to your body.

[care99bare]

Thanks everyone! I'll have to look into the enzyme.


What type of carbohydrate are you required to eat? Does it have to be a bread? You get carbs from fruits and veggies too.


It's not really a "requirement", but i know my body and when i don't eat enough carbs, i get diabetes-type symptoms. I guess what i was wondering is which fruits and veggies have the most, because without carbs i'll never make it!

Thanks for the responses! I look forward to learning more.

[jacsam]

Do you have Alissa's book....she really answers alot of the questions you've put out there and probably several you haven't even thought of. I know you'll love her book and the DVD is worth getting too. Good luck and welcome.:D

[Radiantly Raw]

I haven't had any experience with hypoglycemia, but I wanted to say welcome to you! I hope you find the answers you need. There are so many knowledgeable and supportive people here, doing a search like Starfire suggested is sure to find some results for you! I've heard that bloating goes away on it's own, especially with proper food combining. Best wishes on your transition!!

[Eva]

Hi! Welcome on board. :)

I had almost forgotten about my blood sugar issues from before raw until I recently had some chocolate-covered peppermint sticks. A few hours later when my blood sugar dropped, it was sooooooo scary! ... Anyways, I had almost forgotten because they went away when I went raw. I stopped having the problems I had before entirely. I think just eating raw maintains blood sugar and helps your body to produce whatever it needs to keep you steady...

When I'm actually listening to my body, and EZ Rider is right on about listening to the slight hunger signals to eat... I know if I need some sort of "heavy" food like nuts or if I need a couple apples or whatever. It's kind of neat!

I think it's good to keep some sort of snacks on hand like seeds with a little bit of dried fruit on hand...

I hope that's helpful. :)