advice please...

[Bella77]

ok, I have 2 queations: I am only about 75% raw, I eat a fruit breakfast a salad lunch and a cooked healthy dinner. My problem is I have so much gas and my tummy is so bloated I do not know what to do. I have tried beano, simethicone, peppermint tea, ACV, water and lemon. I am doing this for a healthy lifestyle not to lose weight -as I only have 10 pounds to really lose. What do I do about the gas issue? It is rather uncomfortable and extremely embarassing- my husband is ready to sleep on the couch.:(

My other question is can I sustain this way of eating without purchasing a dehydrator? It is just not in my budget to buy appliances. I do have a good blender I use for smoothies, but cannot afford any other pieces of equipment. It seems without these appliances I am very limited in what I can eat. Do most people here have dehydrators and juicers? If you do not, what are you eating? I look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Thanks in advance!:D

[rawbutterfly]

In my experience, I have no problems with gas and bloating when I am 100%, but when I think "oh, I'll just stick with 90% for a while", boy oh boy!, it is horrible! It is physically uncomfortable and I won't even go into the embarrassment part of it. But after a couple days of 100%, I am feeling (and smelling) great again. For some reason, that little bit makes the difference!

[Bella77]

really? it seems that I get the problem after breakfast, not after dinner or in the morning. It's like the fruit is giving me the gas, I am going to try to make a green smoothie tomorrow using no friut and I will see if that helps. If not, I may try going 100 % for a few days and see if that does the trick. Thank you!

[lanettasmouse]

sorry i don't have an answer about the gas, but i do suggest to go 100% an also that the dehydrator is not a must have, but it is nice. as far as having the money to get one, i got an american harvest (nesco) from walmart and it is the one with the temp. control. it only cost me $55 if i remember correctly. so that could be an option. it is limited at certain things because it is round and has the hole in the center and you can't make breads, but i like it and use it. i figured this way i get to experiment a little more cheaply and see if investing in an excalibur would be really worth it for me. well good luck and hope you feel better soon.

[RawHeaven]

really? it seems that I get the problem after breakfast, not after dinner or in the morning. It's like the fruit is giving me the gas....

I think you just answered your own question. ;) Don't you just love that when it happens? It's probably the fruit or how you're combining your food which is causing gas. You could also be allergic to some other food, especially the cooked choices. Green smoothies and eating fruit as a mono meal instead of combining it with starchy foods completely wiped out any former digestive issues that I had. Keep in mind it could also be a part of your detox as your body heals. Personally I believe the more raw foods you eat, the better. 100% raw seems to clear everything. Consider a short green juice fast for 5-7 days also. Good luck!

Edit: Hi Bella, I forgot to answer your dehydrator question. I've been able to be raw without one, but I did just finally get one and I have to say I'm in heaven making some of the crackers I used to buy at my food co-op. I'm saving more money having the food dehydrator for sure. It's a good investment.

I have a good blender, just ordered a juicer and a food processor.

You can do raw without a dehydrator most definately, but in truth it does help expand your options when making gourmet dishes. Depends on how simple or complex you want your meals to be.

[Bella77]

Thank you for the info on the ehydrator you got from Walmart, if I can stick this out and make it a lifestyle change, I may invest in one.

[lanettasmouse]

your welcome. i had to get mine off the walmart website cause they didn't carry it at the store, but i was still able to get it from them. also you can check ebay and see if there aren't any up there for sale. or craigslist.com

[Bella77]

I am definately going to try cutting my fruit consumption down or eating one fruit in a meal like suggested and see if this helps. It could also be detox as I have had some headaches too.

[Marin Mom]

I feel your pain. :eek: In addition to good food combining (ie: eat fruits alone) and not overeating take a good quality vegetarian digestive enzyeme at the beginning of the meal. This has helped me a lot.


Good luck.

[Bella77]

I feel your pain. :eek: In addition to good food combining (ie: eat fruits alone) and not overeating take a good quality vegetarian digestive enzyeme at the beginning of the meal. This has helped me a lot.


Good luck. I just bought a huge bottle of beano, so I hope this will help. Thank you!

[maui_butterfly]

ok, I have 2 queations: I am only about 75% raw, I eat a fruit breakfast a salad lunch and a cooked healthy dinner. My problem is I have so much gas and my tummy is so bloated I do not know what to do.

most adults who have eaten cooked/processed food throughout their lives have depleted their natural stores of digestive enzymes, causing them to digest their food more slowly, and/or more problematically (symptoms of digestive enzyme depletion are bloating, belching, gas, bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, heartburn and food allergies).

this is probably exacerbated in your case because raw foods move through your system fast. so if you eat a cooked dinner the night before, that takes a lot longer for your digestive system to process than the raw foods you are eating the next morning and afternoon. i think as a result those raw foods (which if you were eating 100% raw would have already made an exit) are sitting in your intestines behind the slow-to-process cooked foods, and your intestinal fauna have a field day on the raw fruit! result: gas, bloating, etc.

this may explain why rawbutterfly and others have problems when they are not 100%, and also why you are having problems after you eat fruit, not the cooked meal.

[Bella77]

Maui butterfly- your explanation makes so much sense to me, DUH!!!! Today I had a green smoothie for breakfast, it was chunky, but I was able to get most of it down. Don't know if I could drink one every day though. I am going to lunch with a friend so I hope I can find something in the mall food court that I can eat. I am also hoping to eat a big salad for dinner and see if I feel better after eating a whole day raw. Thank you for your wonderful insight.

[c'estlaviebelle]

Maui butterfly- your explanation makes so much sense to me, DUH!!!! Today I had a green smoothie for breakfast, it was chunky, but I was able to get most of it down. Don't know if I could drink one every day though. I am going to lunch with a friend so I hope I can find something in the mall food court that I can eat. I am also hoping to eat a big salad for dinner and see if I feel better after eating a whole day raw. Thank you for your wonderful insight.

Hi Bella- I think your experiment sounds like a good one. I've only been raw for 3 weeks, but I notice a huge difference when I am 100% raw all day vs in the past (last month even). I used to do what you do- fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch and cooked vegan dinner. I still didn't lose any weight and my bloating/digestion issues persisted. The minute I went 100% most of the bloating went away (except for some detox symptoms). Let us know how it goes!

Also, perhaps you are eating wheat for dinner? You may have Celiac's and not realize it. This happened to a friend of mine and the minute she cut that out it really helped her. :)

[Bella77]

well, I caved and had a bowl of granola when I got home, we were so busy chatting at lunch I did not eat anything. So maybe tomorrow I'll try again.

[pinkrosebud]

In hopes of relieving a digestive disorder (Embarassing, Unbeleivable Gas and Bloating after every meal, every day) I was fairly strict raw for about 7 months. I went off high raw during the holidays I suspect for emotional reasons. I was loving life for about 2 months and then the symptoms came back. So I decided to have raw breakfasts and lunches and snacks and just have healthy cooked dinners. My digestive disorder worsened and became unbearable. I have gone back to being extremely high raw. My stomach is thanking me. I think Maui Butterfly's explanation of enzyme depleated cooked food taking longer to digest and then putting quickly digested raw material on top of it creates a crazy situation inside our bodies. Yes being really high raw in the winter is difficult, but with my digestive issues I think it is the way I have to be. I can ocassionally go out for a nice dinner and have no problems, but I have to be selective. Also, when I went off raw I gained 10 lbs in 2 months so now I am trying to battle the bulge and my digestive disorder. It is my opinion that a little cooked food is fine if your body can handle it, but eating raw is optimal. Good luck and I hope you find a balance.

[maui_butterfly]

if your green smoothie tasted not-so-nice, just keep adding bananas until it does! :) and if your GS was chunky you can invest in a better blender, or just use softer greens (i use locally grown butter lettuce sometimes...). and of course run it longer and stir frequently. my $40 Oster blender made pretty good GS, just took more time & effort. now i have the coveted, VM, and, well, it rocks...

you caved, so what? i've caved! its all good, just get back on the horse! :)

and if the enzyme thing makes sense to you, try taking digestive enzymes (i know alissa sells some on this site that people swear by) with your cooked meal if you decide to eat some cooked foods. and try to postpone breakfast until later in the day. i always break my nighttime fast with an enzyme-loaded cocktail (like water with cucumber and ginger slices and a few lemons squeezed in) to help my body process out anything that's leftover, and then have breakfast a few hours later, like at 10 or 11. i think the longer you can give your body a break from digestion, particularly if you are healing some digestive issues, the better it does.

good luck!

[raven]

if there's a candida or parasite issue, the fruit will exacerate the problem. i'd suggest a colon cleanse and reducing the amount and type of fruit consumed.

[maui_butterfly]

on probiotic implants!

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=37602