Fruit Belly

[Katka]

So, over the past few days I have noticed that I am developing a round, sphere-like belly that only sucking in can reign in. :o

Supposedly, as one online source has speculated, this is caused by the fermentation of fruit in the gut, thereby expanding the belly. ...how attractive....

Anyway, I've only been able to find hardly a trickle of information about this phenomenon online--anyone else experience it and know why it should exist and how/when it goes away?

(I may be making a false attribution to raw diet, too, but I don't know what else it could be.)

[Andre]

Could you tell us what fruit you're eating and what you're eating it with?

This may help with suggestions.

[tanishamarshall]

Not sure myself, I guess no one else is either... since there are no reply's.. Anyone out there???

[juliebove]

Well, I very rarely eat fruit. Like a few times a year. And I have a round belly. So I don't know.

[Katka]

Hmmmm.... I really wonder what it could be. I am eating bananas, apples, and pears--less so of some mango and dried fruit, at about 3 whole dried bananas a day. The apples and pears are throughout the day snacks (3-4 pieces a day) and the bananas normally go in a green smoothie (which include kale and sometimes mango or pear).

What's weird, is my pre-raw diet included almost this much fruit a day, with the exception of the dried fruit, that is.

I dunno, maybe its the dried whole bananas, if its the fruit at all. Or raw at all. But, how strange to suddenly appear!

Haha :) : I like your comment juliebove.

[GlimR]

Maybe the dried fruit...fresh raw fruit is the easiest to digest of all foods so I wouldn't think there would be a fermentation problem unless you are eating it with too many nuts or harder to digest foods, (at the same time).

[Rawmommie]

How long have you been eating raw? The first few weeks, many people experience bloating of the tummy and gas as their body adjusts. It goes away pretty quickly.

[belleadonna]

I eat tons of fruit and I don't have this problem. What else are you eating? You have to watch your food combining. I try to eat mono when it comes to fruit.

Always eat fruit before you eat other stuff because raw fruit digests very quickly. If you eat something else first and then dump fruit in after it, it will ferment because other foods take longer to digest and you are holding the fruit up.

Also, eat fresh bananas. Much better for you. If you are drinking alot of water with the dried fruits, it most likely will expand in your stomach.

Hope that made sense!! :)

[lambe]

like others have said, it's mostly dry-fruit that tends to create bloat-belly. i havent eaten dry fruit at all since ive gone raw (almost 4 weeks ago) & havent had this problem.

i do, however, eat TONS of bananas, apples, & oranges. i eat them by themselves usually to curb hunger between meals & i dont really balloon up. maybe it's yr body type, but i dont understand why bananas or apples especially would give you a bloat? for some reason, i would be wary of juicier fruits like mangos & peaches, et cetera.

:confused:

[tepiglet]

I agree with what the others said.
Fruit should ideally be eaten on its own,and it very well could be the
dried fruit that's the culprit.
Maybe taking digestive enzymes would help?
Although I recently read on Karen Knowler's site(she's a well known U.K
based raw food coach)therawfoodcoach.com,that she initially lost quite
a bit of weight after becoming raw,and then subsequently put weight
on, becoming what she referred to as a 'chubby'raw foodist,
and she traced it back to all the fruit she was eating.
She realised that although some raw foodists can eat copious amounts of fruit-
she did better on more greens and less fruit.
If you're interested in reading about Karen Knowler's comments on fruit,etc-
go to therawfoodcoach.com,and click on 'About Karen',
then click on 'Raw transformation photos'.
There is a wealth of raw information on that site.
Hope this helps.

[Katka]

Yes, this makes sense. I'm glad to hear no one else has issues with fresh fruit... what a bummer that would be and how counter to my personal instincts. And I think its a good idea to make sure I put fruit down my pipe first and chill out on the dried stuff (and maybe the nuts too: these are both sort of innovations in my new raw diet). I must say, though, I will be sad to cut out my dried bananas--maybe just every now and then, since I did buy 2 lbs of them. :) I keep on telling people how its like "eating candy" and maybe that's my first clue!

Hey, thanks for the link--she has some good recipes (I love it when I find good dehydrator-free ideas!). Its interesting to to see that raw, like any other diet, can be done well or done less well, with corresponding results.

Experience--and knowing what works best for the individual body--really makes the difference. Its just the beginning for me--almost 4 weeks pretty much raw, with more rawness as time has progressed--so we'll see what happens.

[tepiglet]

You're welcome for the link.
Glad it helped;Karen has a great site,doesn't she?
I've never had a problem with fresh fruit-and most people don't-but there
are always exceptions;every 'body' is different.
One more thought though-are you sure the dried bananas you bought
were raw?
I used to buy those dried banana chips a long time ago,but then subsequently
discovered,that they're often coated in sugar,full of sulfites-and occasionally
hydrogenated oils-and they're high temp dried.
The dried bananas used to make me kind of bloaty,so maybe they're the culprit?
Just a thought.
And btw,Alissa sells some great digestive enzymes-they helped me tremendously when I first attempted raw.

[lambe]

yes, i too have never found raw dried bananas. i didnt say anything when you mentioned it cos i know a lot of people on here aren't 100% raw, & dried bananas are hardly a naughty cooked food. i used to eat dried bananas tons, but the sugar theyre coated in really isnt good for my particular raw diet. now it eat chopped up bananas drizzled in honey when i need an especially sweet treat/dried-banana-like treat.

[belleadonna]

You don't have to give up the dried fruits or nuts. Just go easy on them. I eat a very small handful of dried fruits everyday. I only eats nuts maybe twice a week and then only a small handful too.
And do make sure that your dried fruits are unsulphured and raw. Organic is even better.

[tepiglet]

Luckily,I have the Excalibur 9-tray,so I feel very fortunate.
Although,I haven't used it in months,since I don't really
eat many dehydrated foods these days,for some reason.
But it's good to know,that if I feel the need for some yummy
dried papaya,mango,banana,or pineapple(these are my favourites,yum!)-
then I can make my own dried fruit,and not only save a ton of money(store
bought dried fruit can be very expensive-especially the organic stuff!)-
but I like the fact that I'm in control of what goes into my food.
That's one of the things that I like most about eating a raw-or a mostly raw diet-is that we are in control of what we make and eat,and aren't ingesting
all sorts of artificial colours,preservatives,and other weird additives and/or
frankenfoods.
And my kids like fresh fruit and especially the dried tropical fruits,like they're candy-they even like to snack on them at the movie theatre instead of the
sugary,artificial concession stand treats.
So,viva la fruit!:p
Sorry for being overexuberant-I just had some blueberries and am feeling
all energized.Woohoo!:D

[cayenne]

1 Killers for me are raw green fiber, bananas (especially when followed by other fresh fruits), dried fruits and nuts.

2 I have noticed that when I do low fat (and the fats only late afternoon after all other foods), that works much better, that way I can tolerate much and much more fruits than ever before on my high fat diet. The fats slow down my digestion too much.

3 I have also noticed that the bloating is considerably less when I take enough high sodium foods (juices) like chard, celery, carrots and beets. actually dandelion leaves are my favorite greens, because they digest so well with hardly any bloating. This sodium issue is also the cause of my intolerance for bananas, which are loaded with potassium. They give a very unfavorable sodium/potassium ratio, and it is known that too much potassium (compared to sodium) causes gas and bloating. I know in my case it is true.
(Sapoty Brook explains this very well in his "Eco-eating", don't know if you have heard of him)

4 A bad combination is acid fruit and sweet fruit combined, it does not work for me.

May be this gives some clues...

[tepiglet]

I know what you mean,Cayenne.
Drinking lots of green juice with celery and cucumber helps when
I'm feeling bloated/retaining water.

Eating lots of cucumber helps as well,since it's a natural diuretic/kidney
cleanser.

I tend to drink fresh grapefruit juice,and eat fruits until the afternoon,
since I tend to feel sluggish if I eat heavier foods earlier on.

I can't tolerate a lot of fat either-but then again,I had my gallbladder removed
several years ago,so that's the reason,more likely than not.

Any fats I do have,are eaten later in the afternoon/early evening,which works
better with my energy levels and digestion.

And I agree about mixing acid fruit with sweet fruit-some may be able to tolerate them together,but I have to eat them separately.

[Katka]

Its interesting to hear about fresh bananas (i.e., the potential for a sodium/potassium imbalance). Before now, I would never go for weeks eating 2 bananas a day, and am probably having less sodium that I am accustomed to. Maybe its good that I've been eating more chard recently, on account of its salty nature (at least it tastes salty).

And totally about the fat! Digestion is just way too slow and I've definitely had my moments of ingesting a large proportion of my day's fat in one sitting. This too, I've been abstaining from, for the most part. Nuts, fruit, dried stuff, fat = its all about moderation, it would seem.

I am feeling/and _looking_ way less bloaty today. Maybe my insides have turned a corner. ;)

(The dried bananas are raw, by the way--I work for a raw foods manufacturer and get them from there. But, otherwise, I think it would be pretty hard to know if they're raw or not. Geeze...any dried fruit bin or bag is always an epic source of mystery and a giant conundrum.)

[Gaijingirl]

Interesting that you should post this, as I'm experiencing something of the same thing. Though I've read that you can eat as much fruit as you like, I'm personally finding that fruit seems to be bloating up my lower abs and putting on fat (which is weird, because I'm on the thin side.) I'm therefore going into experimental mode, and will be focusing on greens (even "Ultimate Meal") and see what happens. (Per past experience, I found that I dropped weight like crazy on Atkins, so maybe it's just my bodytype--and perhaps yours--doesn't want/need those extra fructose carbs...?)

[belleadonna]

Veggies are great but if you are working out, there is no way that you can get enough calories from veggies to keep you going. And fat is not a good alternative. If you are ingesting alot of fat with the fruit that will make you gain weight because the fat slows up the sugar in your bloodstream. Keep track of your fat intake for a few days and you might be suprised at how much it is.

[zig_zag]

I'm sure it's been posted earlier on, but I haven't yet read through all the replies, so I'll just say quickly that if you are eating CANTELOUPE... there's a killer:p For me, anyway. I love my canteloupe, and find it to be one of the most filling fruits, BUT, it makes my stomach swell up like a BALLOON!:eek:

[missvitreous]

ZigZag: I'm pretty sure that melons are supposed to be eaten alone, according to the rules of food combining. Perhaps you could try eating cantalope alone?

The first time I had cacao with agave, it tasted great, and the second time yucky. And I felt weird after. But, always listen to your body. It will know what's right for it, even if our minds don't always.

[zig_zag]

Yeah, I've heard that too... And I do eat it alone!!!! I typically eat my fruits alone, as I find that combining fruits is far less filling surprisingly. I guess the worst bloating I got from canteloupe was this summer, when I was eating like... half a canteloupe to a whole canteloupe in one sitting, as a 'meal'... Very filling.

[Katka]

Yeah, that's whats hard, is being an athlete who can't fuel up just on salads. We need our muscle glycogen and just a bunch of greens won't cut it. And you're right: adding all that fat in isn't a great solution.

Fat is sort of a good crutch, though, for now: all week I've been totally raw (except for Siracha :D )--and it feels effortless--so having the tahini and mac nut butter in the fridge (in in my gut for 3 centuries) is ultimately a good thing.

[belleadonna]

Sure, once you get the raw thing down you can gradually cut back the fats and add more fruits. I lift weights and I do very low fat and lots of fruits and leafy greens. I like my salads too but I only use either 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and lemon or sometimes I just do lemon juice and garlic salt on my salad.
Dates are a great source of calories and no fat. They aren't really dried either. Get the fat and juicy Mehjool dates. Awesome flavor.

[Lightspirited1]

I eat fruit only in the morning (it seems to make me feel more energetic), and I eat some later in the day (esp. if I'm hungry and need a quick bite before a meal, which is generally a banana.). I just eat the fruit first, like was said earlier in this thread, then I do fine with a meal right after.

I tend to get a distended belly often on most every SAD meal (in the recent past), and not at all with FRESH fruit. The only dried fruit I've had since I went raw over 2 wks ago, are goji berries, and I do fine on them. And, I do recall feeling VERY bloated on even small amounts of dried fruit before I went raw. (I don't really eat dried fruit now though.)

I hope this helps... I agree that it may be the dried fruits (bananas).

Anyone try fresh banana cut up with a small amount of goji berries on top? I love it as a snack... It's pretty to look at too!!!:D Goji berries add a bit of chewy texture. I feel like a kid when I eat it....

[Lightspirited1]

Katka,

Like the others have said, we all are different. (Hence the many ways of doing Raw food ...) I think Alissa has one of the more sensible approaches that I've seen, and I researched a lot!

I can eat fresh bananas with no problem whatsoever, and yet others have a rough go with them.

Sounds like you're doing better....great! Keep up the good work!

[Katka]

Thanks! It does get better, actually. And I'm seeing how one eventually turns to a much more green and fruit based diet without all the extra goodies, but based on what works for the unique body. All the input really opens up the possibilities for how to work this.