Please help me with my bloating!

[Clare]

Hi friends,

I've been raw three months and mostly it has gone very well. I have tons of energy and feel wonderful except for my tummy bloating. The odd thing is that I have lost 5 lbs (hooray!) so now I weigh 136 at 5'9" and would love to lose 5 more to get back to my early 20s weight (but I'm happy either way). So, I'm relatively slim but now my tummy is bigger than before I lost the 5 lbs! I seriously look pregnant and can't even suck it all in.

The bloating really started just a couple weeks ago. I started my cycle around then too (so I'm not pg) but usually after the first few days any mild bloating is totally gone. I also have some pain on and off in the left ovary area. Just as a test I fasted today until dinner and the bloating was still there!

My diet in the past two weeks has started to include sprouts (mung and spicy mix and lentil) and way more greens, though I have always consumed at least one huge dark green salad per day throughout my life. I am suspecting the sprouts after digging through the archives for bloating info. Other than that I eat a good variety of fruit and veg and some good fat every day. I have not yet tried any raw grain things or dried food as I don't have a dehydrator and am not sure those are good for me.

Oh and I should mention that my bowels are working better than ever, from being constipated before raw to going at least 2x/day now. I credit green smoothies most with that...

[Clare]

oops, I though I was posting this in the Raw Living forum...I will repost there eventually if none of you gardeners have any ideas :-)

[Arky]

Yes, the beansprouts may be a significant contributor to your symptoms, as you've noted. If you've read those threads, then I'm sure you'll give some suitable enzyme capsules a try, to see if this leads to some abatement of your symptoms.

Another thing to check is your hydrochloric acid levels. If you're putting your digestion under a little too much duress, in one way or another (not ensalivating each mouthful of your green smoothies, for example), then either the pancreas or the hydrochloric acid (or both) have to work harder and too much duress may lead to fermentation in the bowel, as incompletely digested food makes it's way along. Look for undigested food in your stools. Hopefully, this isn't the cause of your symptoms; it's probably just the beansprouts, but nonetheless, do please take this second possibility seriously and keep an eye on what is exiting your body because although it's not the most enjoyable pastime, it can be very revealing. In general, it's likely to be either an enzyme or an acid issue.

All the best, and let us know how you get on with either temporarily removing beansprouts from your diet or (preferably!) trying some suitable enzymes. I really like beansprouts and wouldn't remove them from my diet without investigating an alternative solution to enable me to keep eating them.


J.

[Clare]

Thanks J.!

I have a huge bottle of pancreatin that is so old I'm not sure if it works :-) but I do still take a couple now and then. I needed the reminding about CHEWING. Oh my goodness, I wolf my food - I feel like I have hardly any time to eat with my toddlers beating on the house or each other the minute I'm not looking! The solution is to take my time chewing smoothies (portable) when they are awake and save the big salads for naptime.

Yes, I have seen pieces of tomatoes and carrots and seeds coming out so that should tell me to chew. For now I will back down on the bean sprouts and spend way more time chewing...

btw, I saw your post about Max Gerson and carrots. I am one of his great-granddaughters :-) so I have always eaten fairly well but not so much raw. Interestingly, he did not get good results at all with sprouts on his therapy. He did experiment with them on patients for awhile though...as he did with other things like sex hormones (bad idea) and flax oil.

[Clare]

What are your thoughts on sprouted grains like in Essene bread? I noticed, J., that you wrote about starches (vs fruit or fat) as a calorie source. I really respect your thoughts after reading many of your messages in the archives and realizing that you have studied the books that I have studied and probably many more.

I can't think of good practical RAW sources of starch other than sprouted buckwheat and the rest of the grains, because you just can't get enough calories from starchy raw veg. Sometimes I feel so confused about all this that I just have to laugh and remind myself that my body is only temporary anyway!

[Arky]

Hey, Clare, that's great, you being a great granddaughter of Dr. Gerson! I'm honoured! :)

Regarding the starches, yes, it is a matter of degree how much calorific value one attempts to obtain from them. I didn't mean to imply in my other posts that starches are adequate entirely on their own, my point was simply that they are an oft-overlooked means of reducing the reliance upon fruit and fat somewhat, that's all. As I mentioned in a long post in the archives, there is a calorie paradox involved with raw foods that, it is possible, and not unreasonable, to argue, makes 100% raw less than 100% practical. That being said, provided one only seeks to include them in moderate amounts, I see no problem with including sprouted grains etc. in the diet. Yes, there are many critics of grains, and certainly consuming too many grains in the diet can be seen to be bad for calcium metabolism - due to phytic acid issues etc. (and, of course, this is one criticism that has been leveled at Nathan Pritikin, although his diet has worked seeming-miracles in other respects, which many of his critics seem to unfairly underplay). But, in moderation? Well, I personally see no problem with them and they can be very nutritious. My point here is that there are pros and cons to almost any food on the planet, no matter how nutritious it might be. Additionally, the more one backs oneself into a corner by adopting (or taking emotional/psychological refuge in?) rigid dietary idealism, the more one must face the facts that this (paradoxically) will involve compromises; the more one shackles oneself, the more one looks for keys to cope with it. You can't have your cake and eat it, in this world, even if it's raw! :)

Personally, I eat some fruit, some sprouted foods (various grains, lentils, beans etc.), some root vegetables, lots of leafy vegetables, and some nuts and seeds, on a daily basis.

Do I believe 100% raw is ideal? The answer to that is in the aforementioned archived post ;) (just do a Title search for 'Shivananda'). Incidentally, I do still concur with 95% of what I wrote there 2 years ago (with a couple of exceptions), but I would have added more, knowing what I know now.

For those that do believe 100% raw is ideal, and, perhaps, thrive on it, long-term, and without harnessing it for psychological or emotional purposes (which is a potential 'control' trap), that's great, and more power to them.


J.

[Arky]

Yes, I have seen pieces of tomatoes and carrots and seeds coming out so that should tell me to chew.

Hmmm...yes, but I'd still consider getting your HCL levels checked! (been there myself).




Interestingly, he did not get good results at all with sprouts on his therapy.

Yes, that is interesting, although Max's efforts were focused primarily on cancer cases. Personally, I still feel sprouted foods have much to offer, in a broader nutritional sense, and have been a part of many traditional diets. Again, that word rears its head: 'moderation'! :D I don't think Charlotte has raised any objections to eating sprouts, has she?


Interesting discussion!


J.

[Clare]

I'm not sure about sprout objections, but she doesn't seem to ever eat them. I know she doesn't eat nuts but at holidays she was willing to eat something with seeds in it. She also does not think that legumes make good food (since her father taught that) but sometimes puts peas or lentils into the soup. She uses dairy protein which I have learned that I cannot do, even raw, because I have a love/addiction for dairy and acne reactions. She is very strict about salt so when we lived in CA I would sneak salt in a baggie to family dinners.

I know what you're saying about harnessing that 100% for psychological purposes :-) and I can use all of the control help I can get sometimes. I did 100% raw for lent (not vegan, though) and 100% raw is really easier for me than a little bit less in terms of temptations to overeat.

I think that many in the Gerson circle certainly have a vegan mentality. Howard describes the therapy as vegan, which is really not fair. I mean, dessicated bovine liver (ideally juice but no longer clean enough), porcine thyroid, nonfat cow's yogurt...those are not vegan!

How did you test your HCL and is that something that you can improve without having to take betaine HCL forever?

[veganman]

Hi Clare!

I agree with Arky to give enzymes a try, especially ones with high amylase and alpha galactosidase.

Also...probiotics might be helpful.

Most pancreatin is animal-based. Plant based enzymes tend to be most helpful.

Enjoy!

[iaborn42]

Arky, I would like to read your old archived post how do I find it and I would also like you to email me so I can ask you something.