Bad stomach and eating raw

[rosvil]

Hi everyone. :)

I just went raw about two weeks ago and starting to feel the detox now but all in all it's going well for me. My soon-to-be husband on the other hand has some problems adjusting (and he really wants to, he looks at my new raw cuisine with envy while eating boiled white rice and baked beans). The problem is intestinal. He has a really hard time digesting anything raw, even when I make banana & avocado smoothies for him, his stomach rises in anger over the work overload. His stomach would rather have him on white bread and boiled fish for the rest of his life:( .

He's sick and in pain but he knows he's not going to get better by treating the symptoms and believes that eating raw can make him better. We just need to know how to introduce it to his stomach the right way.

Does anyone have experience with dealing with raw on a really sensitive stomach?

[Bananna]

From what I've read around here, maybe just eat one food at a time, not mixed with anything else. And ofcourse, the portion should be puny....and gradually work your way up to more.

I find it rather interesting that he can't eat even a ripe banana?

[BeadedGraces]

Hello! I started with juices...I have really sensative stomach too...but for the opposite reason...so maybe my insight really has nothing to do with your question! :p One at a time might actually work. Best wishes to you!!!

[Marin Mom]

A good digestive enzyme from the Health Food Store should help. Also right food combinations ie: not eating fruit at the same meal with veggies/proteins.

[FloridaPatty]

David Wolfe has a new theory on why the stomach produces acid - not for meat but for vegetables. The acid breaks down the cellulouse so the plant nutrients can be digested. He could have very low to none stomach acid. Try enzymes and acid.

There was a way you can home test for stomach acid. Something about sore points on the body. I don't have it at hand.

[juliebove]

I have gastropareis. That's damage to the vagus nerve of the stomach, causing paralysis. What that means is I don't digest fiber very well and if I take in too much of it, it comes out violently, from one end or the other or sometimes both.

I had to learn what I could and couldn't eat. No longer can I eat my favorite meal, a huge salad. I can't even eat a small salad every day. But I can eat a small salad 2 or 3 times a week. I can't eat a whole huge tomato. I can eat some grape tomatoes though or a couple of Roma tomatoes. I can eat seeds and nuts in reasonable quantities. Now I haven't tried to see what might happen if I made a pig of myself on seeds or nut, but I'm also not going to try.

I seem to do okay with more processed things like the onion bread. I don't know about smoothies. I've never liked them so I haven't tried any raw ones. Juices are easy to digest, but I have diabetes so I avoid them.

He may not be able to eat 100% raw, but there are bound to be some things he can work into his diet that are raw.

[Apple^^]

I actually started to do raw, not because I wanted to but because I had to.
My digestion got so bad that even rice and cooked veggies ( which I thought were easiest to digest at that time) gave me an upset stomach and I basically couldn't eat anything. Then I started the lemonade diet thinking it would help and I found out about raw and tried it right away.

I tried eating fruits for breakfast(a grapefruit), salad for lunch ( a simple one like baby spinach with just lemon for dressing) and cooked veggies for dinner (like sweetpotatoes, corn and greens) That week I tried it, I never felt better. In fact on my 3~4 th day or so, I realized that I did not want to eat the cooked meal at dinner coz I knew how 'heavy' it felt on my digestion.

Starting with mainly fruits would be a good idea, as it really is easy on digestion.I agree with Banana above, start eating small and only ONE thing at a time (I don't know much about food combining but I do know this helps a lot - I cannot make a lot of raw recipes even now because I find them hard to digest still :( )

Raw food heals as I found that I could even digest bananas within a few days of being raw.
Then I slowly increased raw greens and realized I can handle that too.
I think he just needs to stay away from the ones harder to digest in general like bananas, RAW bell peppers, carrots, corn, broccoli though it may differ from person to person.

[rosvil]

Thanks for all the input. I'm going to have him read all of this. I hope he'll manage so we can eat the same food again, don't want this to turn out like my last relationship where he only ate meat (even said at the fast food restaurant "no grass" in his burger...). But we'll start slowly, just as you're all suggesting...

Has anyone noticed that the symptoms have disapeared or do has everyone had to adjust to the things you cannot eat?

[chilove]

Hi there,

You really need to get a wonderful book about healing stomach issues on a raw vegan diet. It is called "Self Healing Colitis and Crohn's" by Dave Klein. Even though it mentions colitis and crohns in the title it is very applicable to any stomach or bowel issues. I used the approach it suggested to heal from really bad irritable bowel syndrome when I fiirt went raw. Check out the website at http://www.colitis-crohns.com/testimonials.html.

Basically, you want to keep him on fruit for awhile until his stomach and intestines heal, which shouldn't be too long. You want to avoid fats and other hard to digest things like tough greens, complicated recipes and dehydrated foods.

He is going to be feeling SOOOOOO much better if he follows this program.

Order the book, it is great!

Blessings,

Audrey

[rosvil]

Thanks so much. I actually saw that site but I thought that it might not be applicable since he didn't have any of those conditions but then I guess we'll try it. Thanks...:)

[rawfoodistdavid]

When you make simple meals you start to pin-point foods you an currently handle and those you can't. But is it really the food in your hubby's case?

I had a big glass of red wine the other day after having no booze for several months. My IBS symptoms came back from nowhere after being clear for months.

Something similar happened when I drank three coffees in a day a while ago (I'm still on the caffeine but cut back to no more than a couple of teas a day)

[rosvil]

Yes, I think it's the food (he quit the caffeine just two weeks ago) but it's just a bit strange what he can't handle. Sometimes he thinks it's the amount of food and not the food itself whereas sometimes it's definitely the food. He's off flour and sugar for a start. To see if it gets better. But I gues that's what we'll have to do, take one food at a time. I just hope he's not going to get discouraged since it seems there's a lot he can't handle...

[raw_danceruk]

I would second David Klein book for sure

myself now healed of crohns just over a year, banana and avo smoothie would make me feel pretty rough

To start with I couldnt manage many raw fruits at all, take it slow, identify what is creating the worst reactions. Mono eat if needed, take it easy.

I ate lots of juicy fruits to start with, simple salads.. worked my way upto more.

It will pass and get easier promise :o