Confused about raw foods and food combining...

[Katterin]

Hi everyone,

I went on a detox programme for a week about a month ago, dropped about 14lbs and felt better than ever. They also told me I was lactose intolerant so I have cut out cow/goat produce but I can eat sheep products.

Since I came back I have really made the effort to stay as raw as possible, only eating a very small portion of chicken/fish, and not a great deal of grains due to the lactose intolerance and milk used as a bulking in agent in nearly everything.

At the beginning I stayed really slim, but have now found that my my stomach is getting more bloated and prominant, probably due to bloating and the fact that my bowel movements have slowed right down. I am trying to cut down nuts and seeds, and fruit to see if it helps. I have just bought a vitamix and dehydrator so trying to incorporate green smoothies but have not yet got a decent juicer.

I have been following recipes from Kate Wood, Shazzie, and Ani Phyo, but most of these are quite nut dense recipes which I think is adding to the problem. I have also just picked up a few books from Natalia Rose regarding her detox diet and food combining principles.

To me, her principles sound fair enough but difficult to practice. Being lactose intolerant I cant just eat a wholemeal cookie or find half of her ingrediants as im based in the UK. What I have noticed is that the different books seem to conflict with recipe creations i.e. - ani phyo has lots of desserts that the recipes completely go against Natalia Roses's food combining principles.

So I would like to know whats your take on all this? Does anyone have any advice on the above or my current situation?

Many thanks

Katterin

[reina80]

I had the opposite problem. On an SAD diet, I was constantly bloated. Chicken especially did this to me, my body just had a hard time digesting it. Now, 100% raw, I am never bloated and my digestion is so much better. Maybe cutting down the fruit isn't the answer? I am sure someone else will have a better answer but that's just my experience.

[sport]

Food combining principals work well and make your digestion work better and make you feel better but as you say they are hard to achieve and it will not be an overnight thing. Some do not follow it at all.
I think that everyone here will advise you to give up the animal products. They cause most problems.
Why are you cutting down on fruit. That is the most easily digested food on the planet.
I think that those recipes that are nut dense are for occasional use only and should be viewed as a treat.

[Katterin]

I was thinking of cutting down on fruit intake due to Candida which could also be a reason for bloating.

Thank you for your replies

[Bananna]

I don't know much about food combining philosophies but I will say that once I had a coconut oil based fudge and then ate a bunch of canteloupe soon after that and I felt sick for the rest of the day.

I heard someone else say that high fruit is fine, and high fat is fine...where people have trouble is when having high fruit and high fat meals/days/diets...I am not sure which he was referring to, but he said he can flip back and forth from high fat to high fruit no problem...but as soon as he tries to do both, it doesn't work out too well.

For me...my meals tend to be one or the other, so I haven't concluded that for sure...except for that time with the fudge and canteloupe. :)

[RawMark]

Raw food combines pretty well, I find. It's the cooked stuff that seems to settle in for the long haul. Mixing meat and fruit is the worst. You might also want to try adding good quality salt to your savoury meals, to aid digestion. I'll caution you to not cut too much out from your diet. You don't want malnutrition (like I once had).

[modernmonkey]

I think the answer is that you follow a very simple raw diet to begin with.

Stick to raw fruit, veg, leafy greens and a small amount protein in the form of avocados, nuts or seeds (no more than what fits in the hand) daily and things should work out.

I don't think the fruit is the cause of the candida. A high fruit/high fat diet is a recipe for disaster and most probably the cause. Yes, you could switch to low fruit/high fat but that will tax your body even more. High fruit/low fat is a better option.

On a simple raw diet there is less issue with food combining because fat will not interfere because it is confined to once a day at dinnertime. It will also give you the opportunity to home in on any foods that that do have combination issues for you. I learned early on that, for me, melons and pineapple do not go well with ANYTHING else. If you never have more than 3 foods at a time, you will be much quicker finding out what works best for you. These raw gourmet recipes have terrible ingredients. 7 or 8 different foods, all fat or salt based with virtually no nutritional qualities.

[Katterin]

I have been thinking that maybe the books arent so good... Ive just sent alot of money on them :(

Does anyone have any good recipes that they can recommend for simple meals? The problem is I get bored really easily and thats why I like making all the wierd and wonderful recipes in these books.

Thank you for all the help, it is much appreciated. I'm thinking of getting a good juicer and doing a juice a day may help with digesting too.

[green goddess]

I've been enjoying simpler foods now. When I come across a relatively complex raw recipe, I'm a little turned off by the complexity. Especially, funnily enough, if onions or other pungent foods are involved. Breakfasts are often simply blended melon smoothies (sometimes with some cucumber added), and I now love 2-ingredient green smoothies.

I definitely feel a difference between eating a smorgasbord of raw foods versus simple, one to three ingredient meals. It feels like there's less digestion going on, and no bloating.

Here's a simple recipe I've been making lately, if it helps:

-make a pudding of a couple of bananas and soaked dates
-pour over top of a half-dozen shredded apples (I use the grater blade of my food processor)
-enjoy!

Very filling, yummy, and the ingredients feel like they combine well. Happy raw-ing! :)

[reina80]

Don't feel like the books are a waste. When I am craving SAD food, a simple recipe isn't enough. When transitioning, making raw gourmet is the only way to make me feel like I'm not being deprived. Everyone is different and I do enjoy simple meals on a daily basis but raw gourmet is what I turn to when I find myself craving something...more. Also, those cookbooks, (I have no idea which ones you ordered) should have some simple raw recipes in them if they are worth their rawness.

[modernmonkey]

Yeah, I don't endorse gourmet raw but don't throw them out or give up. They will be so useful when you are entertaining or want a special evening of want something new down the line.

[bananaberrie]

To the OP, I have both a Ani Phyo and Natalie Rose's Raw Detox Diet book. I think that neither are a waste of money. I think where it might get confusing is that Natlie Rose's book is about detox and diet so food combining comes into play while you are "cleaning" yourself out and learning to listen to your body and finding out what works well with your body. For example I learned from the Detox Diet book that I have to make sure my stomach is totally empty before I put fresh fruit on it, otherwise major bloating happens...MAJOR.

Ani Phyo on the other hand is not so much talking about raw as a "diet" or "detox" but is just giving you some really yummy ideas on how to make foods that you love in a raw version. I think these recipes are great for the beginning of your raw journey but as you continue you will find what many people have already stated. As you grow in your raw food you will start to want simpler things, just a bowl of mangos instead of a complicated raw meal.

I think what reina80 said is right on. The recipes in the books are great for every now and then when you are bored or wanting something more, but on an everyday bases stick to lots of fruits and veggies with some nuts and seeds here and there. Oh, another thing when I first started raw I ate a lot of nuts and seeds, but now don't eat as many. I have found this to be very common for people starting on raw diets.

Good luck and welcome to RFT!

[dime]

1. Cut a bit on fiber in your diet and I'm pretty sure it will get better. At least in my experience, when I eat too much fiber it fills up the intestines, my stomach gets pretty huge and I become a gas-producing machine; when I cut some of it and drink more juice instead my stomach is flat.

2. Try to avoid those recipes, nuts are really hard to digest. You definitely don't want to mix them up with a bunch of other stuff and have it all sit and ferment in your stomach for five hours. Keep it as simple as possible. But if you enjoy cooking and making nice meals, then at least read first about proper food combining (so that you're aware of the problems that might come up if you mix this and that).

3. Do not cut on fruits, that's usually a bad idea.

[kaybee]

Hi--

I agree with sport--I think the first thing you should focus on is getting the meat and any other animal products out of your diet. These are going to interfere with your body's attempts to heal itself and with proper digestion. I wouldnt worry about the nuts so much until I got rid of the animal products and went for a while on a totally vegan diet. The meat/fish and any dairy that you are including are probably contributing to the constipation and acidifying your body. The meat really isnt necessary. (the china study is just one of many good resources that show this, and even the american dietetic association says that properly balanced vegan diets are adequate for all stages of life.)

Fruit is your friend. But I agree with what other people have said here about there being a bit of confusion about candida; some people say dont mix sugar and fat because thats the problematic combination that feeds candida. I think Alissa says to just eat what you want as long as its raw and the candida will go away, but if you think this isnt working, then i would consider the plan of having fruit or fat but not both.

I dont think either of your books is a waste, they both just have different purposes so you will probably end up looking to them for different things. personally i dont do recipes that require a lot of "special" ingredients because they are too hard to find where I live and they are EXPENSIVE! Maybe instead try to find a few simple "go to" ingredients that you really like and that are easily available. I LOVE LOVE LOVE dates and tahini, for example. you can also lighten up some dessert recipes by using dried fruit instead of nuts (like in a pie crust you could probably use dates processed with other dried fruit, or coconut instead of other nuts. Also you can use avocado to make creamy puddings or pie fillings, mixed with dates, bananas, coconut, cocoa powder, whatever.

I wouldnt worry so much about a juicer, especially since you have the vitamix! I rarely use my juicer as I find cleanup to be a hassle. Sure, its nice sometimes, but I would focus on the green smoothies for now, expecially since you have that awesome machine! (i wish i had one ;) )
You can also make your nuts and seeds more digestible by soaking and/or sprouting them first.

[RighteousYogini]

I think you should cut out the chicken, fish, and dairy, mainly because Alissa's whole promotion is a raw vegan diet.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Watch a diet for all reason and a diet for a new America DVD. I can promise you that you will have faith to a 100% plant food base. I use to love dairy and nobody could convince me that it wasn't good for me, when i went raw vegan, and i saw these dvd's it did the trick for me.

Let go animal base food and give a try to a 100% raw food.

It is confusing this journey, i can give you that, but once you do it, it will become clear and simple to you.

I recommend that you go with Alissa phylosophie and just eat. As for food combining, simply listen to your body, if you have gas, then watch out more the food combining. Typically, for me, when i eat an apple pie even there are nut etc.. i am fine. At first, I couldn't mix honey with banana, it leaded me to gas, but this is how my body responded. Don't worry about food combining for now, what you need to do, is to find a way to do this diet by being comfortable and feeling free and happy.

In time, you will make change on your own. At first, all i wanted was raw gourment food, now i want simplier food and more alive food.

I recommend that if you eat a single fruit, that you either wait long enough before eating something else or make sure you have digested the previous food before, or you will have gas because it will ferment. If you do a recipe and mix fruit with something else, if you are like me, you will be perfectly fine.

Watermelon, should be eaten alone BUT again, please don't get religious about it just now.

You will be fine and will do wonderful

All the best!

[rawererin]

I'm focusing on a high raw diet, but still have some cheese in my salads, and this is what I learned about food combining. (It has completely eliminated my bloating, helped a lot with digestion and elimination, and I feel much more comfortable after eating)

If you're going to eat cooked food:
Eat fruit alone, or only with greens (like in a smoothie)
Wait 30-45 min after eating fruits to eat another food group

Fleshes combine with all vegetables
Starches combine with all vegetables and avocados
Nuts/Seeds/Dried Fruits combine with all vegetables

Try not to mix the different groups with each other

NEVER mix fleshes (meat, cheese, protein) with starches (sweet potatoes, cooked starchy veggies, avocadoes, breads) because the digestive enzymes your body makes when you eat these neutralize each other and the meal will just sit in your stomach

Nut milks, sweeteners, cocoa powder, etc. is neutral (but try not to mix any milks with fruit for best results)

Hope that helps.

[ReneeH]

They also told me I was lactose intolerant so I have cut out cow/goat produce but I can eat sheep products.

Be careful listening to "THEM"... Because I don't think that "they" are Raw Vegan... IMHO...