i was talking to a colleague and friend of mine yesterday and we were discussing diet, and digestive health... (she's a hydro-colon therapist...for years...) .... she got to talking about how certain systems cannot tolerate much raw food... leading to more digestive problems than solutions... as well as talk about the blood type diet (such as that Os need to be big protein eaters, and avoid certain kinds of fruits/vegetables.)

having had problems myself... i'm leery of anything that might make me feel worse (i love raw and raw foods...i would not want to do myself a disservice in the midst of something that i believe truly nourishes me.)

---any thoughts about if certain sensitive systems might *not* do well with raw?
---blood type? anyone actually follow this while raw?

thank ya much!
c

when we speak of "Raw food" we are not being specific enough.

not being specific enough can lead to incorrect conclusions.

everyone should do well with raw, it is the birthright of all beings.

certainly there are digestive issues that occur during transition and digestive problems can occur with cooked, during dietary transition, and while raw.

But, we must be Specific when we speak of difficulty digesting food. saying Raw is simply too general.

and of course certain people may have specific sensitivities to certain raw foods such as the skin of figs or pesticides in raw foods, or reactions to latex in raw fruits, bitter aspects of greens, among many other things.

BUT generally speaking, are some people not suited for a Raw diet because of adaptations to cooked or problems with raw foods in general? not true imo.

Let me get this straight....heh...heh: One cannot tolerate the foods that are coming straight from nature....but they CAN tolerate the processed stuff that is derived from those raw foods? I think it's just a matter of what one becomes accustomed to. Get used to soda, and plain water tastes like crap...I suppose. Get used to eating hamburgers, and orange juice may give you sores and the runs. It's all relative.

-Saying that one is sensitive to 'raw foods' is a rather sweeping statement. It's like saying I'm allergic to 'chinese food' or 'Italian food'. There are 1000's of varieties...perhaps millions.....of the various fresh fruits and vegetables. Start from where you are 100% comfortable...and eat the fresh fruits and vegetables that you LOVE on an ever-increasing basis.

-Power & success to you!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Fresh is so right on about one thing.. LATEX.. smell your organic lettuce (romaine, green, etc...) many times you will smell latex all around the edges... I have seen this in organic markets and @ farmer's markets. keep your eyes open and your senses keen.

I know that blood type does not matter - the triathlete brendan brazier is type O, 90 % raw and vegan. The rest of his food is non-processed, etc. etc. Doctors told him he would not do well without meat and look how far he's gone

She is correct that raw foods can be stressing on digestion for people dealing with issues. It would be unfortunate to falsely believe otherwise. The simple thing is too just avoid those foods while remaining 100% raw if desired. Don't complicate it.

The blood type diet is just a guideline that may or not be considered. It works for some at certain stages of eating and is unneeded by others further along their level of eating choices. Again, the simple thing to do is just avoid the foods that cause trouble.

Depending on your troubles follow what allows you the least amount of discomfort. If juicing helps, juice, if raw veggies cause trouble, steam/juice or forego them till ready for them, etc. etc. I'd steer away from the blood type diet if going raw also, since the blood type is more for a mainstream eater.

great discussion... i agree guys.

i think certain foods just don't agree with certain bodies... though most are conditioned to think they do "fine"... on regular preservative laden food.

ive eaten clean and close enough to raw for so long now, i can feel it when if a food has lots of additives, and artificial crap...i avoid them all now as they make me feel so icky.

the blood type diet is here and there... i think there is some merit to it IF you can afford all the testing needed (its not so simple as to just what type...it has to do with the rh factor, giver, receiver...etc. .... i have a friend who ending up testing everything needed and ended up being "a perfect vegan candidate" even as a type O blood.) .... as with anything. i take bits and leave bits...it might be advantageous to try anything out... see if it helps (if you're having problems)....though i think the premises of the blood type deal was for weight loss...? so if one has no weight issue (most raw folks don't) then this would not even be worthwhile.

thanks again.

c

Sure, there is some need to readjust your digestive track to what you eat, just like if you start eating meat or beans and you never eat any: you'll feel bad in your stomach for some time, until the acidity and enzymes readjust. But for sure, that doesn't mean that raw foods are not for everybody, that just mean those people are not eating enough raw foods on a daily basis to be able to eat only raw foods the next day.
As far as the blood type stuff, pure BS. Sorry, I'm O, and I don't eat any special protein rich foods. I eat only fruits and veggies, and this for several years (3 and some), and I don't feel any need for extra protein rich food. Below a pic of me this summer, 30 years old, and it's pretty much the same than when I was 20... For me, there is no need for extra protein in my body. I prefer to eat amino acids than proteins...


Raw Fruit Festival
[www.raw-fruit-festival.net]
Health, Fitness and Fasting Retreats in Spain
[www.fit-in-nature.net]

yeah, blah blah blah. half my family is o-neg and still health-fully veg. that's such a crock of nonsense that business.

--any thoughts about if certain sensitive systems might *not* do well with raw?

Yeah. Some people have really screwed up their GI tracts on the low fiber SAD diet and they have GI distress and gas and stuff when they eat a fruit or a vegetable. These people need to slowly allow their bodies to adapt to more natural high fiber diets. But what fresh and robtt say is also true, some people are allergic to a lot of raw foods, they were born with defective immune systems and react strongly to lots of different raw plant proteins. These people will do better to identify their triggers and avoid them in the raw and sometimes even cooked state.

---blood type? anyone actually follow this while raw?

There is no substance behind this theory. The author claims there are problems with certain lectins (binding proteins important for cell recognition) in plant foods that bind with specific A or B antigens in blood and those with the specific antigen types should avoid those particular foods. But this is almost never true. Lectins do bind to blood antigens but the vast majority of them are not specific, i.e. they will bind to any blood antigen.

yes, all that has been said is right in line with what i feel as well... i'm happy with raw.

i don't feel particuarly well having the pro-protein foods i did when i was vegan...thats why i cut them out.

...made almond milk today. so lovely!

c

Why does everyone make such a fuss about Dr. D'Adamo's hypotheses? They haven't been empirically proven even by him, although he has given them a great deal of scientific attention. I supposedly am "unable" to digest buckwheat because I'm Type B. But I'm also Ukrainian. Buckwheat got us through the wars! All of them! This is just one example of many I have heard from people who attempted to follow "eating right for their type," and ended up with nutrient problems, to say nothing of repulsion to certain "permitted" foods. Maybe just eat whatever raw foods don't cause you an anaphalactic shock response, and you should be OK.

Another type O blood 6-year vegan. Flourishing health!

As far as digestion, I think food combining and mono meals benefit anyone, but that has little to do with their specific bodies and more to do with humans in general? I think....at least!

Hey guys,

I am new to this forum though not new to eating raw.

Well, relatively.
I started this past March after spending my first year here in Austria while
adjusting (my husband is Austrian and I moved here for him) and having serious
hospitalization-inducing digestive problems.

Eastern European food isn't exactly cut out for a sensitive all my life tummy
sufferer like me. :-)

Anyway, it helped me A LOT and I've been feeling great and as a side benefit have
lost quite a bit of weight.

I am wondering though - how does one go about combining these blood type eating methods (I prefer this over diet!) with raw to reach maximum health - to each his own I mean?

I have a friend who eats based on her body temp. I know that sounds crazy but she says she runs cold therefor needs to eat warm foods, or something like that.

She was flabergasted when she saw me recently and all the weight I lost. When I told her it was by accident - that I had to change my eating because NOTHING was working (doctor prescribed, health food store searches, google searches etc.. etc.. etc...) and the weight loss was by accident, she couldn't believe it.
In fact, she got all excited about my "diet" as she called it and wanted to know what I did. Grr...
That was/is beside the point as I am not on a diet. I eat for health, my health.

So what are your thoughts on this everyone?

warmest,
Christene
p.s I just found out I may have breast cancer on another entirely random awful note. So I am raging to get answers even more now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions on this.

www.christeneledoux.com
www.innsbruckexpats.com

I forgot to mention I also started to do food combining at the same time... i.e eating only fruit in the am, waiting sometime to eat a salad with almonds or something, not drinking while eating etc...

I'm not sure now which is making my tummy better (and colon - ew sorry, we won't go there) but I started both; raw and combining, at the same time.

In fact, my sister was so jealous when I visited America she went on about how she heard I was only eating raw fruits and veggies and how unhealthy that was blah blah blah.

To be honest, I don't preach how I live (nor look for respect or admiration) nor do I want to preached to. I think everyone finds what works for them and people who say this and that is a load of crap are well... I won't go there either.
You don't know someone else's body. The bottom line is what works for you may not work for another. But the nice thing about forums and talking to others is you get ideas (hopefully healthy ones!) and you experiment and find what works for you. At least that's how I came to my current situation.

Anyway, I am a meat eater but not often and no red and especially pork. I banned pork from my diet and let me tell you, banning pork in Austria is like going to Octoberfest and complaining about all the drunks!


Christene

www.christeneledoux.com
www.innsbruckexpats.com

If you want to eat the best diet to ward off cancers, don't feed it meat and/or dairy and eggs.....

Take care.