I'm doing Raw for one month now, this forum has helped alot and I love reading all the posts. I think Im older than most of you,LOL,I have been battling an Autoimmune disease for the past 10 years, looking for answers in food and not "accepting medicines". In my heart I Know that "raw" is wonderful> I've been suffering though the past few days, my IBS has kicked in again. This is one of the symptoms of the disease. Any way after talking to an Accupunturist/Chinese herbalist they feel that some people need to have warming foods Ie. soup/Tea, my body type is cold/low blood pressure.
I guess my question is have any of you come across this with your own journeys, or have you heard of others that have been able to reach optimum health with "Raw" and not further irritate their digestive systems?
I truly appreciate any comments on this, as I really have been trying, picked up Victorias book the other day 12 steps to Raw, it was an easy and good read.

I have and recommend Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's by David Klein. This book will explain how to heal IBS with diet and lifestyle changes alone.

Here are Dave's websites:

[www.colitis-crohns.com]
[www.selfhealingempowerment.com]

Hi gonenuts, I highly recommend this book: Healing with Whole Foods by Pitchford. In it you can find some recommendations for raw warming foods. 'Warming' in Chinese medicine does not necessarily mean 'cooked'. Cherries (raw), for example are a warming raw food.


Hope this helps. i am very interested in other responses.
nibs

I think I have a similar constitution to you. I have also been told by Chinese herbalist that I have a cold constitution and always have low blood pressure, too.
What works for me is warm herbal tea in the morning. I need this esp. in winter to keep my digestion functioning properly.
Raw green soups seem to work better for me than salads, as they are easier to digest. There are lots of great recipes for them here. Blending and juicing are key, i think.

Thank You all so much, I'm going on the website now. I really believe in being Raw, and hope my body goes along with it.
Jen

My IBS went away rather rapidly (within 6-12 months) by steadily increasing my lifetime intake of fresh, raw plant foods. Initially, large amounts of dark leafy greens. Later, a lighter simpler diet of fresh fruits and fruit juices. Just my experiences.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Everyones IBS or digestive troubles are highly individual. Some of the advice in the books mentioned should be taken with extreme consideration unless you truly know what you are dealing with. For example, IBS and colitis are not the same and should not be treated as such when trying raw foods. This is where David needs to update his book I feel.

i had ibs when i first started raw, it went away completely after 2 months 100% raw followed by the master cleanse and a colonic. totally gone. for good.

You could take some probiotics! New Chapter has a "sensitive colon support" formula.

[www.new-chapter.com]

Garden of Life has Primal Defense.
[www.gardenoflife.com]

The man who started that company cured himself of Crohn's.

Thank You again, I realize so much of this is individualized. I'm doing the probiotics as well, I'm thinking I was doing too much of the Gourmet(not proper food combining and overwhelming my system). I have always loved to cook so when I got the "Raw Cook books" so to speak, I've been using the food processor quite a bit. So for now I've pared back and I'm trying to heal first with just simple fruits and lettuces. It really is a treasure to receive feedback, especially when so many have suffered with different conditions.

Nuts and poor food combining are killer for my digestion.
Nuts honestly make me constipated for days everytime I eat them.
Seeds are a bit better.
But I try to stick to avocadoes and olives and oils, lots of greens (juiced and blended) and fruits alone. This seems to work for me.
I just get worried about not getting enough proten without nuts sometimes because I am pregnant, but I feel good, so I'm not going to worry about it.
I'll just be sure to take flax oil for my Omega 3's!