I have no idea how it got started last night, but my diet came up in conversation as I was making dinner for the family yesterday. I guess there was some pressure involved to eat like everyone else, so I did.

Shrimp scampi was what I made for them. I sat down and had a small salad bowl of it. This was my first non raw food in maybe 4.5 weeks. Now here I am about 13 hours later feeling like I just went through a massive food poisoning. I am so miserable, and it was a horrible and rough night.

I feel like I went 9 rounds with Mike Tyson, I'm just so beat up inside, the physical symptoms could fill a book the size of War and Peace.

I'm going to journal a bit in my records about this, but the most important thing is to get this stuff out of my system.

Can I get some advice on that?

I'm traveling to the tropics tomorrow and I'm somewhat nervous about the flight. I cannot take any food with me there or back. Airlines have rules about agriculture restrictions.

Any advice on that? Traveling?

I'm not sure if I should try to flush myself with simple plain water or something else. I'm trying to listen to my body and what it needs, but I'm just not getting a message that's clear.

I think everyone in the house learned something important here, and I'm paying dearly for it now. It's incredible the reactions I had to that small amount of for what everyone else is common everyday food.

Every organ inside of me is freaking out, I'm not sure what to do. I'm well enough I can force myself to the gym. I'm thinking a sauna and a rest in the hot tub might help also.

Any ideas? Thanks a lot if you have something to try.

first off id say .. quit beating yourself up emothionally by stressing out about it so much .. yer going on vacaction right?

id start today by drinking lots of water .. eat lots of ripe bananas/oranges/apples and some nice salad for dinner with non-fat or low fat dressing ... before teh flight id eat as much bananas and other fruit (dont mix your fruit with any fat (nuts and seeds) so you dont get any gas flying) and when you get where you are going .. yea ..take a hot tub .. and a sauna .. and get out in the sun ... woo hoo yer in the tropics ! go find some free fruit !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I'm in the air tomorrow for about 12 hours or so. Late December I did this same flight and ate the breakfast burrito (bleck) on the flight. When we got to our hotel I was sitting on the lanai and noticed a huge lump in my calf, I had gotten deep vein thrombosis from the salt in the food, it caused some sort of pooling in the calf muscles. Took about three days to heal and disappear, very weird.

I guess that can be pretty dangerous I found out later.

I am taking my juicer with me. This will be my first traveling since I changed my diet, so it will be interesting to see how things go with restaurants/menus. We are staying in a regular house, so I can do some grocery shopping and fix things on my own.

I'm going to hit my system with a lot of water, head to the gym, and then come home to eat. I normally go once a day, but with this, I think I really need to move my body to get it moving so I'm going again tonight after dinner.

I think because everyone can literally see the effect of the reaction it jolted them and we won't have this problem again.

I couldn't open my eyes this morning very well, they were swollen shut, my skin was covered in hives; my hands were twice the normal size-stuff like this.

Salt seems to affect my extremities hard, I had to wear sandals while taking the kids to school, I couldn't get my shoes on. The water is helping a lot. My body is super stiff.

I'd imagine after some more time passing by, this change will become everyday to those around me, I think we've just hit a rough patch and have all learned something important. It is very difficult for others to accept.

This is not just some diet you go on for 2 weeks and then leave behind.

It's for keeps.

I'll load up tomorrow before we fly out, that is some good ideas, thanks Jodi.

Wow, so sorry for what you're going through.

First of all, what airline will not allow you to bring a snack on board with you? Ive brought food on every flight I've ever taken... I had a 12 hour flight from Los Angeles to Taipei and I brought an entire case of Lara Bars (mostly raw, not sure if they are 100% though) with me. On domestic flights I usually bring a banana or two. No one has ever said anything to me? I don't think it is against the rules, I've seen a lot of parents with special snacks for their kids and what not too.

Second of all- What was your diet like before raw? I do wonder, based on your reaction to the shrimp scampi- if you are gluten intolerant? I am gluten and soy intolerant and I never even knew it until I began giving them up. I SHOULD have known because I was constantly sick but at the time it felt normal to me. So if you'd never been gluten free, and then you went raw for a month and then ate a pasta dinner, it makes sense that the horrible reaction you are feeling could be from the gluten.

I assume you want to stay raw and not eat gluten again, but I just thought I'd point that out.

I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Hawaiian air has agriculture rules. Fruits and plants are banned, huge fines if you have any, they have extra scanners and security you have to send your bags thru. I could take wrapped protein bars, but no raw fruit/vegetables in my bag. You have to sign waivers before landing even.

My diet before was anything and everything, it's a long story, but I took a drug called ciprofloxin to kill what my doctor thought was a UTI. I'd been sick for about 5 months prior to this, but after the treatment is when everything changed.

I'm signed up for some RAST tests and a really important one called MTHFR that I'll be taking next month. A RAST test is an allergy test, food allergies.

MTHFR is more complicated, but for those out there that are research hounds, put it in your notes to study up on. This is a huge source of problems and they estimate about 60% of the population has it in one form or another.

I just happened to run across a doctor that is a specialist in this field and requires this test to rule out things and make adjustments.

My naturopath believes I'm gluten intolerant also and advised me to go refined/preservative free and no dairy. I did that and have experimented with very low amounts of them here and there after I was clear for a while. I remember trying about two tablespoons of cottage cheese for example. Instant stomach cramps.

I think I'm okay with soy, I've tried soy milk and it's not too bad, but not as comfortable or clear as say a glass of orange juice. There is a slight reaction to it, and I'd rather just not have any honestly, I really don't need it for anything, but I know it won't lay me flat on the floor if I have some.

I've pretty much been running an elimination diet old school, and thru this found out that my body is now a vegan body for it's best state and functioning.

On raw foods I do wonderful, have a ton of energy and so many benefits, but the very second I start goofing off with processed anything, I'm down for the count with negative reactions.

I wonder in the back of my mind, "was my body always like this or did something change?" I'll never know.

I did not choose this diet or these foods from an ethical or moral reason, I ended up here because it's the only foods that I feel well on now.

I don't feel like I was ripped off or set apart though, I'm just glad to know what it feels like to be well *all of the time* as long as I stick to these foods.

That alone is a revelation with some serious power.

I think I just cleaned house and there is no going back now. I just need to learn to manage it right now.

Soy is not something you want to put in your body, trust me. Even if you seem okay with it. Processed soy milk is not a healthy food.

On my last flight from New Zealand to the US, Air New Zealand has a raw vegetarian meal choice!!! AMAZING! That doesn't help you for tomorrow, because you have to order it in advance, but it's great to know that some airlines will have raw as an option.

I have flown a lot and have found that I can bring food on planes, including fruit, but liquids are not okay. The catch is that some countries do not allow you to bring fruit into their country. I used to live in Hawaii and brought fruit on planes there too, BUT did not bring it off of the plane. (Maybe they have imposed stricter rules where they check you for fruit before you get on the plane now? I'm not aware of that.) What I mean is, in my experience, you can bring it on the plane and eat it on the plane, but if you don't eat the fruit in flight, in some countries and Hawaii, you'll need to dispose of fruit before going through their customs check where the sniffer dogs are going around sniffing for produce, drugs, smuggled animals, etc. The issue with bringing fruit in is that it could possible have insect eggs like medfly, which could be disasterous for a crop. So, take it on and eat it in flight or leave it on the plane. (Also, be prepared at customs to have to open your backpack or bag that had the fruit in it. The dogs can still smell where you had it even if it isn't there any more and the handler will ask you if you had fruit there recently.)


My favorite raw vegan

I'm pretty sure I can't take it on the plane, they scan your bags before entering, and I'm always the catch 22 / Murphy's law girl, honest. No way am I even going to attempt getting a banana in an airport-I'd end up in a You Tube video or CNN report. (this is meant in humor, okay)

Cora, take it slow on me, pray for me or something...I weep when I pour milk for my family now, one step at a time, I'm the only one going raw around here-I still cook for them, but a better quality.

(now cmon guys, I'm trying, I see the eye rolling out there..) but really, it's an extreme change.)

Getting ready for my second gym visit today, I'm really much better. Water did the trick along with a massive amount of oranges.

Aloha!

theres no eye rolling, it can be a hard transition, many of us understand, and will support you in your ongoing battle to become healthier <3 *huggles*

Oh I totally understand, but to me, someone saying they are going to eat soy is like them saying they are going to drink a bottle of poison. I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't try to stop them. I am still healing the damage that 3 years of being a soy eating vegetarian did to my body.

It's your body, but I will never stop talking down about soy. It's marketed as a "health food" so much in the mainstream media and that is such a blatant disgusting LIE that I have to counter it.

I will pray for you though, of course. <3