hey lovely people

I'm on a raw food transition stage, but still understand I have a way to go and a lot of clearing to do! I am eating mostly raw fruit and veg as my diet, But eating some cooked veg and some other things like olives, homous etc...

I am trying to heal my poor digestion system... 'IBS'. i probably had candida so I am aware of not eating too much sugar and feel its effects. But since being mostly raw fruit doesn't really give me a problem now

BUT I was wondering and how much nuts/seeds/dried fruit are ok, especially when transitioning. I understand you shouldn't eat too much of them, but how do you know what nuts are good for you? should you always soak them?

And how much dried fruit? Or should I try and leave it out for a while.

I know it's up to me to listen to my body, but im on a learning journey with that! and was just wondering where other people are with this?

My energy is better from eating mostly raw, and I want to continue this way of eating for life... but my digestion is still poor and still have my IBS so I'm really wanting to push myself to really cleanse my insides! and get back to my full energy again, and a happy tummy!

Thank you for your thoughts

gems,

Hello! I would ask whether you tolerate nuts, seeds, and dried fruits generally. With IBS, because it covers a host of disorders, only you know whether small granular matter is good or bad for your digestive tract. Not every raw foodists even eats dried fruit, so I consider it optional, and the consumption of nuts is determined largely by how much fat one is permitting in one's diet. Some people don't soak their nuts, but it does make them softer and supposedly more digestible, so I usually do. I usually soak dried fruit, as well, just to soften it, unless it's a very soft date or something. Raw nut butters are an easy shortcut to getting some good fats without having to worry about whether one is chewing them down sufficiently well. Lastly, I am wondering whether you juice your raw veg, especially greens, because this can be a non-taxing way to get those healing nutrients into a struggling system.

Dried fruit can be really hard on your teeth, as it tends to stick to your teeth and this can cause decay. If you eat dried fruit, be sure to drink plenty of water, and then brush your teeth after your dried fruit meal.

Most nuts/seeds will put your omega-6/omega-3 ratio way out of balance. One good seed in terms of good omega-3 balance is hemp seeds.

The best thing for cleaning out your digestive tract is lots of fresh greens. Try eating an entire head of romaine lettuce, and see how your elimination changes.

whenever i eat dried fruits i hit the water-pik afterwards to blast out the sticky bits

more often then not i soak my dried seeds/nuts/fruits it gives them a whole nother taste and texture

try soaking a few nuts overnight and taste test them beside some unsoaked nuts and you will know what i mean

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

thank you so much for all this advice it will help a lot.

i am eating a lot of greens daily, but still struggling with elimination at times. this week my system feels very poor. sometimes when i eat nuts/seeds im fine and sometimes not. i think i should start soaking them.

thanks for the advice about the nut butters! i also have a ground flax seed mix i put in my green smoothies.

as i am at the begining stages of clearing out, maybe i should focus more on my veg and really limit my nuts, seeds, dried fruit... I am ok about cutting them down, I just want to make sure my body is getting everything it needs, but when my digestion is poor i dont think it really matters what i eat, everything feels a bit of a struggle, and maybe its not getting the nutrition efficiently from the nuts and seeds at this stage anyway.

thank you all for your help again!

Are you keeping track of what nuts/seeds you're eating when you're doing fine and which ones you're eating when you're not? If there's variation in your nut/seed consumption, you should still be able to identify the culprit by eating one type and monitoring your reaction.

Prana is correct about hemp seeds being good for Omega 3 to Omega 6 balance. Other nuts and seeds that have favorable Omega 3 to 6 profiles (i.e. between 4:1 and 1:4) include chia seeds, flax seeds which need to be ground,and walnuts).

thank you for the advice will take it on baord xx

How can people say we will feel good eating loads of dates? I mean, they're delicious and all but even with all that fiber they are still very sweet!