Hi, I just started a mostly raw-foods diet a few days ago. I am just doing it for about a week, and then I am going back to a partial raw foods diet (raw foods during the day and a "regular" meal at night with my family--they will NOT do the raw foods thing). So this week I am limiting myself to raw fruits, veggies, nuts, and fruit juices, oh and salmon, which I don't know if it's raw or not but I wanted SOME contrast, you know! I have a hard time eating raw veggies because there are so few that I like (broccoli, cauliflower, and pea pods, not really fond of carrots), so in order to get my veggies I am allowing myself a salad at night with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which I can add a lot more raw veggies to and enjoy it.

Okay, so I thought this type of diet was supposed to make you feel BETTER, right? I have been taking vitamin B and iron supps., and still feel very tired throughout the day, and I have had headaches every single day. At first I thought maybe it was caffiene withdrawal (I don't have much caffiene anyway--just a little bit of chocolate), but should the headaches last this long? And of course the bloating and bellyaches from increased fiber. I am drinking more water, but I still don't know if I'm getting enough.

So any suggestions as to how to get more variety, and how to feel better, or does it just take time? TIA!

crowdreamer,

Your body is trying to adjust to healthier eating, but as long as you are adding more things with excess matter that must be ridded as waste(like salmon), your body cannot properly dispose of stored stuff from your fat and alimentary organs. This will result in feelings of achiness, tiredness,and headaches, all of which are detox symptoms.

I have found that it's important to go slowly, to cut out all animal products; which are generally toxifying, and to combine foods properly--some people can pile a bunch of fruits and nuts and vegetables together on a plate and eat that and be fine, but for most, that's hard on the digestion, leading to bloat and joint pain or headaches. Some people can eat all raw for the first few meals of the day, and switch to cooked in the evening and feel fine. Some can't. It all depends on how your system acculturates to this diet

It may take a good bit of computer time, but please scroll back through the last year's threads on this forum to find more information about how to be Raw. You will find lots and lots of threads with tons of useful information. Good luck!

it might be an idea to look at what kind of raw food you're eating... broccoli and cauliflower would probably give me a belly ache too...

smoothies and juices can be an excellent way of getting your veggies without having to chomp through a load of fibre

crowdreamer,

Odds are you are not eating enough fruit. Yesterday, this is what I ate:

2pm: 9 mangos
7pm: 2 galia melons, 2 pounds of red flame grapes, 1 romaine heart.

What also helps with digestion is to keep your meals as simple as possible. For example, my first meal was 9 mangos. I could get the same number of calories by eating 2 mango, 3 apples, 2 bananas, 2 oranges, 2 peaches, 2 nectarines, 3 oranges,... BUT, I would have a huge belly ache from the complexity of that meal.

You may not be able to eat 9 mangos like I can. My belly can stretch pretty big because I've been eating this way for a long time.

For you, an example of eating might be:

8am: 3 bananas
11am: 3 bananas
2pm: 3 mangos
5pm: 3 mangos
8pm: 1/2 head romaine lettuce and 2 medium tomatoes.

Just remember: on the raw diet, calories either come from fruit or fat(nuts, seeds, avocado, oil, nut butters). Fruit is the healthier option over fat. Eating some fat is OK, just don't make it the predominant calorie source. Also, a small volume of fat might look like its not much, but could actually dominate your caloric intake.

Okay, well the too much fat thing makes sense to me, and maybe even the animal products, although I thought salmon was supposed to be okay? Isn't that why the Eskimos eat raw seafood? But I can try to eat more fruits and less nuts, maybe that is the problem.

But what I don't understand is, it sounds like you guys are saying that more variety is not as good for you? I would think that if that's the case, I'd feel worse when I eat my old diet, because it had loads of variety, with carbs and fats and animal proteins and veggies etc. etc. So how does mixing the fruits and veggies and nuts turn out bad? Here is what I ate today:

1 banana for breakfast
One smoothie, with frozen strawberries and pineapple juice
Blueberries for lunch
Trail mix (nuts and raisins) for lunch --I know, the nuts were roasted
Salmon for a late afternoon snack (not much--1/4 of a can)
Salad with mixed greens, pine nuts, oil and vinegar for dinner
Smoothie just like the one above for dessert

So is it too much oil and nut fat? Should I add more fruits? Oh, and how do you add veggies to a smoothie without making it taste horrible?

BTW, I don't eat the same veggies every day--I have watermelon and cantaloupe and oranges and grapes, among other things.

Maybe this is all TMI, I just have a hard time finding any good stuff online about raw foods, and I don't know what to trust.

I don't think salmon is healthy because 1) it's taking another life when you don't have to 2) superior nutrition exists in plant-based food 3) animal-based foods typically have too much protein and fat and don't support energy/life.
I'm curious what you have in common with eskimoes besides eating salmon and/or why you base your decision to eat salmon on what eskimoes eat. Do they eat it out of a can, btw?


I would eat more simply, cut out that vinegar and oil, cut out dried fruit.....wait, you want to feel better; right? Because we can give different advice based on how you want to feel, like you can go slow at first. How fast do you want to cut out "bad" stuff?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2009 03:06AM by Utopian Life.

crowdreamer,

Your menu looks all right, but I wouldn't topload the day after fatty foods with another fruit smoothie. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but fruit seems to digest better in the earlier hours and/or on an empty stomach.

I make green smoothies by cutting them with a good amount of fruit, but only one kind, say, all bananas or all strawberries. Adding a nice juicy cucumber also helps--gives it a fresh taste. Most fruit goes OK with leafy greens.

Variety with cooked foods and variety with raw foods are two way different things. Stuff digests very slowly on cooked, it's a very arduous process, so it may not matter how many diverse cooked food groups you are consuming at one meal. Raw foods are ready-to-digest--they are enzymatically rich and fully hydrated. So things that aren't chemically compatible in digestion, like raw fruit sugar and raw fat, may cause digestive upset.


As for the Inuit[Eskimos], their diet is produce poor, which is the main reason they eat raw fish. Not because it's healthy. And the urbanized ones cook it. It's typically whale, not salmon, by the way. You might be thinking of central Pacific coast tribes, and they mostly cook their fish. The only produce these people have to eat are overpriced fruit flown in from two thousand miles away, or the predigested lichen in the stomachs of caribou. If I have the choice of a large variety of raw produce and tinned fish(or raw whale blubber), I'll go for the produce.

With raw, it's a paradigm shift. When you're eating cooked foods and/or SAD foods, you're not eating for nutrition.....very few people probably worry about any "smooth" digestion because there's no such thing on cooked foods.

However, with raw, you're eating FOR NUTRITION. You are fueling your body. So yes, best to keep in mind EVERYTHING that will be optimal. It's a lot to take in at first but you gradually remember it and know your body more.

crowdreamer

Quote

I just have a hard time finding any good stuff online about raw foods, and I don't know what to trust.

Here's a link to some online information that I have found good:

[www.rawfoodexplained.com]

Take a look at lesson # 22

CD: I agree with the above posts. The food you are eating sounds fine. And don't sweat the cooked/processed foods you are eating...just try to find fruits/veggies that you DO like....and keep finding ways to up the percentage. Keep trying to switch out the processed items for less processed items....and you'll do well. The food can be your medicine...but it might take time.

Also remember that health is often a wholistic spectrum. That is, exercise...sunlight...and positive following of your dreams are also important.

Don't judge how you feel too soon....but give yourself a generous time frame of at least 6 months to make the bulk of your changes....THEN re-evaluate how you feel.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2009 11:32AM by davidzanemason.

Try adding 2-4 cups of baby spinach (to start with) to both smoothies. Just that alone may help with energy. Later you can experiment with other greens. Also instead of the banana alone, try adding 2-4 to your smoothies. I found smoothies with bananas help the most when you're dealing with any type of detox. Make sure the fruit you eat is raw, not frozen if possible (unless you freeze it yourself or know for sure it's raw), not juice (unless you juiced it), etc. That makes a big difference.

Simple Raw Recipes & Health Tips

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Thanks guys, this is really helpful stuff.

Oh, BTW, with the salmon, I guess I was thinking 1) it would add variety and I wouldn't go too crazy giving up EVERYTHING at first, and 2) I picked it because it has Omega-3's which are supposed to be REALLY good for you. Is there anything else I can sub for the Omega-3's? Maybe the mercury in the salmon isn't so good on a daily basis, so I'll try to cut it out.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2009 02:30PM by crowdreamer.

well, if you aren't overdosing on omega 6 fats, i wouldn't worry about omega 3, but some items that have it are avocado, fruits, pumpkin seeds, hempseeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts.

when i think of making it through the detox and cooked addiction storm,i find myself delighting that such a teaching was brought to me, to eat food uncooked.

i like to be different, and dont even mind the unsocialism of raw.

it feels good to have a purpose, to cleanse and nourish my body.it feels like the answer to my prayers,i wouldnt be as drawn to it as i am if my soul didnt want it.