I have tried raw foods in the past and have now abandoned the diet (lifestyle) for several reasons that I won't get into. We are mostly vegan thought with the occasional ingestion of an egg or two a week and fish 3 or 4 times a month (I apologize for writing this, I know this a vegan forum). We still ingest quite a bit of fruit, the occasional juice and the occasional raw salad and same seeds and nuts. I only do two cooked meals a day and the rest is just fruit/raw foods. I also used to do kefir with soya milk but have more or less stopped now.

So here's the thing: in the last 10 days or so I have been in a really really bad mood and have had a very "short fuse". I know that you guys are going to say that my diet is all wrong etc but just wondering if within a vegan cooked food diet is there any particular nutrients that I might be missing that my be causing my bad mood? I thank everyone in advance for your responses, I could have gone into a vegan forum but you guys know so much I thought you'd be better able to help me.

Thanks very much.

Maybe your mood has nothing to do with food , perhaps you need to take a deeper look into your life and emotions and figure out what is making you unhappy. Using food as *happy* medication can lead you down some frustrating paths. Maybe you could talk to a counsellor , or church (if you go) or someone outside your personal circle. Often someone disconnected from your day to day life , can give you the ear you need and offer insights that you might not be able to see.

Good luck on your journey finding happiness

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

When I get in a foul mood I feel it is something to do with the liver. I have read that the liver holds many emotions and for some reason I feel tension and anger when I am detoxing. I am not saying your liver is sick its probably a form of detox or congestion in the liver. When I start feeling that "tension" and like I want to bite someones head off I start to simplify my food intake because I figure my body is having some sort of shifting inside and needs a rest from digestion. I just went through a bout of that "short fuse" feeling I did'nt actually show anger to people around but I felt very easily frusterated and a desire to get angry with people. In some respects this is accepted behavior however I feel for me it was a detoxification of some sort of stuff and perhaps a congested liver and I did not feel comfortable having those feelings. Try some fresh juice for a couple of days and see if that makes you feel better.

I think your raw vegan food will have a significantly higher ratio of nutrients than your cooked and animal foods.

Our guess is as good as yours with the limited information we were given, however.

If your bad mood is due to food it would be hard to say what nutrient your body is lacking because when the food is cooked most of the nutrients are heat damaged leaving your body wanting for nutrients. Eating cooked food is kind of like being on a nutrient fast while getting plenty of empty calories.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer.

Pampam, I think what you say makes sense, thanks for that, I'll "investigate" that

Jgunn, the thing is nothing has changed in my life in the last 10 days or so, and it's a life that I am otherwise pretty satisfied with, apart from having a baby and a toddler that "suck" pretty much all of my time So I am not putting it down to psychological reasons.

Ez rider, I know what you're saying but for several reasons that i won't go into raw is not an option for me at present. I do understand and admit that my health would be better on raw and I indeed try to the best of my abilities to intake as much raw as possible.

Utopian life, I see what you mean and perhaps there is a much better way of rephrasing my question. I have seen in the past people mention in some threats different specific nutrients that can potentially cause depression or bad mood, Omega 3 among them. Anyone else know of any others?

vitamin b12
vitamin d

Utopian Life Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> vitamin b12
> vitamin d

Ta very much

karmele Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So here's the thing: in the last 10 days or so I
> have been in a really really bad mood and have had
> a very "short fuse".
I'd guess you're 'withdrawing' from something
you have given up, but have enjoyed in large amounts in
the past.....WY

it just happens sometimes - don't over analyse it

Here is an interesting thought:
I have been working on eating raw now for the past two years and have gone back and fourth with eating raw and eating cooked, I have been eating raw for a month now. Just last month when I was eating cooked foods I noticed my depression level very high and I did not want to socialize with people. I really avoided situations that brought me to groups of people. I tried to have control over my emotions and my attitudes however found it very hard and it felt like carying a heavy rock on my back where ever I went. I felt like I had to consiously put effort into keeping my mood in check. Now that I have been eating raw foods I am increasingly feeling lighter and it is not difficult to control my moods because of the clarity of thought I am experianceing. I did go through a week while eating raw that I felt very anxious and rather grumpy but I was able to control the emotion much better because of my diet.
At this time I eat mostly fruit and carrot juice but I still have coffee which is my only vice at this time. I am finding I eat a rather simple diet and not that much food intake throughout the day. I do try to stop eating in the evening but sometimes that is hard to do. As the days go by eating raw I am feeling stronger with eating this way. It is a more free way for the body.

pampam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ........ As the days go by
> eating raw I am feeling stronger with eating this
> way. It is a more free way for the body.
Very nice message pampam. I find that too. It's a
good feeling, physically and mentally, knowing you're On
the Path. Off is the 'pits'. Body chemistry tells the tale....WY

I think you're looking at it the wrong way round. It's probably some of the foods that you are eating that are causing the bad mood. Try cutting out all cooked fats and see if that helps.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

So, you have a baby, and a toddler.
Are you getting enough rest? outdoor exercise?

Hormonal changes after childbirth can throw you for a loop.

If this continues, you might discuss it with your health care person - though I would hesitate to suggest that you need medication (after my first baby, my dr. put me on tranquilizers! I changed doctors...), you might have something in your brain chemistry that's gone out of whack (temporarily, just until the hormones balance again). I'd stay away from soy, completely, and any dairy, at all, due to the effects they have on hormone levels. I know it helps me to stay away from them!

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
We are all in this together!
Namasté