I have a question about vinegar and acidic fruits, etc.

Before I went vegan (and transitioning to 100% raw), I ate acidic foods with no problem. Now, I find that I simply cannot tolerate the acid. It moves right through me and causes much cramping on its way. Why is this? Is there something about cooked food/animal products that mutes the effect of the acid? Is my body becoming more alkaline and therefore "shocked" by the acidic foods?

Thanks.

You are probably feeling the pH of the foods themselves, if you are eating lighter.

If you have a meal of mixed acids and bases (alkaline), your mix will be somewhat neutral.

If you eliminate the bases, you will feel the acidity of your food in your stomach. Some people feel it when they drink black coffee on an empty stomach, some people feel it with certain types of fruit, some people feel it when they take too much vitamin C.

But, this feeling is temporary as the stomach lining pH is much lower than that of any food we eat.

Also, it is important to remember that many foods with an acidic pH have a net alkaline effect on the body and vice versa. This is because the net acid load on the body (as defined by what comes out of the kidneys) depends more on the protein (and more specifically, sulfur amino acids), phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium content of the diet in a day.