I am in week 2 of my raw transition. I've done very well except for Saturday and Sunday where I ate junk all day. I've been back to eating healthfully however this morning I woke up and I am COVERED in a rash. It's itchy, red, and blotchy.

I'm assuming my body is revolting against me for Saturday and Sunday, but is this common? Any tricks for getting it cleared up quickly?

-Morgan
Well behaved women rarely make history.

Morgan,

Sounds like you may be experiencing an allergic reaction. Did you eat any different raw foods Monday or Tuesday? Or maybe it is something in your environment. Consider those possibilities first before chucking it all up to detox. Maybe it is detox, but would be bad if it were really something else that needed attention. I've experienced stomach upset after eating junk--cramping and diahhrea (sp?), but never what you are describing.
Greens leafy vegetables contain alkaloids which can cause a rash, and that's why it's important to rotate greens in a raw diet. Button mushrooms contain a bad toxin when eaten raw (cooking destroys this), but some raw food cookbooks include them raw in recipes and give no warning of this. Kidney beans are highly toxic if eaten raw (sprouting won't help from what I understand). So even if you aren't " allergic" to a raw food, you may be eaten a food that is toxic in its raw state without knowing it. The fact you can tolerate a food cooked, doesn't mean you can when it's raw. I think it seems a little late to be getting an allergic reaction to what you ate this weekend. Did you try any new cooked foods then?

Any other symptoms?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2009 04:53PM by musicbebe.

I did have some capped mushrooms and they had a bit of a stinging taste, but they were organic and I just thought it was because they were sitting in the fridge for a bit.

I ate some the other day and I was ok.

I woke up this morning and the rash has spread. It's covering about 78% of my body. It doesn't seem as scratchy.

If it doesn't start getting better in the next couple of days, I'm going to the doctor. I'm not as tough as some of these other raw folks who wait it out.

-Morgan
Well behaved women rarely make history.

So my boss sent me home today because I looked so gross. The rash has spread further so I went to the doctor. The told told me that it's an allergic reaction to something. She gave me some steroids, but I am going to try and just wait it out.

-Morgan
Well behaved women rarely make history.

Morgan,

I'd just consume water for the first half of each day and eat organic lettuce and oranges the rest of the day to isolate the possible allergen/s and see how I feel. Waiting it out is prudent; the steroids(I'm assuming it's cortisone--they give that stuff out like candy!)won't help your immune system work this out. Get well soon : )

How are you feeling now? Here's a link to info on mushrooms and toxicity. Contains info on button mushrooms:

[www.psms.org]

Here's a link to a page on other toxic raw foods. Very informative. Contains external links to their sources of information:

[rawveg.info]

musicbebe,

Great info on the psms website; good stuff to be reminded of.

: ( Much disinformation on the rawveg link; I am so very tired of trying to explain the positive effects of amygdalin[sigh]. Also, according to it, none of us should be eating anything except tropical fruits and kale--whoa, have I been sliding down the razor's edge with my celery consumption or what?! Thanks for posting, as it makes me want to investigate the author: Jordan Rothstein, if that is your name . . . RUN!

Hey everyone,

The script for the steroids is still in my purse, so I haven't gone to get it filled.

Last night it was still spreading, however today the reddness and inflamation has gone down some, but I'm still terribly itchy. Zits have popped up in the middle of the patches too.. so yeah I'm just a mess!

-Morgan
Well behaved women rarely make history.

I didn't really read everything on that second link, but noticed they had references. I'll spend more time looking it over.

Well upon review, I still think the second link I posted is worth considering. I don't know much about amygdalin (sp?), but either way, the author only says to avoid apple and apricot seeds...not the fruit. And the info about the photosensitivity side effects of handling certain plants, didn't lead the author to conclude not to eat them. Overall I saw the info as cautionary, but nothing outwardly extreme. If I had an allergic reaction, I might consider all sides to an argument, because maybe I'd be one of the few who really couldn't tolerate a raw food due to a theoretical problem with it. But I'm open to correction...I don't who that author is either, but he did back up the claims with sources--which makes it easier to determine their truthfulness.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2009 06:35PM by musicbebe.

musicbebe,

My problem is with his cited sources: I consider some as illegitimate, because they are rife with erroneous data, above-board though they may seem to be. I'm sure Mr. Rothstein has no idea, by the way; he probably thinks, it's from the annals of the JAMA or "Pediatrics," or whatever, and takes it as verifiable, unbiased data in good faith. In my travels, I have found this to be far from the case. Don't mean to be cryptic, and still grateful for your posting of this info, because it makes my critical assessment of things even more precise. Thanks, again!

Good news - the rash is almost gone. The itch only lingers a bit. Hoorah!

-Morgan
Well behaved women rarely make history.

Great news, Morgan!