Confused - Raw Food Chat

starbright · 4 Weeks Ago

Hi, I am very new to all this. I have started this diet about 3-4 weeks ago, along with my husband. First week or so was fine, but then things became much worse. I have had horrible migranes all last week, and in between some just bad headaches. I also have crazy nausea and really bad chills with it, I shake for hours and no amount of heat helps. I finally went to a doctor last night to check what else might be going on. All the tests came back very normal, except the white blood count was a little low. I have not read symptoms like these anywhere so I was just wondering if anybody else had this. I don't want to stop, but its hard being this sick and take care of my family. Does anybody have advise?

Oh, the reason I started this diet was because I have multiple chronic conditions and was sick of being sick. I am mostly completely raw, with a baked potato on occasion. My husband on the other hand feels tired and weak. Also he is a bit worried about loosing his mass. He is in really good shape, but in the last couple of weeks already lost 15 pounds. Is the weight loss a necessary process of this?

I would really appreciate help.
Thanks, Katie

jroo · 4 Weeks Ago

Starbright. I hope that you find some relief soon!

I would be helpful if you shared with us what your former diet was. For instance, switching from a processed food diet or a meat and potatoes diet to a 90% raw 100% vegan diet quickly could certainly be a daunting task.

Is there a specific raw diet you are following? Are you juicing, drinking green smoothies, salads, nuts?

As far as your husband goes. Yes, I think weight loss is a fairly neccessary part of this. If only because (depending on previous diet) the colon alone contains lots of undigested matter. Also, the body has stored a lot of toxins and the common understanding is that it will generally detox first before it starts taking in lots of better nutrients. However, there are things he can do. If he is active, he may want to eat a fair amount of fruit. He should also be doing daily workouts and yoga, to keep muscle tone during the transition.

Have you read any books on raw foods? Is there an author that you gravitate to? They may have some help. For instance, David Wolfe lists several remedies in his Sunfood Diet Success System. A website your husband may want to look at is www.thegardendiet.com.

starbright · 3 Weeks Ago

Thanks for your reply. I was previously on meat and potatoes, but also, I have always loved fruit and veggies. So I am guessing I was 70% cooked and 30%raw, plus or minus. I have gotten some raw food cook books, and that is kind of what I am doing. Since posting the message, I did go to a doctor and they ran blood tests (digestive) and everything came out normal, so they said it was a flu (not) and gave me some strong anti-nausea med, which I can't even tolerate, so I did not bother even taking.

I have narrowed things down and usually the first bout of nausea comes about 3 hours after a meal, then the bad one about 5-6 hours after and last for about 2-3 hours. For the last two days, I just did 2 fruit smoothies in the Vita blender for the whole day. The nausea is not as strong. But I only weigh about 100 pounds, so weight loss is not my plan. Any ideas? I know this sounds crazy and I don't understand why all the tests came back normal, yet I can't even eat a solid meal...

Thanks on the input for my husband, so far he has been able to stay as active as he was before, so we'll see. I will look into David Wolfe Thanks again

jroo · 3 Weeks Ago

I believe that the food that is most often lacking in any real-world situation is greens. It's very easy to eat lot of fats and hybrid sugars (seedless fruit - which is the cheapest and most readily available.) Greens are the most dense in the nutrients that our bodies need to build themselves. They help buffer sugar and balance fats. I'd recommend your diet include lots and lots of greens. Especially if you aren't eating other superfoods.

rawhippie · 3 Weeks Ago

hey starbright

what kind of background have you come from as far as how you've taken (or nr not) care of yourself? did you go to the doctor often? were you on medications...prescription or over the counter?

the reason i ask is this:

our society is so quick to medicate us and make us believe that in order to get better we HAVE to take pills, elixirs, etc.
sadly, people have given in to this propaganda and have ceased to take interest in how their bodies actually function.

all "sickness" is the bodies miraculous way of knowing it needs to detox.

having migraines? it's okay! even better, you're getting a clear cut sign that you get them soon after eating raw! that is such a gift and you may want to try and retrain your brain to believe your body DOES know what it is doing. the human body is the most perfect machine around, man!

eating raw food allows your body to address whatever ailments need attention and release those toxins via headaches, bowel movements, nausea, phlegme, etc.

i think you've stumbled across a great discover...the fact that your body is ready and willing to work on it's own.

you're very lucky, my friend.
and don't worry, the more raw you are and stay, "this too shall pass"

peace
hippie

Double Helix · 2 Weeks Ago

Many people lose a ton of weight, some call it the "false body" - if one is a quick metabolizer, then fat will quickly drop off, as toxins are stored in the fat cells. Many will actually go underweight for a while and then start building back up.

If you are experiencing detox, the doctor can't help you and won't believe it's detox in most cases.

I highly suggest listening to this podcast with Tim Van Orden, there are 2 parts (scroll down to see):

http://rawfood.revvell.com/

He talks about his detox and how easy it is for him, now, to build muscle. He's on a simple raw diet and has been winning tons of races. He's ahead of younger runners eating the SAD.

starbright · 2 Weeks Ago

Thank you guys! Its been about a month and a half. My migraines slowed down a bit, now its just constant nausea (although it is not as strong as it used to be) and moderate headaches. I have to admit that I did use the Imitrex shots and excedrine for the headaches, which I found will lock you in the migraine pain cycle and in the process I obtained some ulcers. I am refusing to treat them conventionally and instead am using the oil my mom had success with. I am still sticking with the raw diet. I truly believe in it, even though I don't quite understand why I am having such long problems.
In the past, I have usually tried to stay away from any kind of meds, but some of my long term chronic conditions made it kind of hard, so yes, I have been on the usual array of meds for most of my life. Yet I am only 28 and have entirely too many health problems, and that is what led me to this. Just the last couple of days, my headaches have not been so intense, and my mood is way up, my hopes are up and I feel soo good.

sueko · 1 Week Ago

The other question I see no one mentioned is food combining. Some people are not sensitive to it, but others have a nasty reaction to poor food combining. Are you mixing fruits and vegetables at the same meal? How about your nuts and seeds? Look into a food combining chart and see if that might be at the root of your problem. If you are feeling better, though, I'd say you probably have been experiencing some heavy detox and your body is working its way through. Good luck to you and I hope you continue to feel great. It is worth it in the long run.