Raw Food Dilemma

[Cort]

Some nutrients are more available in raw vegies (and some are more available in cooked vegies).

Raw or Cooked? (From the "Best Way to Eat These Vegies")

[fright]

[/fright]Cooked

• Asparagus
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Cabbage

Raw

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Red Peppers

Another article says "cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers and many other vegetables also supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw".

"while boiling carrots was found to increase carotenoid levels, another study found that it leads to a total loss of polyphenols, a group of chemicals found in raw carrots. Specific polyphenols have been shown to have antioxidant properties and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a 2005 report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

Polyphenols - important cancer fighting agents - however, are lost when vegies are cooked and then there's the lettuce factor - who is going to cook lettuce?

When I try to eat vegies in their unadulterated, uncooked form I often bloat and experience stomach pain. I would like to eat more raw vegies and plenty of cooked vegies..

Any idea about how to get around this?

 

[Who Me?]

Sounds like you have a problem with insoluble fiber. I have horrible bloat with any veg really but raw especially

I don't think this is something you system will adjust to, unless you can pin down some gi problems

From this and your previous post it sounds like you have some IBS.

There is a site www.helpforibs.com. Maybe that'll give you some clues.

The only way I manage is to adjust my diet. Cook veggies to break down fiber. Don't eat skins. Right now I'm eating mostly allow residue veggies and fruits to reduce cramping and bloat.

 

[Seven]

raw vegies

Let me tell you I was never so sick in my life like when I tried the raw diet, since then I learned a lot about digestive enzymes. So it is not tolerated by everybody. I had diarrhea the whole time, and that just aggravated my POTs and so the chain reaction went on.

Follow your body's reaction, it will tell you what is good or bad, But I would start slow and see how you react. Also I reacted worse to certain (like the nightshade ones...) Note: since then I Was diagnosed w colitis which explains a lot of the bad reactions.

My humble opinion from my experience is that if I were to do it again, I would fix the gut first (to make sure I have the needed dygestive enzymes needed to dygest that food) it is harder to digest and takes energy to adapt.

Good luck! I know some poeple have great luck with it.

 

[bobby]

@Cort you could try adding some warming spices that aid in digestion (black pepper is a good one). Or drinking hot soup or (herbal) tea with your raw meal. That works for me.

 

[tandrsc]

I use to have terrible trouble with veg, and raw was especially bad. I tried eating lots of raw veg for a week once, I became more and more bloated and at the end of the week I was violently sick.

To my surprise, I more recently discovered that dried veg gave me no trouble at all and after a couple of months it seemed to "fix" my stomach so that veg (cooked or raw) is now a joy.
http://www.healthrising.org/forums/threads/getting-more-veg-down-us.2795/

I think raw vs cooked depends on the veg concerned.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/raw-food-diet-myths/

 

[voner]

I assume that there are more nutrients in raw vegies and it would be better to get them in their unadulterated, uncooked form but I often bloat when I eat them...Any idea about how to get around this? I wonder if I kept eating them my system would adjust (or maybe I would blow up and float away?)

so, .... Cort, so have you done any exploration of fermented foods? I know this sounds like maybe the worst thing for you – but I can suggest books to read. digestion and the microbiome is a brave new world.

 

[Who Me?]

@voner there's a thread or talk about fermented foods here but I can't remember where it is. Search me or @madie. I think she talked about it.

 

[madie]

I assume that there are more nutrients in raw vegies and it would be better to get them in their unadulterated, uncooked form but I often bloat when I eat them...Any idea about how to get around this? I wonder if I kept eating them my system would adjust (or maybe I would blow up and float away?)

Some people have to start with very small amounts, like a tablespoon with each meal. You might also notice that bloating happens with only certain bacterial cultures, or only certain vegetables.

 

[Wayne]

I assume that there are more nutrients in raw vegies and it would be better to get them in their unadulterated, uncooked form but I often bloat when I eat them...Any idea about how to get around this? I wonder if I kept eating them my system would adjust (or maybe I would blow up and float away?)

I once read a testimonial by a man who claimed to have totally recovered from CFS by incorporating a diet of mostly cooked food. As I recall, I think he based his diet on oriental medicine concepts of yin and yang, and deduced that raw foods were actually contraindicated for symptoms of ME/CFS. I've often wished I could find that article again. If I do, I'll post it here.

I've found that fermenting raw foods make them more tolerable for my system. I regularly drink raw goat milk kefir and other fermented vegetable juices. My favorites fermented vegetables are cabbage (sauerkraut juice) and beets.

 

[Cort]

Sounds like you have a problem with insoluble fiber. I have horrible bloat with any veg really but raw especially

I don't think this is something you system will adjust to, unless you can pin down some gi problems

From this and your previous post it sounds like you have some IBS.

There is a site www.helpforibs.com. Maybe that'll give you some clues.

The only way I manage is to adjust my diet. Cook veggies to break down fiber. Don't eat skins. Right now I'm eating mostly allow residue veggies and fruits to reduce cramping and bloat.

Thanks. I definitely have IBS if I eat the wrong foods; eggs, gluten, beans, dairy (exc for kefir), too many sweets. It looks like I have to cook vegies which I have for a long time...I can eat some raw vegies - just not regularly...
I wonder if juicing would help?

 

[Cort]

Let me tell you I was never so sick in my life like when I tried the raw diet, since then I learned a lot about digestive enzymes. So it is not tolerated by everybody. I had diarrhea the whole time, and that just aggravated my POTs and so the chain reaction went on.

Follow your body's reaction, it will tell you what is good or bad, But I would start slow and see how you react. Also I reacted worse to certain (like the nightshade ones...) Note: since then I Was diagnosed w colitis which explains a lot of the bad reactions.

My humble opinion from my experience is that if I were to do it again, I would fix the gut first (to make sure I have the needed dygestive enzymes needed to dygest that food) it is harder to digest and takes energy to adapt.

Good luck! I know some poeple have great luck with it.

Digestive enzymes was one of the first things my doctor tried thirty years ago. I definitely have to give them a try again - thanks

 

[Cort]

@Cort you could try adding some warming spices that aid in digestion (black pepper is a good one). Or drinking hot soup or (herbal) tea with your raw meal. That works for me.

Thanks...I like black pepper. If herbal tea would help that would be great

 

[Cort]

I use to have terrible trouble with veg, and raw was especially bad. I tried eating lots of raw veg for a week once, I became more and more bloated and at the end of the week I was violently sick.

To my surprise, I more recently discovered that dried veg gave me no trouble at all and after a couple of months it seemed to "fix" my stomach so that veg (cooked or raw) is now a joy.
http://www.healthrising.org/forums/threads/getting-more-veg-down-us.2795/

I think raw vs cooked depends on the veg concerned.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/raw-food-diet-myths/

That's good news! Your system over time adjusted. That is really cool. I bookmarked this post and that one = thanks..

 

[Cort]

I once read a testimonial by a man who claimed to have totally recovered from CFS by incorporating a diet of mostly cooked food. As I recall, I think he based his diet on oriental medicine concepts of yin and yang, and deduced that raw foods were actually contraindicated for symptoms of ME/CFS. I've often wished I could find that article again. If I do, I'll post it here.

I've found that fermenting raw foods make them more tolerable for my system. I regularly drink raw goat milk kefir and other fermented vegetable juices. My favorites fermented vegetables are cabbage (sauerkraut juice) and beets.

I like fermented foods. Are you fermenting the veges and making the juices yourself?

 

[Cort]

so, .... Cort, so have you done any exploration of fermented foods? I know this sounds like maybe the worst thing for you – but I can suggest books to read. digestion and the microbiome is a brave new world.

Please suggest away. I like fermented foods. I think I do fine with them. They certainly don't seem to be causing problems. Please suggest some books

 

[Wayne]

I like fermented foods. Are you fermenting the veges and making the juices yourself?

Here's my super easy recipe:

1) Sprout 1 pint of wheat berries for three days.
2) Cover with purified water in gallon container and let set on kitchen counter for three days
(This makes a fermented drink called rejuvelac, with a slightly lemony, tart taste. -- It keeps for several weeks in refrigerator).
3) Blend approx. one head of cabbage with approx. 1/2 gal. of rejuvelac. Set on counter for another three days.
4) Refrigerate -- Keeps just about forever.

I call this my sauerkraut juice. In reality, you can use literally any kind of vegetable and/or edible weeds and ferment them the same way. For the fermented beet juice, I blend about half a dozen beets to 1/2 gal. rejuvelac. You can always dilute any of of these if the taste is too strong.

I drink 1-2 pints of fermented juices daily. I usually add 2-3 grams of sodium ascorbate, and often add about 1/4 tsp of taurine, 1/4 tsp l-glutamate, 1/4 tsp of creatine, and 1/4 tsp of whatever else I have hanging around my supplement shelf, like glycine or something like that. Just had my first outbreak of shingles, so will be adding lysine powder as well.

Speaking of shingles, I just ran across a fairly comprehensive article, Natural Cure for Shingles..., on treating it naturally. I couldn't help but think their fairly extensive protocol could quite possibly be effective for treatment of ME/CFS as well.

 

[bobby]

If herbal tea would help that would be great

you could try making this spicy herbal tea, similar in taste to chai: simmer whole black pepper, cardamom, clove, ginger and cinnamon in some water. Strain and keep in a thermos. Sip throughout the day. Great for low digestion.

 

[Empty]

Trying to think back when I was severly food restricted. At one point I could no longer swallow water.

Lymph drainage was the first important thing.

Epsom salt baths/foot baths I could tolerate.

I know you asked about including veggies raw, but this is how I did it.

Quinoa. Daily.

Brown rice/buckwheat.

Miso/gf tamari/. Raw unpasteurised saurkraut from a jar.

Turmeric black pepper and oo in food or soya milk.

Nettle herbal tea.... !

Currently using clearsprings twig tea (very good for u and soothing - the most spiritual tea ever made lol)

To begin I just grated a spoonful of carrot, apple and celery to eat with usual food.

Then I could eat salads, then I added avacado or tofu or braised tofu to big salad.

Then I added fruit using similar method. Alfalfa seed sprouts.

This was amazing. But slow going.

Now I nutri bullet anything I want on a daily basis and can feel getting energy from food rather than being drained by it. Just found a supplement I can finally tolerate too (bioglan powder). Lost my mcs but it is still there if too much....

Also intermittant fasting really helped, done intuitively.

Can have as much citrus as I want, nuts again all vital.

Still not healing fast enough though!

 

[madie]

Please suggest away. I like fermented foods. I think I do fine with them. They certainly don't seem to be causing problems. Please suggest some books

I love Wild Fermentation.

 

[voner]

I love Wild Fermentation.

@Cort, that is the go to fermentation book for me also, but a warning.... I found it poorly organized and hard to find information. Mr. Katz is brilliant. I think I may go get that book out and look it over again!

a raw foods tibit: I recently audited a course on genetics through Coursera. at one point the instructor said that the development of modern human civilization depended upon the creation of cooking. he was relating it to the amount of calories we ingest versus our brain size (if I can remember right .... my memory is very poor). he said that raw food limited the amount of calories we could convert to energy, while cooking food basically was predigesting the food, thus allowing humans to get a lot more calories into her body and drive the growth of our brain size. i'm not sure I buy this idea, but I certainly thought it was a unique and entertaining claim.

@Cort, digestive enzymes would certainly be worth a try....they're reasonably inexpensive.