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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookWell! I’ve just recently began eating almost completely raw (not 100% yet), and I’m guessing my body is detoxing? I’m sure this part will pass, but it’s almost like I’m SICK. My stomach hurts a lot, my body feels heavy, and actually my eyes kind of hurt.. No matter what time I wake up it feels like it’s 4:00 in the morning! I am taking Probiotics and I’m also getting enzyme supplements soon, but is there anything else that helps? Everyone started at some point and I’m just wondering if there was any specific raw food, juice, ANYTHING that made this part easier for you guys. Recipes are welcome also! I want to do this soo badly and I keep reading about more and more health benefits, it’s just so much different than my previous life style that I am a little afraid of…ya know.. (ahem).. failing.
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if your diet was pretty far from raw beforehand than yes, this is detox.
i’m going to explain what detox is, to maybe give you a little peace: (sorry if others have already heard this explanation before… please ignore)
gas is a natural bi-product of digestion. you will produce more or less gas depending on how SAD (more) or natural/fresh/raw (less) your diet is. the cells in your body help to keep a balance between what is outside their cell walls and what is inside the cell. if you eat something that produces more gas than is already in the cell, the cell absorbs the extra amount to create a balance. this causes over-stretching of cells, which means they become tightly packed and work in the presence of sugar (fermentation) rather than OXYGEN, which causes of acidity (also discovered to be the cause of cancer in 1930).
still there? ;)
any amount of improvement in your diet towards causing LESS gas will make the cells in your body release gas, because there will be less gas outside the cell than there is in it. you are giving your cells room to heal.
when you go raw overnight, imagine the difference in gas production and all the work your cells are doing! so, yes, it is entirely possible you are experiencing detox.
anyway, that explanation really helped me wrap my head around this whole thing. i hope that helps.
oh, one more thing. make sure that what you do eat COOKED is still healthy (i.e. not processed, no chemicals) because the more you detox the more sensitive your cells are becoming to junk.
if you are eating 80% raw and sugar cereal, or i don’t know, sara lee bread, as the other 20%, then you might be causing a sort of detox-retox which might make this process more uncomfortable than it needs to be. (if it’s been manufactured, read the ingredients on your food, is a good tip)
I agree with Pianissma, sounds like detox. Detox symptoms can sometimes be exactly like ‘being sick’. It is a learning curve to get to grips with the fact that it is your body healing you, and not something nasty attacking you.
You can’t fail at this. You are already a winner in the raw world because you have ‘got it’, and you are trying your best to transition.
Take it easy on yourself. If the detox is too much for you then just go and eat some cooked food and it will stop. You may have to take this slower than you thought.
At first you just want to go and be 100% right away, but in reality it takes time, and maybe some yo yo ing to get there.
One thing I have noticed though is that once people try raw, even if they stray and go cooked for years, they never forget, and they always seem to come back to it.
Even if it takes you 10 years to transition who cares?
The first 2 months is the hardest then it gets a heck of a lot easier. You get through the major part of the detox in those first 2-3 months. It is up to you, hold on and white knuckle it get it over with, or take time out, eat a little cooked, and get back into it for round 2.
We are all here to help you and support you. Let us know how you do.
msandio, well be careful. are you under some kind of medical care? the stomach part is sounding like detox bit the heavy body could be a lack of some kind of nutrient. are you getting enough greens? they are very cleaning and help clean out the bad stuff from the gut. green smoothies give me the most energy and satisfaction. also raw carrot juice gives me lots of energy. what also helped me was trying out some new recipes and seeing what i liked. have fun! be creative!
Thank you so much!.. All of your responses are very helpful and I really appreciate it!!
To Pianissima: I did not know that! But, by going raw, are my cells taking in LESS gas? Or does it just depend… and yes, at first I was doing the flip-flop between raw food and cooked/not-so-good-for-me food but I decided soon afterwards that I really need to DO THIS because I’m pretty sure that is not very effective (the flip-flopping). And plus I really want to be the healthiest I can be. And no, no sugar cereal! :-P I’m trying to not eat anything cooked if I can stand it.
Zoe: Thank you for the words of encouragement!! I think the toughest part is being around my friends and family that DON’T eat raw and keeping myself inspired. But I’m working on it; I’m trying to keep raw snacks in my purse just in case..
Bitt: I am not under medical care but I was on amoxicillin (spelling) for a tonsil infection. But also I think you are totally right about the greens.. I was not getting a lot of those and in fact, I was substituting a lot of things with raw nuts.. and I don’t think I’m ready for that. I’m pretty much just eating raw vegetables and fruit in the simplest form right now because I think that’s where I need to start at least. And yes, much more greens! And I do feel better already.
Thank you so much!.. All of your responses are very helpful and I really appreciate it!!
To Pianissima: I did not know that! But, by going raw, are my cells taking in LESS gas? Or does it just depend… and yes, at first I was doing the flip-flop between raw food and cooked/not-so-good-for-me food but I decided soon afterwards that I really need to DO THIS because I’m pretty sure that is not very effective (the flip-flopping). And plus I really want to be the healthiest I can be. And no, no sugar cereal! :-P I’m trying to not eat anything cooked if I can stand it.
Zoe: Thank you for the words of encouragement!! I think the toughest part is being around my friends and family that DON’T eat raw and keeping myself inspired. But I’m working on it; I’m trying to keep raw snacks in my purse just in case..
Bitt: I am not under medical care but I was on amoxicillin (spelling) for a tonsil infection. But also I think you are totally right about the greens.. I was not getting a lot of those and in fact, I was substituting a lot of things with raw nuts.. and I don’t think I’m ready for that. I’m pretty much just eating raw vegetables and fruit in the simplest form right now because I think that’s where I need to start at least. And yes, much more greens! And I do feel better already.
you create less gas in the digestive process with raw foods. the less work your body has to do, the less gas is created. so, since your cells are FULL of gas, they are releasing some of that gas in detox (to balance out what is outside and inside the cells, because the body is always trying to create an equilibrium between what is INSIDE and OUTSIDE the cell). it’s really easy to see on a diagram, but unfortunately i can’t send you one. i hope that’s clearer. =)
ok, it makes sense that you were so tired. i had an infection too that i found out about when going raw. in the end going raw helped, but you will still have to fight the infection.
raw snacks in your purse are a great idea. i bring food everywhere i go just in case.
Pianissima, it seems like you know what you are talking about hehehe, can you tell us exactly the effects of the cooked food? Thank you very much ^^
How long does it take for the body to heal completely? I’ve been raw for 1 1/2 months now. After a few weeks I got a pretty strange attack of diarrhea which I can’t attribute to anything else but detoxing. Then I got a strange rash on my knee, COULD be nettle stings but I don’t think so cos it only appeared like 2 days after going to the forrest. I’ve had some amazing days of steady energy but then sometimes I still feel kind of tired and foggy. I don’t know if it’s because I eat too many nuts or not enough greens or if it’s simply because I’m addicted to green tea and feel that I can’t really do anything without it…
Like today I feel too lazy for a rawfoodist. I haven’t had any green tea. Or could it be because I ate some macadamia nuts yesterday that could have been fried.
malene, it seems as though it can take awhile to detox completely. i mean, years if you have eaten cooked for years. and then there is detoxing from the environment. laziness/fatigue can be part of it. try some juices or wheatgrass.
to Malene: The detox process may vary depending on the extent of the intoxication of the individual. bitt said correctly by saying that it could last years in some cases. Also intoxication is not only created by cooked/processed or other foods exclusively, in our modern societies there are many dangerous polluants and chemicals and you have to take that into consideration. Depending on how good you are to put up with the “troubles and pain” of detox to speed up the process there are ways you could implement aside from your diet (ie. hydrotherapy for example)
to MSandio: Looks like you are going through detox, the thing about the raw diet (or any other healthy natural diet with high content of raw foods) is that when people embark on it they expect to get better (logically) but in reality to get better, first one must get worse. This is the natural process of eliminating toxins and its symptoms are not fun. I read once that mother nature’s best gift is pain as it was designed to teach us and warn us against danger. In our case detox is painfull as nature is teaching us that if we commit again the same errors as we did in the past there will be inevitably some more pain to endure. Ah..I was forgetting that we all have the option to go back to the SAD diet and avoid detox but there will be bigger troubles down the road eventually..
I'm new to this as well and was strongly advised to schedule a hydracolonic to flush the toxins out. Around here (Baltimore) these least expensive of these run at $85 per session. I'm excited and nervous to try!