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No raw after 4

I was flicking through a magazine at work and, as I have been struggling with a bloated stomach recently, an article entitled "14 days to a flat stomach" caught my eye.

It was actually full of some very good advice such as chew until your food is almost a liquid before swallowing and spend at least 30 minutes on eating one meal, stop eating the moment you are full etc.

But one of the rules was NO RAW AFTER FOUR and I have actually heard from another source that you shouldn't eat raw after three. The explanation in the article was that raw foods are harder to digest.

I was under the impression that raw foods were easier to digest.. does anybody have any more information about this?

Comments

  • When people always approach me saying how raw food is always harder to digest than cooked down food, it reminds me that these are people that don't always know how to properly prepare raw food. For example, soaking nuts to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors, or merely just dehydrating your food. I think its perfectly fine to eat raw after 4 if you're doing it correctly, and I'm sure most people on this website are. Also, I feel like all the water and fiber that we consume when eating fresh, raw food makes it thattt much easier to digest and pass through our bodies, as opposed to cooked food that personally makes me feel weighed down. After all, the a raw food diet is technically considered a detoxification process, except certain people just choose to constantly eat that way instead of making it a week long thing.

  • kellyannekellyanne Raw Newbie

    raw food is what we're naturally supposed to eat. there is no way that raw food is harder to digest than cooked food unless you're mixing a bunch of different things and food combining horribly.

    magazines don't have any facts. they write what they know will sell. there will be an article about how meat is good for you and then a few months later there will be an article about how a vegetarian lifestyle is healthier. they're all about the money, not reporting facts.

    also, i struggled with a bloated stomach when i food combined improperly. indigestion will do that to you.

    hope this helps

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    Raw food is far easier to digest! Think about it, even food experts have graphs showing how hard it is for us to digest meat and it can take up to eight hours when an apple can take only 1! The thing is, if you're eating cooked food and you eat raw food after or during the raw food sits alot longer in your stomach on top of the cooked food and that causes bloating. I would say, eat ONLY raw food after four and your stomach will be flat!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    unsoaked nuts caused bloating. also, doing colon hydrotherapy regularly (at least 1-2 times a week) was very helpful for me in reducing bloating. matt monarch sells products to use at home for this.

    also, be sure and do regular aerobic exercise. running, and eating lots of greens, keeps things moving and reduces bloating.

  • aww, thank you all for your responses. I think I do need to be more careful about my food combinations and start soaking nuts.

    Why are fruit and nuts not a good mix? Is it for a similar reason to that stated above, that the fruit will sit on top of the nuts?

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    I'm terrible at food combining because there's so much to remember but I try hard to stick to monomeals which is always nice. My salads are usually just greens and veggies or fruit(tomatoes, cucumber, etc).

    You're always safe with monomeals! If you're not comfortable with that then keep eating raw as you do and eventually you'll head over that way. It makes you feel the best.

  • Violet,

    Fruits and nuts are not a good mix because fruit digests very easily and quickly (and needs to). Nuts, like other fats, digest slowly. When digestion of the fruit is slowed by fats, it ferment in the digestive tract. This can cause bloating and gas. Some people don't have much problem with this, but my digestion has a terrible time with it!

    As soon as I stopped eating fats with my fruit, it was smooth sailing. I was so happy to find this information, as I just could not figure out the source of my uncomfortable and embarrassing gas. Knowing the cause and how to avoid it made the raw diet possible for me!

    Good luck!

    Belinda

  • vegan2rawvegan2raw Raw Newbie

    I have heard this too but I have also heard that if you chew your food enough then it should not be a problem. Do soak all nuts and if your in a pinch use sunseeds they are easy to digest without needing to be soaked. We actually do mostly seeds maybe a couple times a week will we do nuts b/c for our fam they are harder to digest (that being said my hubby does more nuts than me and the kids b/c he expels more physical energy at work)

    good Luck

  • Yes, I might start using seeds in place of nuts. I never realy plan what I'm going to eat too far in advance and often don't have time to soak.

    Thank you for all the tips.

  • Yeah, I agree with Kelly, that's magazine bologna! From past experience what I can say is it's not safe to eat steak after 4- that can give great heartburn, but honestly, raw fruit??!!

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