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Help! - severe bloating

Hi everyone, I have been raw for over 3 months now. At first I felt amazing and really loved it but probably a month into it I started getting bloated all the time. It has now gotten to the point where I am so uncomfortable in the afternoon after lunch that I have to unbutton my pants. My belly gets huge – easily 5 months pregnant in size – and hard. The only thing I can attribute it to is possibly too much fiber too quickly? I went from a SAD vegetarian diet (I estimate 15 gm fiber a day) to 100% raw vegan (some days 55-60 gm fiber). Has anyone else experienced this? At first I thought it was spinach, but it seems to be just about everything… I am going to see my acupuncturist tomorrow but I am open to any suggestions. I went raw to feel better and have better health and this is just terrible. I am literally waiting for someone to ask me if I’m pregnant! I suppose there are a number of things that could be wrong and the timing could be coincidental but I had to put it out there. Thanks in advance! Christine

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Comments

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Could you possibly describe your daily diet? In as much detail as possile please. :)

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    Do you currently practice food combining? While its not neccessary for everyone perhaps as your body has become cleaner in the last 3 months it is now quite sensitive to certain food combinations. Just a thought…..

  • What are you eating? I’ve not encountered that, though sometimes when I eat grains I bloat a bit

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    I could be a number of things. Certain foods, not chewing enough, and eating with your mouth open. What I suggest is that you examine which foods trigger the bloating or drink green smoothies for a week to clear things up. But is very important to chew your food well and to keep your mouth closed while doing so. Eating with your mouth open allows excess air into the body and will cause a lot of bloating. Plus people eating with you will enjoy not seeing what you are eating :) Try some of my suggestions, and if that does not work pay a visit to the doctor to see if it isnt a more serious problem. If you have any more questions please ask away!

    Peace and Blessings, Vaughn

  • kauaigirlkauaigirl Raw Newbie

    Yes, this happens to me too. It’s been happening for years but much less frequently now that I am raw and have done some colonics and intestinal cleansing. I can pinpoint the cause a lot better these days….the last two times it was:

    Gourmet raw meal (likely poorly combined or had cashews which tend to do this to me also)

    Lara Bars do it now too since they are a bad combination. The more sensitive we get, the more we need to pay attention to these things and our body will tell us what it doesn’t like. Be grateful that your body is more sensitive to things it doesn’t like. It always goes down by morning or after fasting a few hours.

  • What is bad combinations? I just eat what looks good but I try and balance between alots of fresh fruit and green drinks.

  • If you are relly interesting in what are the good combinations, according to the Natural Hygiene, I can post the full list for you. For example:

    1) Eat melons always alone.

    2) Do not combinie concentrated proteins with fats. For example: walnuts with advocado will be concidered wrong.

    3) Do not combine acid fruits (ex. grapefuit) with very sweet fruits (ex. mango).

    4) Do not eat two fats together, ex. avocado and coconut meat, not ok.

    and so on, there are like 15 combining rules, which if you are really interested, I can look up in my Natural Hygiene books, and post for you.

    If you are suffering from bloating, you definitely, it is my opinion, need to first water-fast (try first 48 hours), and then you need to combine food properly. I cannot eat food that is wrongly combined. I need to always watch the rules. Other people do not, but according to the Natural Hygiene, everybody should combine food correctly for the best digestion and health.

  • Hi everyone,

    Thank you so much for your suggestions. Here is a little more information-

    I definitely chew with my mouth closed – it is one of my biggest pet peeves! I believe that I am chewing enough but I will pay more attention to that. Thanks, Vaughn.

    Re: food combining, I think* I am mostly ok here but again, I will try to pay more attention. I may be eating fruit in the afternoon too soon after lunch (?). I will find a chart and keep it in the kitchen as I prepare meals. Kauigirl, I also cannot eat prepared gourmet raw meals – they give me the worst gas and nausea. Too many nuts? I should also mention that sometimes the bloating is accompanied by gas. I have much more frequent gas – with and without bloating – since going raw and the smell is HORRIBLE. It’s enough to kill a small animal. Seriously. All of this points to digestion – it’s just a matter of pinpointing the issue(s).

    Here is a basic idea of what I eat in a typical day and when. I was keeping a food diary for awhile but I couldn’t find any connections so I stopped. Maybe I am eating too much food period?

    6-6.30am – awake

    7.00am – smoothie – typically 2-3 bananas, young coconut water & sometimes some meat and some mango OR nectarine. sometimes add spinach, sometimes not. OR just a banana.

    9.30am – medium banana OR about 20 red grapes OR 1/2 cup pineapple OR nectarine.

    11.30am – medium banana OR about 20 red grapes OR 1/2 cup pineapple OR nectarine.

    12.30pm – LUNCH of about 2 cups red leaf or green/romaine lettuce, pea sprouts, sprouted mung beans, sun dried tomato hummus (zucchini, garlic, lemon, olive oil, tahini, sea salt, sun dried tomatoes)

    OR about 2 cups red lead or grean/romaine lettuce, 1/3 avocado, red pepper corn salsa (red bell pepper, corn, red onion, garlic, jalepeno, lime, sea salt)

    OR about 2 cups red lead or grean/romaine lettuce, 1/4 cup cucumber, sprouted mung bean, nut pate (almond, ginger, garlic, salt, carrots, celery, yellow onion, olive oil, lemon, raisin) OR (almond, sunflower seed, sea salt, turmeric, red bell pepper, yellow onion, tomato)

    2.30pm – small amount of fruit as before

    5.00pm – small amount of fruit as before or about 20 almonds

    7.00/7.30pm – DINNER same as lunch (a bit smaller) or veggies in a collard green wrap with hummus or blended vegetable soup

    I gave a lot of detail with lunch because I think that is what gives me the most trouble. The largest/hardest bloating occurs in the mid to late afternoon. Now that I have typed it all out I see a few things that could be an issue -

    1) too much food period? I haven’t paid much attention because I have lost 10lbs since going raw – from 138 to 128 and I am 5’7”. I also work out 2-4 days a week and I eat this much because I alm HUNGRY all the time!

    2) poor combining – corn & red pepper, olive oil & tahini, almonds & sunflower seeds

    3) too many nuts? I don’t usually soak them :(

    4) too many seasonings? – sea salt, garlic, onion

    5) too much fiber too quickly

    I think that is about it… Maybe I will try a water fast as jirizarry suggested (really 48 hours?!) and try to eat more monomeals? Thanks again for all of your suggestions and insight.

    Christine

  • Christine, I suffered from this also, exactly as you describe, about two months into rawness. I kept stepping on the scale to see if it was weight gain, but nope! Which makes me think it’s definitely gas. I think your instincts about what’s causing it are probably correct, but my problem was how to go about relieving all that pressure. My remedy was a little intense, but here goes: I took a dose of Milk of Magnesia (sorry, purists) just because it was on hand. A couple of Magnesium Citrate tablets would work too. I didn’t want to use psyllium or some other bulking agent for this particular problem. I followed that with an enema. Yes, an enema, and yessir yessir three bags full. I have a really cool tube that came with mine—it’s very soft and flexible and maybe a foot long, so it’s closer to a colonic. (If you can afford a colonic, that would be even better.)

    Anyway, it wasn’t an easy night, but once I cleared all that out it did not return. I spent the next few days laying off the nuts and other heavier, concentrated foods, and worked them back in gradually. I don’t go quite so overboard with them as I did before. And by the way, DO take the time to soak your nuts, even if it’s just for an hour. They’re much easier to digest that way.

    Good luck! Badria

  • debbietookdebbietook Raw Master

    Based on my experience, I’d guess the main culprit is that fruit at 2.30 pm, following a midday meal including pulses or nuts. The pulses and nuts take your body a long time to digest. The fruit at 2.30 comes in on top of the undigested food, and wants to get out. It can’t, so it ferments..result – the ‘six months pregnant’ look. I’d suggest keeping fruit for the morning only. Other combinations I’d say avoid – the lunch where you have nuts and raisins together. When I have nuts and sweet things together (the worst is a nut/dried fruit crust) my tummy blows up, I get gas and quite bad pain. Be comforted that some feel (and I can see the logic in it) that this is a sign that our digestive system is becoming more vital, ie when we used to eat cooked food it had become weakened by the constant onslaught…it’s now beginning to recover and objecting to complex combinations of food – it’s asking you to follow a simpler diet that makes less demands on the body.

  • The advice here is right on, especially keeping fruit in the morning, not combining it with anything else, and give yourself a couple hours minimum before switching food groups. I just want to add make sure your water source is clean. I had a bout of Giardia a couple years ago, and the smell of the gas it produced was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I think I picked up that little bug from swimming in a pond while camping, or maybe I wasn’t washing out my water bottles good enough,,,but it can come from unclean water, period.

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    I think your food combinations are pretty good actually! I would definately soak the nuts. It may seem like a pain but its really worth it. Also I agree with Gypsy. Watch the fruit too closely on the heels of a previous meal. Ideally you should wait 3-4 hours between switching food groups. Or better put If you eat fruit in the AM you can eat another food group 30 minutes to 45 minutes( bananas) later. But say you eat some veggies and nut pate at lunch/dinner you should wait approximately 3 hours before you eat fruit again. It seems funny I know but at least in my own experience just a wee bit of fruit too soon after a non- fruit meal and I bloat into a spaceship. Blech! Good luck. ;O)

  • Thank you everyone for your help! Here is where I am today -

    I went to see my acupuncturist/oriental medicine doctor yesterday. He concluded that I have depleted the hydrocholoric acid in my stomach and I am therefore not digesting my food – it just sits there, takes a long time to digest and is not fully digesting period. It explains the foul gas (everything is just fermenting and rotting in my intestines) and the lower stomach bloating and discomfort (where the colon is). This also may explain why super high fat meals that include flax or walnuts just come out as oil in the toilet and why nut meals bloat me more (they require more acid to breakdown). It’s an interesting theory (he didn’t use any traditional medical tests but suspected this based on what I have told him and muscle testing an HCL supplement) because all of these natural foods are supposed to create an alkaline environment. Maybe my body responded a little too well? Anyway, I am pretty desperate at this point so I will take hydrochloric acid supplements before meals for a week to see if we can get my stomach to start producing its own HCL and digesting food. He said I will likely keep coming back to this problem unless I vary my diet some. The whole reason I chose to see him over my medical doctor is because I figured he’d be more accepting of the raw diet – and I think he is. He was very impressed by my 35 point drop in cholesterol in 2 months but he also said “in oriental medicine we say that too many cold salads puts out the fire in your belly.” Ugh.

    I am very discouraged at this point and I hate the fact that I am taking supplements – even temporarily – but as I said, I am desperate! I started them with dinner last night and I let myself have a small bowl of vegan vegetable barley soup and vegan black bean cakes (both homemeade from a favorite restaurant). I have to admit that I really do feel better this morning/afternoon. I started my day with another supplement and my usually banana/mango/coconut smoothie. We will see what happens… I am also going to take everyone’s advice and lay off the afternoon fruit and pay additional attention to food combining. I suppose that if my body is sensitive enough that my stomach has turned alkaline, it is also possible that it has become a lot more sensitive to food combining.

    Here’s the one thing I don’t understand—

    I have been researching low stomach acid or “hypochlorhydria” online and everything I read suggests that a diet OPPOSITE of what I’ve been eating is what most often causes this. Has anyone else had any experience with this? Any suggestions/advice? Thank you again! It is nice to know there are other people who feel the same.

    Christine

  • I too have suffered from the bloat and gas. Definitely combining fruit and fats was the main culprit but I also just discovered that being low in natural sodium can cause this as well. So I have started eating 6 sticks of celery a day and the difference is quite amazing. This may sound like alot of celery but it is needed to balance out all the fruit. I just throw a few sticks in each of my green smoothies and then munch on some more throughout the day. Maybe you should try that. Also regarding the HCL have you read Greens For Life by Victoria Boutenko? She talks about that in there and basically says that green smoothies will rebuild your HCL levels over time.

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    cc78,

    I think your food combining looks pretty darn good too—just watch how closely you eat fruits after a non-fruit/non-blended meal.

    I’ve read that celery juice is excellent for replenishing/building hydrochloric acid, so you might want to try that if you’ve got a juicer—better than supplementing IMO. Otherwise, maybe try adding a couple of stalks to your smoothies and/or salads. Digestive enzymes and/or probiotics may also help (especially the ones in the refrigerated section of the health food store), but again that’s relying on supplements.

    Good luck! :)

  • Check out Victoria Butenkos (Sp?) GREEN FOR LIFE!!! Basically If I were having this problem I would go on an all green smoothie fast for at least a week. This will build your Hydrachloric acid the natural way and then definatly have 2 a day untill you begin to CRAVE GREENS!! That means your levels are back up! Great tip on the Celery Juice! Good Luck!

  • Thank you rawmumma, raw_earth and ambikalee! I added celery to my otherwise fruit smoothie this morning and I am headed out to get Green for Life today. Thanks again!

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    I would try eating more raw fermented probiotics, like sauerkraut. I’m lucky enough to have a lady near me who sells this stuff, which helped my digestion a LOT, so maybe if you look around you’ll find someone? And p.s. sauerkraut is really easy to make…

  • Yowsa, that’s some crazy raw food combination going on there, cc78! When I first went raw, I did the same thing, and boy did I eat nonstop and suffer the consequences. Here is my advise. Do two things: 1) Juice cleanse and 2)Mono eat. I don’t mean you have to only drink juices, but drink a lot of fresh juices to keep hydrated and for detox. Try eating some fresh cantaloupe for a day, or other melon, because these are loaded with water. Basically, start flushing your system with fluids and fluid-filled fruits, and I recommend leaving the hardcore recipes and multiple-ingredient raw meals alone for now. Eat clean, pure, simple foods and no salt, nuts, seeds or beans or anything really fatty right now. Go for easily digestible foods. Papaya is fabulous, too.

  • Hmm. I’d try some kombucha. Simple foods, and generally listening to your body (eat when stomach says, “i am hungry’. I am experiencing that problem somewhat as well (food just wants to sit in my stomach..frustrating!)—ANd I have been thinking wistfully about picking up some kombucha at the store….good luck to us ;)

  • Hi Jirizarry, I would really like to see the food combinations. If you don’t mind posting them.

    Thank You

  • cc78, I feel your pain! From what you wrote, I have the exact same problem. Raw about 4 months now, and I just recently developed this problem. I am getting really scared. I’m 16 years old and asked my parents if I could go to a Natural Doctor, but they do not know about spending the money where we are not insured. Should I get colonics, see a ND, or both? I have absolutly no appetite. I did my first two enemas, have been taking Pro2Go and Garden of Life probiotics, ginger tea, Yogi Get Regular Tea, prunes blending into green smoothies, lemon water, apples, bananas, ect. This is really upsetting, because I was doing really good raw and now I feel like I am anorexic because I can’t eat. I can’t digest, and I feel like I’m blowing up. I really, really would appreciate some help! Thankyou everyone. Also. cc78, I would like to hear from you about your progress.

  • Hi kellyjunes,

    I am sorry to hear you are experiencing the same thing! I agree, it is completely discouraging. Here is where I am…

    Started HCL supplements Saturday before each meal. Ate 1/2 very simple raw foods, 1/2 bread (I know, bread is terrible but it seemed to be the only thing I could digest!) through Monday night. I also added celery and green smoothies. My stomach felt somewhat better but I started to feel like crap otherwise – tongue became coated, breath stale, sluggish, moody, slight skin breakout. Starting Tuesday morning I kept the HCL supplements, lost the bread and have been strictly simple raw again. Very strict food combining, lots of water. All fresh fruits and veggies, lots of celery still.

    For example, breakfast = about 40-50 red grapes

    lunch = 1 qt fruit and green smoothie (banana, peach, spinach, celery)

    dinner = mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, no dressing I have tried to stop eating every 2 hours although my belly says it’s hungry.

    Today (Wednesday) I would say that the uncomfortability in the bloating is gone but my stomach is still huge and distented. This morning I started having a bright orange oily substance in my urine and stool that smells just like the HCL pills I’m taking. Called the oriental medicine Dr and he said I’m not drinking enough water (I had 12+ 8oz glasses yesterday…) and it’s becoming very concentrated in my body. I don’t have any burning in my stomach or when I urinate. I upped my water and am trying to stay positive but I am scared, exhausted and still very bloated. I feel defeated.

    Also, my period (which is always regular almost to the hour) did not come today. I seriously doubt that I’m pregnant..

    I am thinking of going to my regular internal medicine Dr tomorrow or Friday to have tests run or something. I don’t know what else to do. I liked the way I felt at the begining but this just sucks. I am soooo exhausted. I think cutting out the nuts/oil has depleted my energy. I am just trying to do the right thing but I’m no longer sure what the right thing is.

    Thanks again to everyone that has posted advice and/or suggestions.

    Christine

  • Thanks Christine for replying. Lets hope the best that we both overcome this!

  • Perhaps it would be of benefit to consider adding probiotics for now? The ecology of the gut is so important and truly, since our food supply is so sterile (unless you are growing your own veggies in healthy soil full of natural bacteria), I wonder if your body has become depleted of these beneficial organisms? Most healthfood stores with a refrigerated case will have a good brand with 30 or 50,000 colonizing units and I’d try that.

    I know you’ve gotten so many recommendations to this point (all great, but none solving the problem). Probiotics have demonstrated innumerable benefits in many scientific studies and the most proven benefits are GI ones. Hope you find some solutions soon.

  • cc78

    I am so glad to see you bring this up. I have been having the same problems. I have started learning more about the proper food combinations by Dr. Herbert M. Shelton and trying to eat mono meals. I forgot about the HCL supplements that Victoria Boutenko wrote about in her book Green for Life. I think your acupuncturist is correct…our hydrochloric acid levels our out of wack. If I remember correctly Victoria Boutenko mentioned that some people had to take HCL supplements to balance their hydrochloric acid levels back to normal. I am going to reread this section on HCL supplements in Green for Life and probably start taking those until my hydrochloric acid level is normal. Like you, I do not like taking supplements. I did start taking a good probiotic a week ago and it is helping. I will be happy when my hydrochloric level is balanced. Thanks again for bring up this thread. The RAW Life has been such an eye opener for my family and I. Learning about food combinations, mono meals, and how to have a healthy hydrochloric acid level….what a journey. But the outcome will be so beneficial. Not just for me, but for our daughter as well. If she can learn to eat right now at the age of nine, what a gift that will be!

    Thanks again for bringing this topic up for discussion!! I think doing green smoothies for awhile with the HCL supplements is a good idea. I am going to reread Green for Life and apply that – while reading more on food combinations by Dr. H. Shelton and mono meals. Thanks!!!

  • Christine, glad you are feeling less bloated—what brand of HCL are you taking? Thanks

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    Simplyraw- If you have a juicer, drink some beet juice. Victoria stated that in Russia that was how they determined if you were deficient or not in HCL. If you see it coming through-not enough! I also take HCL and whenI don’t take it, the toilet water looks like cherry Kool-Aid! This is a simple test for anyone to use. Apparently about 80% or so are deficient (if I’m remembering correctly!)

  • thank you, riversanctuary. a few have mentioned this (or eating fermented foods) and it is the only suggestion i have yet to try. i will pick some up today. just as an update, my bloating has gone done somewhat with the HCL supplements, eating more simply, cutting out all nuts/seeds and adding more celery. i am still struggling a bit with energy since cutting out nuts/seeds so i am going to try adding an additional small blended salad meal between lunch and dinner (usually from 12-7pm) and see how that does. thanks again to everyone that has posted. christine

  • deborahann -

    Thanks deborahann for the tip. We do not have a juicer yet, hoping to get one at Christmas. I will defiantly try out the beet juice.

    Does wheatgrass help hydrochloric levels??? We are some of those weird people who love the taste of wheatgrass.

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