Help - only Essene bread stops palpitations + neuropathy from getting worse

Hullo all – any insights or suggestions would be most welcome!

I have not had much success going to a 95-100% raw diet that I would like to do. I don;t have any weight or willpower issues – I can easily eat anything I decide is good for me without craving bad food, becasue I’m very results-oriented – but unofrtunately I’ve had to stop all-raw several times because symptoms I already have (despite a super-healthy organic high-veg diet and running 5kms 3X/wk) become worse each time.

I am perimenopausal but the neuropathy started some years ago after giving up all grains due to IBS. (so far, after all the medical tests and scans, this is unexplained and so is described as an idiopathic polyneuropathy – it could be CIDP but there is no apparent reason for it). Palpitations started 9 months ago when my epriods became more sparse.

It seems to be linked with grains – I have been able to (just) keep the neuropathy at bay or even sometimes improve it by eating lots of sprouted Essene ryebread (cooked above 110 so not strictly raw); this is by far the BEST grain food to stop me feeling cold and getting neuropathy in my extremities. I also seem to need to grind and eat fresh flaxseeds at least 2X daily – plus eat 3-5 celery stalks/day and several cups of hawthorn & hibiscus tea to calm down palpitations (and ensure I dont get a recurrence of increased blood pressure which happened last year when stressed).

It’s very distressing because I am in theory (and still look!) so “healthy” and I really do think a very-high-raw diet is THE way to go to fix everything! Just looking at others, including women my age and older, tells me theree HAS to be a way and it CANT be wrong!

However, I cant deny that I get worse – so far – every time I try it, and unfortunately neuropathy and palpitations are both scary and dangerous, so cant fool around with them. As soon as I eat some of the ryebread and some cooked veggies and rice, that worsening reverses and I go back to the status quo. Given their effect on my symptoms, I think if I can eat enough ryebread and flax in addition to other healthy foods, I can eventually get rid of these unexplained (medically) symptoms. I guess it’s only the ryebread that isnt strictly raw, though it IS sprouted, so next I maybe need to try making that my only non-raw food, maybe that will work!

I tried some sprouted grains (and to see if I could be 100% raw and still eat them – but the rice stays very hard and I think is not really digestible, I also find quinoa and buckwheat not satisfying somehow, MY sprouted rye doesnt satisfy me the way the Essene ryebread does, and the only sprouted grains that seem to really approach it (but i cant eat enough quantities to get the same effect as even one slice of the ryebread!) are WHEAT and OATS. I also tried adding 2 ears/day of raw sweetcorn, very delicious and digestible but I still need the ryebread to avoid getting worse, so far!

It seems that with these symptoms, I am someone whose body for the moment seems to need GRAINS rather than fats or fruits (and believe me I never craved them – was 4 years on NO grains, and craving them was NEVER a problem, and I was having LOTS of ORGANIC fat in the form of nuts, coconut oil, butter, yoghurt and wild salmon – I only eat grains because these symptoms developed and grains are the ONLY thing that helps!).

Comments

  • I would say that it’s unrealistic to expect that everyone can be 100% raw. People have varying body chemistry, and that’s just reality. Some people have medical issues as you do. So, eat the essene bread and don’t fret about it. It’s ok. You’ll still be plenty healthy if you’re 90% raw. Unfortunately, there are many who treat raw food like a religion…raw fundies for lack of a better term. They try to convince everyone that they should go 100% raw no matter what. Don’t listen to them. Listen to your body.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    I forget which author, but one of the raw foodists wrote a book about raw and included essene bread (baked at 250 degrees) in the book. she said something about how it has nutritional value etc. I guess all I can advise is… listen to your body.

    And if you have serious health problems, definitely don’t take advice from us on the forum about it. I have no medical training and I don’t think a lot of folks answering forums do either. What I greatly recommend is visiting the Hippocrates Health Institute for a week long program. They’ve cured folks of many many things on a raw diet. Do I know how they do it? Not at all. They’ve been at this for 30 years, developing programs for folks with health challenges.

  • Thanks so much for your thoughtful and wise answers, omni and winona – they ring true and I am perhaps even lucky in a way that these symptoms are my body telling me what to! I’m in Oz, but had considered trying to find a good health place to stay in when I have time – it would have to seem more like a mainstream resort for my hubbie to come – more like a health-enhancing holiday! Yes, in the meantime I will try to build up my health in my daily life, and eat what my body needs from among a range of healthy organic foods, with the maximum being raw. Thanks again!

  • anngoingrawanngoingraw Raw Newbie

    Perhaps there is something in grains you need (vitamin B1, for example). If you feel well eating essene bread I wouldn’t give it up. Good luck!!

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