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Is this normal?

I’ve been reading here for a while and have just this week started to try and be raw in my diet. My mum is concerned because she is worried that I’m going to harm my body. One thing I have noticed is my bowel movements have been a little uncomfortable in the last few days. Should I be doing anything to adjust my body before I go completely raw?

Comments

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    You are probably going through detox. If you eat a well balanced raw diet all will balance out. Exactly how many days have you been raw and what are you eating? If it gets to bad grind up a tab. of flax seed in a clean coffee grinder put in water, stir and drink. Or you could put it over a salad.

  • It will take your bowels a little while to get used to raw. Depending on how SAD your diet was before, things may be a bit intense for a few days. It should balance out fairly quickly though. Lots of water is my advice. Peace, Karuna

  • greenghostgreenghost Raw Newbie

    Yes, like karuna said—definitely drink plenty of pure WATER.
    Water will help your kidneys flush out toxins and will aid your bowels in functioning properly.

  • Like everyone else said, you are detoxing. Transitioning to a RAW diet should be done gradually. Your body will mold to what you feed it. Most people transitioning to RAW will go through a major detox at first (can take MONTHS for some) as their body and colon cleanse of old waste matter, etc. – THIS IS A GOOD THING. Do things gradually and don’t forget to listen to your body. They generally have a lot to “say”... Make sure you do not restrict nutrients in the process of the detox. Also, balancing your electrolytes is KEY as they can become imbalanced during detox. Make sure you are consuming foods high in potassium, it’s very important. Coconut water is one of the best things possible for electrolyte balance. I highly recommend it.

  • How much water should I be drinking on average in a day? Only I’ve been drinking lots like you guys say and now my pee is a little uncomfortable too and I have to go much more often?

    Is there any sort of water that is best? Where can I get cocunut water in the UK? I want to do this properly if I’m going to do it. At least give it a good go. I have to say I’m about ready to chuck it in. Is that normal too for someone just a week or so in to the lifestyle?

  • Hmm screamingherb, I would be hard pressed to always blame stuff on detox. While everyone above definitely has good points, what you are eating is good to know. Uncomfortable bowel movements could mean many things, this may be TMI for some but, are they loose, hard, large etc…? If you are drinking more water, then obviously you will pee more lol, but when you say uncomfortable, does it burn or feel pressured? Any time you change your diet, you will have some changes in bodily waste. My hubby tried to tell me I was not doing my body well when I first started, probably much like your mum, he was concerned because it was so outside our norm. The way I explained it was how could a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds be harmful. A week is hardly enough time to say “ok, it was a good go” and chuck in the towel. Let us know what you are consuming and hang in there, it takes some time to figure out if it’s for you.

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    I’m going to echo harmonylia, especially if even peeing is painful…that could be a sign of a urinary tract infection. Drink some organic 100% cranberry juice, it will help urinary tract issues and clean out your kidneys. While I am just as new as you to the lifestyle, if the pee continues to be painful too, personally that would send me to the doc.

  • Take tons of vitamin C and cranberry. For me, it works better than the pharms I get from the doc for a UTI, but I use cranberry pills (not raw) because I can take 6 at a time.

    Also, to put your mom’s mind at ease, you can go to http://www.nutritionanalyser.com/food_composition/ The website lets you compare foods based on their nutritional content. I showed my husband what is in 1oz of raw almonds and compared it to 1oz of cooked chicken and 1oz of cooked beef. He will never worry that raw is bad again. There is so much MORE of the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals in raw food than in cooked meat. It’s easy to prove, and then there’s not much room for worry. Hope it helps.

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    My stools were very stiff and hard for about the first week, then the softened up and now pooping is easier than ever!! Seriously! And, I am only 75% raw.

  • Sorry I should have replied to this earlier but have been busy most of the week. My poo is still a bit uncomfortable, They are large, hard and difficult to pass if that makes sense. I’m embarrassed to say but at my girl fiends house this week I did one that I couldn’t flush. My pee is also a lot more frequent but is now a different colour it’s gone from a honey colour to a lemon colour. I think this bit is normal detox.

  • LOL That’s Hilarious!

  • Well it might seem funny to you but you haven’t had to lay one of these suckers. It’s not at all comfortable in any way.

  • Hey screechingherb, prune juice will definitely soften things up for you. Don’t drink too much though otherwise your number 2’s will become chocolate brown in liquid like number 1’s.

  • clr-1976clr-1976 Raw Newbie

    Where in UK are you? I’ve had to do some research to find coconut water myself & might be able to point you in the right direction

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    Trolls, anyone?

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    screamingherb- yes. the lighter the pee, the more hydrated you are. that sounds like a good sign.

    my two cents on the #2: you may be detoxing too fast for your colon to handle (or you had problems before in this area maybe?), making it block up and uncomfortable. too much gas.

    could you tell us what your diet looks like now?

    questions: are you eating a lot of dried fruits? (dates?) are you drinking any carbonated beverages like kombucha or fizzy water? are you getting enough fiber? (greens!)

  • Beetboy, yes I am drinking lots of juice but this time of year here it’s harvest time and I am squeezing my own.

    clr-1976, I’m in sunny Cornwall right down the bottom. In a little village called Cockwells near Whitecross, next door to the Cockwell Inn. It’s really nice here but we are far from any major towns.

    pianissima, My diet is different each day. I am trying out some of the recipes from here. I haven’t really settled into a diet routine yet as I’m only about 10 days in. I’m eating lots of fresh fruit because it’s all in season now. I have been veggie for a long while though. Are you saying I should take it slower and go bake to some nice veggie bakes once in a while? I’m getting confused again.

  • shawnieshawnie Raw Newbie

    Honey colored pee means that your body is dehydrated. The lighter the better! If you drank more water (about an hour before you eat) you shouldn’t have any issues going to the bathroom. It does take a few days though.

    Try making green shakes in the morning, it should loosen up your bowels and help to clean you out (sometimes immedietly if you need to be cleaned out). You should be eating lots of greens daily anyways. Don’t overdue it on the fruit either.

    Make sure you’re eating enough fats too, they do wonders for your skin.

    It’s also good to do a lot of reading on raw foods, to make sure you’re getting everything you need. Most people don’t look into how or what they’re eating or making sure they’re getting what they need. Either way I think you’re on the right track.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    screaming- yeah, it’s hard to develop a routine in the beginning, but you will.

    not really. eating veggies, doesn’t necessarily mean cooking them. but i ate steamed veggies for dinner for over 6 months to ease into this diet. one day i didn’t need it anymore. if i had to choose between that and eating a lot of fruit i would choose steamed veggies. here’s why: fruit is very cleansing, and most people aren’t “clean enough” for it, especially when you first start raw. personally, i don’t think people are “clean enough” for a fruitarian diet unless they live in the tropics, with no air pollution and exercise ALL DAY.

    see, the cleaner your diet, the more gas your dirty cells let off (that’s what detox is). if you go too quickly (a high fruit diet is the quickest), then your cells let off so much gas that it can block your colon up. options are to incorporate some clean cooked food at night (i.e. not junk food but whole vegan), or getting a colonic irrigation. it also helps to step up the greens. i really can’t stress that enough. more salads, green smoothies, adding greens to salad dressings… there are so many ways, but pick a few.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    p.s. i’m not saying fruit is bad, just to moderate it.

  • Thanks pianissama, as I said I’m still learning about all this and find a lot of it confusing. What you have said makes sense. I shall cut down on the fruit but I have been eating lots of vegtables from the allotment as well. I might try some lightly steamed veggies later see if that helps unblock my colon. That colonic irrigation is that something I can use myself do you have a link as to whats involved.

  • Valaria, what is good for fats? I am doing lots of reading by the way some of it is confusing me as there seems to be lots of different approaches to this. Thanks for you help though it is much appreciated.

  • heyenglishheyenglish Raw Newbie

    Lemon water is great for cleansing the colon too! I always start my day by squeezing the juice of one whole lemon into a glass of water. I try to wait at least 30 minutes – an hour before eating or drinking anything else, too.

    Coconut butter/oil (it’s the same thing, but it’s butter when it’s solid and oil when it’s liquid) helps ease things through! You can try adding a teaspoon to your smoothies.

  • Now I am confused? Do you drink this lemon water or squeeze it and apply it some other way. Apologies if it’s a dumb question again.

  • Screamingherb, she might be talking about an enema. Enema’s can be very healthy and cleansing. I’ve heard lots of people talk about using coffee in an enema for cleansing the colon.

  • Who is talking about that? I think an enema may just be the worst thing right now but I just don’t know. I haven’t drunk coffee for years it makes me behave very strangely. Maybe I am just a loose stool kind of guy?

  • Not everyone’s body is equipped to deal with going fully raw. There are alot of arguments from both sides of the camp as to how extreme one should go raw in the first place. If you are still having a problem with digestion, it is not necessarly because of detox (sometimes it has nothing to do with detox especially if you are not eating anything with detoxing properties).

    If you are still having problems I would suggest one of the following; - try lightly steaming all of your vegetables; you want to steam it enough that the veggie colour brightens but is still crispy if you bite it; if it goes soggy, then it’s over cooked - make soups such as miso soup which has bacteria in it which aid your digestion; when the soup is made (bring water to a boil adn remove from the stove) add your veggies, let sit for a few minutes as this acheives the same thing as steaming but instead of loosing some of those nutritional componants to the steamed water, it is in the soup

    - consult a nutritionist or a Chinese Doctor; everyone’s body is different so everyone’s needs are different… also the seasons have an affect on how your body is digesting…

    - try taking rejuvelac, and or kombucha to aid your digestion; wikipedia has some great information about the nutritional value of rejuvelac. As for kombucha, if you want to learn more about kombucha, I suggest reading this blog from a mushroom expert: http://www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html

  • Not everyone’s body is equipped to deal with going fully raw. There are alot of arguments from both sides of the camp as to how extreme one should go raw in the first place. If you are still having a problem with digestion, it is not necessarly because of detox (sometimes it has nothing to do with detox especially if you are not eating anything with detoxing properties). There is alot to learn about the body, foods and your body type. My advice is don’t go too extreme too fast, too much of any good thing can cause harm but not enough of a good thing also causes harm. You can drink not enough water but you can drink too much water as well. I really think you need to find a real life guide for this process you are going through but someone with more then just personal experience, someone trained in a field that relates to this.

    If you are still having problems I would suggest one of the following;

    - try lightly steaming all of your vegetables; you want to steam it enough that the veggie colour brightens but is still crispy if you bite it; if it goes soggy, then it’s over cooked

    - make soups such as miso soup which has bacteria in it which aid your digestion; when the soup is made (bring water to a boil adn remove from the stove) add your veggies, let sit for a few minutes as this acheives the same thing as steaming but instead of loosing some of those nutritional componants to the steamed water, it is in the soup

    - consult a nutritionist or a Chinese Doctor; everyone’s body is different so everyone’s needs are different… also the seasons have an affect on how your body is digesting… I cannot emphasize this enough; not everyone’s body is equipped to be 100% raw; there is a reason why some foods have traditionally been cooked (or lightly cooked) or why some foods traditionally are eaten raw. Chick peas for example are very hard on the body to digest when it is cooked; I don’t advice eating any beans raw. I personally like having a balance between steamed/lightly cooked foods and living uncooked foods. I always steam my rice, & quinoa. When I sprout beans & quinoa, I put it in the soup once I have served the soup in my bowl (so it is very lightly cooked) because I do have digestive problems which are improving but it has taken several years of experimentation to start to get my body to function properly; miso & kombucha have played a huge role in aiding my digestion along with other digestive aids such as mint.

    - try taking rejuvelac, and or kombucha to aid your digestion; wikipedia has some great information about the nutritional value of rejuvelac. As for kombucha, if you want to learn more about kombucha, I suggest reading this blog from a mushroom expert: http://www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html

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