Hello Beautiful!

It looks like you're new to The Community. If you'd like to get involved, click one of these buttons!

In this Discussion

difficult times

i have been predominantly vegan for many years and recently became very interested in the raw lifestyle. i am not 100% and not sure that i am ready for that. i am aiming to be about 80% raw right now. i have been incorporating much more raw food into my diet lately (lots of salads, fruit, green smoothies... etc.). prior to this i eliminated beans, rice, soy, and wheat/gluten. so i feel like i have done a good job at moving slowly into this. however, i feel like crap. i still don't have any energy and my skin is broken out worse then before i started all this. i am also having interesting feelings in my gut. sometimes a tightness in my lower abdomen and sometimes a bloating feeling. i am also having one hell of a time emotionally. i would say, for lack of a better phrase, that i am "prone to depression". i have noticed that i have had an especially hard time pulling myself away from that lately. i just want to know what some of you recommend to help with this process. and i hope that i am not alone in these experiences. i have assumed all of this is me detoxing. but i don't know for sure. i am excited to be a part of this online community!

Comments

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    Could be detox, could be a deficiency. Could simply be change. I recommend FitDay to see if your diet measures up. Just input your intake for two or three days (no real need to do it every day) and see how things are going. Also, blood tests with your Doc would reveal any deficiencies, if any.

    Welcome!

    :~)

    http://www.fitday.com

    No, I am not affiliated with them. I happened to find them when I was having energy issues and found out how lacking my diet was. Helped a lot! The free online version is sufficient.

    I also use this site, a lot, too: http://www.nutritiondata.com/ since raw foods don't typically have labels! ;)

  • susannabellajanesusannabellajane Raw Newbie

    Sounds like you could have a Vitamin B-12 deficiency. My daughter ended up with similar symptoms after she'd been a vegetarian since she was the age of 8. Around age 24 she started having weird pains, stomach pains, severe depression, then shooting lights in her vision. I sent her some expensive B-12 that comes in a nasal inhaler and within 3 weeks she was amazingly better. You also might try incorporating Nutritional Yeast into your diet. Your pee will get real yellow, so don't freak out. :) Anyway....be well, and if you find any answers let us know.

  • joannabananajoannabanana Raw Newbie

    susanna, i had no idea your pee can get yellow from nooch!! i used to eat it all the time and had crazy yellow pee. my doctor wanted to get me tested for diabetes because of it.

  • rawmamanibblesrawmamanibbles Raw Newbie

    Shazzie says to supplement with DHA - she says a good vegan dha supplement is OMegaZen3 - even though we as raw foodist can get dha from out food when you have depression it might be a good idea to take a little extra, and DHA is known to help with depression.

  • I have a quick question, i definitely believe in raw foods, and I am Vegan with mostly raw diet, but if this is the way we are supposed to eat why do we need supplements?

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    anabanana~ Here are a few reasons why supplementation would be useful (and that is well produced, well selected supplements):

    * Lack of adequate nutritionally dense food (email me for an article about the loss of nutrition in our food source). Not all places have availability of a variety of foods.

    * Lack of eating a variety of foods that an individual needs (most people predominately eat from a small group of foods)

    * Having a nutritional deficit (health challenge) that would be difficult to fulfill (reverse) without condensed additional resources (nutrition)

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    yes you can't expect being raw to cure problems that have been caused from years of eating cooked foods primarily.

    i agree to make sure you are getting DHA. blue green algae is a good source.

    for me green juicing helps me get through detox and feel better. so does raw chocolate (cacao). ;-)

  • I second the suggestions of blood work and possibly taking vitamin-B suppliments. I'm wondering if it's the high raw food, or if when you cut out beans, rice, soy and wheat if you aren't missing something nutritionally.

    Personally, I would back off some on all the changes. I know you said you took it slowly, but did you change more than one thing at a time. Maybe cutting out certain foods while adding vegetables you're not use to. It is of course up to you, but for me I try to keep my health (physically and emotionally) my priority above "being vegan" or"being raw."

  • thank you for all of the suggestions! i really appreciate it. i spent so many years trying to be vegan because of ethical reasons that i forgot all about my health. i just assumed i was healthy. so while i embrace the raw food lifestyle i feel like i am teaching myself about food all over again. i am really trying to pay attention to what i eat, crave, what makes me feel good or bad and so forth. i will try adding some more supplements in to see if i notice a difference. i also want to do some bloodwork and some sort of hormone panel.

    i really appreciate everyones comments! thank you. i hope you all have a beautiful weekend. warmer weather is coming!! :)

Sign In or Register to comment.