Question from Olympia

[Guest guest]

I'm posting this message for Jim who is having difficulty getting onto this

list.

 

Linda

 

----------------------------

 

Hi Everyone,

I may have met a few of you at the 12 Steps workshop back in February.

Unfortunately I was just able to attend the Saturday class. Anyway, I have

been trying to go 100% raw for about a year now, and I am currently in my

3rd month being 100% raw. I previously always stopped because I was

uncomfortable about how thin I was getting. I am currently dealing pretty

well with that issue, but am experiencing other symptoms such as a slight

pain/ blockage in my ears and throat. Has anyone out there experienced

this? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jim in Olympia

jims

 

 

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

If you have throat pain, try lemon juice mixed with 1/4 teaspoon

ground cayenne pepper and optionally add same amount of ground golden

seal root. Of if your throat feels hot, try putting some oil of

pepperment on your tongue and breathing in through your mouth.

 

For ears, you can do earcandling. PCC carries the ear candles and I

believe an instruction sheet on how to do it. If you have a mirror

you can place by your eyes where you are laying down, you can do it

by yourself.

 

Ron Koenig

Bellevue, WA

 

RawSeattle , " Linda Reeves "

<heartsong98136@h...> wrote:

> I'm posting this message for Jim who is having difficulty getting

onto this

> list.

>

> Linda

>

> ----------------------------

>

> Hi Everyone,

> I may have met a few of you at the 12 Steps workshop back in

February.

> Unfortunately I was just able to attend the Saturday class.

Anyway, I have

> been trying to go 100% raw for about a year now, and I am currently

in my

> 3rd month being 100% raw. I previously always stopped because I

was

> uncomfortable about how thin I was getting. I am currently dealing

pretty

> well with that issue, but am experiencing other symptoms such as a

slight

> pain/ blockage in my ears and throat. Has anyone out there

experienced

> this? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

> Thanks, Jim in Olympia

> jims@a...

>

>

>

> _______________

> The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE*

> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

[Guest guest]

I previously always stopped because I was uncomfortable about how thin I was

getting. I am currently dealing pretty

well with that issue, but am experiencing other symptoms such as a slight pain/

blockage in my ears and throat. Has anyone out there experienced this? Any

thoughts you have would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jim in Olympia

jims

 

Hi Jim,

I would echo what Attila said about not employing remedies of any sort.

Whether your body is cleansing from the new diet, or having a difficult time

because of something you're eating, the problem can't be " cured " by ingesting

yet another substance that your body will have to eliminate. It's best to

experiment a bit with your diet, see if that helps, and if not, ride it out.

You've given your body the opportunity to heal itself, now you must allow it to

do its work. Most likely, since you are new to being raw, it is just the

cleansing/detoxification process.

There was talk at the potluck Saturday night about the fear of being too

thin. This fear is typically expressed by people who are thin even before

going raw, as those who need to lose weight generally embrace this

possibility. If you were thin on a cooked food diet -- eating great quantities

of food and not gaining weight -- it's plain that your body wasn't assimilating

the food you were eating. So, your being thin really has nothing to do with

your intake of food, it has to do with your body's compromised ability to

absorb and assimilate. In adopting a raw food diet (and fasting when the time

feels right for you), you are allowing your digestive system to heal.

Eventually it will begin to function the way it's supposed to, actually

converting the foods you eat into tissue and bone!

I sent your questions to Robert Rust, our friend in Whistler, BC. He's

been raw for 14 years, and is very knowledgeable about the transition process.

Below is his rather lengthy response. :-) Hope this helps!

Nora

 

 

Hi Jim,

 

In going raw, many people lose a lot of weight at first, though others

do not for some time. Much of it depends on your former habits and

tendencies, and everyone has their own particular nature. When I went raw,

I lost about 25 pounds, going from about 184 to the upper 150's. But I was

also working construction at the time, so it was difficult for me to give my

body enough rest so it could repair its digestive faculties and get enough

nutrition out of the food I ate. I didn't worry about the weight loss,

though, as I figured I'd just let my body do what it needed to do, and to

get my head out of it. I rebounded back to about 170 after about a year and

a half, though now I'm more around 160. I don't do too much rigourous

activity right now though, which means my body stays a little lighter than

it would be if I exercised aggressively regularly. When one has adjusted

to the raw diet after a couple years, then body weight gain strongly depends

on how active a person is, and on what types of activity the person indulges

in. But in the transition stage, the body generally likes to discard

unwanted and unneeded fluids and tissues, so that's generally not a great

time to be wanting weight gain.

 

It's important to adjust one's habits when going raw at first and not put

expectations on how one's body should behave. The old ways of behaviour are

based on cooked food habits, and the body reacts much differently to raw

foods. It needs time to repair itself, get over the stimulation of

processed cooked foods, re-establish a body chemistry that can efficiently

and effectively absorb nutrients from raw foods that are appropriate for our

diet. It takes quite a bit of time, years in fact, just to re-teach

ourselves which raw foods are actually proper for us to eat, when to eat

them, how much, at what times of the day, and so on. We're basically giving

our dietary control back to our bodies, and that takes trust, faith, and

perseverance.

 

There are many symptoms that can come up as a person re-adjusts their

body on a raw food diet, such as temporary little aches and pains,

periodically. These symptoms could be aggravated by poor raw food choices,

or by other bad habits. Humans do best with certain types of raw foods,

and worse on others. Each individual will have differing abilities to

handle certain raw foods better or worse than others. Generally speaking,

stimulative substances such as herbs, supplements, mixed up combinations of

foods, and condiment-like flavouring foods can lead a person to experience

peculiar symptoms like itchiness, ringing in the ears, irritability, prickly

feelings, and so on. It's possible that your ear and throat pain/blockage

could be provoked by your eating poorly combined foods, eating too many

nuts, too much dried fruit, too many juices, indulging in excito-herbs like

garlic and onions, among others, eating too many starchy type raw foods,

such as beets, or carrots, and so on. Going raw can definitely be a

challenge, and a lot of experience is required before one gets it right.

 

I don't know what your regular eating habits are, but they are no doubt

involved in your symptoms, whether you are cleansing or not from the raw

food diet, in the first place. Of course, diet isn't everything, and you

might also need to look at how much fresh air you get regularly,

particularly at night, how much outdoor activity you get, how much sunlight,

rest, sleep, work, etc.

 

In regards to a sensible diet, I've found that one needs to develop a

nice balance between eating fruits and greens, so that neither are eaten to

excess. Greens tend to help us grow musculature, whereas fruits tend to

supply us with easy available energy to use our musculature. Of course we

need to get adequate fats, but they can easily be overdone. Fats like those

found in coconuts, nuts, seeds, avocados, durian, olives, and other whole

foods are great in supplying us with fatty nutrients that assist the

absorption of minerals, vitamins, etc, so that we develop a well rounded,

warm, pleased feeling and expression, but if they are eaten too much, we

become sluggish and once again out of balance.

 

When I first went raw, no amount of eating could get me over my weight

loss, so it became obvious to me that I had an absorption and assimilation

problem that needed to be given time to heal and adjust. I did that by

resting more, doing a few short fasts, eating less, eating more balanced

(not so many fruits, more greens, regular fats but not overly much), and

not trying to force things out of my body that it was not able to quite do.

 

In regards to symptoms, I've found it very helpful to not eat for a day

or two, or at least to skip meals in a day, so that the symptomatic

expressions pass. Symptoms are generally expressions that the body is

having difficulty in various areas of the body in eliminating wastes in

normal manners, so the body needs to conserve its energies, reduce its

wastes production, and gain better control over its fluids and tissues so

that normal waste elimation occurs. I know its difficult not to eat when

one feels they are getting too thin, but what may really be the problem is

that the person needs to rest their digestive faculties more, so that

digestive ability becomes more powerful, which then enables weight gain to

be possible.

 

For those who may be eating things that don't supply proper balances of

nutrients, a sensible nutrient-rich diet needs to be adopted. This doesn't

mean supplements or super foods, but rather just wholesome rich greens, ripe

flavourful fruit, and adequate fats, in proper amounts and proportions.

Juicing greens can provide a great source of mineral rich nutrients, but

it's easy to over do it. Maybe a cup a day is enough.

 

In the beginning, overeating on any one food type, sweet, fatty, or

mineral rich (greens) can lead to lethargy. Overeating on nuts can lead to

throat irritation, possible teeth problems, plugged up nasal membranes,

irritability, and other symptoms. Likewise, excessive fruit consumption can

lead to similar symptoms, and yet others. As time passes and you experiment

with eating a proper variety of raw foods that are actually beneficial to

you, you'll gain an ability to know just what type of food you need at any

one meal. One day you'll have a strong desire for lettuces, or celery, at

other times sweet fruits, at other times fattier foods. You'll slowly learn

what you need to stay balanced naturally, no mind games. Simplicity is

best, one food at a time, a nice variety overall, rich foods, nutrient

dense, and so on.

 

Eating one food at a time, or making an effort to do that, will provide

your body with the opportunity to simply its digestive actions, thus easing

its ability to absorb nutrients, and thus to tell you how it is feeling, and

what is going on with it, and what it will need in the future. A person who

eats all various sorts of food combinations at each meal never gives

themselves the opportunity to sort out their nutritional needs in a simple

way. Each food we eat, whether it is an orange, a leaf of lettuce, or an

avocado is actually already a very complicated food substance, well

balanced, and in the perfect form for our body to digest and assimilate

without trouble. It's when we start mixing things, to satisfy our often

perverted and habitual appetites, that we continue to overburden our body's

ability to supply itself with nutrition.

 

In order to have good energy, one needs to have a good supply of

minerals and salts from greens along with the vitamins and sugars in fruits.

Of course fats will help provide smoother absorption of these nutrients,

and all the nutrients will work together to help the body provide itself

with wonderful amounts of energy. Sometimes it takes awhile to clue into

what you are doing ineffectively, or overdoing, and then to make the change

that brings about better feelings. There's much to learn on a raw food diet

as we are a long, long ways from natural behaviour in our society. It's not

always an easy road. Our mind sets have to be changed, our mental and

emotional habits need re-adjusting, our activity habits need improving, we

need to change our social and home environments, and so on. It's a big

challenge, as exciting as it may be, and as beneficial as it can be.

 

I hoped that may have helped a bit, in a general way.

 

With the best intentions, Robert

[Guest guest]

Great answer and information from a man with lots of experience

living raw. I find that the longer I stay on an all-natural vegan

diet, little " symptoms " that show up do not alarm me because I have

gotten to know my body better and understand when I start behaving in

certain ways or exhibiting certain symptoms that I need to do certain

things to bring myself back into balance. As our body detoxes and

gets cleaner and stronger, our mental functioning will also improve--

notably the moodiness and inclination to easily get upset will be

replaced with a more even keel peaceful attitude. Those who have the

former attitude you can rest assured their body is toxic.

 

If digestion is a concern in not gaining weight, I would add the raw

foods that have enzymes that help in the digestion of food--notably

pineapple and papaya. Also, be sure and chew your food well, getting

the saliva mixed in with the food. Be at peace when you eat--don't

eat if you are upset or in a hostile or negative environment, those

things interfere with proper digestion of food. It's not the

quantity that is important as much as the body's ability to

assimilate and utilize the elements you are taking in. I speak from

experience as I went through a period where I was eating normally but

losing weight.

 

If a natural remedy is employed, it should be to assist the body in

what it is trying to accomplish, not so much to mitigate a symptom.

If something you are doing in your diet is causing the symptom,

taking in something else to offset that effect is not the path to

optimum health. Our whole mentality with medicine has always been to

get rid of symptoms. (It could be likened sometimes to turning off

the annoying idiot light on a car's dashboard. No more symptom, but

the cause has not been addressed and something worse could happen

later on.) Instead we need to understand what the symptom is telling

us and find and remove the cause of the symptom and/or assist the

body in the process that created the symptom. I think those who have

been there understand what I am saying.

 

Ron Koenig

Bellevue, WA

 

RawSeattle , " Nora Lenz " <nlenz@q...> wrote:

> I previously always stopped because I was uncomfortable about how

thin I was

> getting. I am currently dealing pretty

> well with that issue, but am experiencing other symptoms such as a

slight pain/

> blockage in my ears and throat. Has anyone out there experienced

this? Any

> thoughts you have would be appreciated.

> Thanks, Jim in Olympia

> jims@a...

>