>On the issue of strengthening one's digestion: I suppose both cooked
>foods and fruits (to a smaller extent) could weaken the digestive
>system.  How exactly does one define a weak digestive system (what has
>happened to it), and what might the signs be of one?

>From Sheila:
I feel that I have had weak 'digestive fires' and my mission now is to
understand what builds the fires. I understand that the chronic
constipation since infancy weakened the GI tract and the stagnation created
a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus and hence a higher rate of
infection and dead fire because nothing was moving. The eating disorders
esp bulimia further weakened the intestines. The vomiting and laxative
abuse created oral and rectal bleeding. I finally ended all the behaviors
last year and am pooping on my own albeit weakly. In Chinese medicine, my
'triple heater' tests low or weak. Those are the organs that generally
'fire' digestion.
So signs of a 'weak digestive system' for me have been constipation,
difficulty breaking foods down in the system, poor muscle tone, strong
spasms or constrictions with pain from emotional/physical causes, little to
no feeling in the GI tract.
Anyway, the raw food diet has been a good one for me. I always feel better
when I eat raw and leave starches out of my diet ie grains, potatoes. I try
to follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that Elaine Gottschall writes
about in her book 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle.' I feel more energetic, I
eliminate better, and my abdomen feels more alive.

Kind Regards,
Sheila Shea
http://www.sheilas.com