Michael (he of the no-last-name :-) ) writes-- >Recently I picked up a heath magazine and was fascinated by an article on >raw foods and I decided I would go the "cold turkey" route that Michele >cautioned against. Not only that, but I decided to also give up Skoal, >Macanudos and wine at the same time. >Well, this new dietary regimen hit my system like a scud missile. The day >after I began the diet I had an attack of flatulence that caused me >considerable embarrassment at work. Not only did I pass gas constantly, it >was so pungent that my boss suggested that I take the afternoon off. Hi Michael. Your post was quite literally a real gas, :-) and I can understand why Kirt wasn't inclined to take it seriously. Quite frankly, something in the way it was written made me think it might be a spoof at first too. And still does. I mean cigars, wine, chewing terbakky, flatulence, and 3 women in bed every day, plus a boss gladly suggesting you take the day off, and then the motivation behind it all being for the Lord--my gosh, it's one of those things that makes you go "hmmmm" (remember the old Arsenio Hall show?). However, :-) assuming for the moment it's not a spoof (and thus risking serious egg on my beard if it is--but what the hell), I'll be glad to jump in here and take your problem seriously and maybe make myself look ridiculous. (What's the internet for if not to make people look ridiculous after all so everybody else can enjoy it? :-) ) Just in case it was a spoof, however, I'll make sure I try to keep up a sufficient chuckle quotient in this reply as well. (And remember, everybody, you saw it here first--I KNEW I was "had" ahead of time, so it doesn't count! :-\ ) So... anyway... I'm in regular contact with a couple score of natural hygienists (who eat mostly raw, some of whom eat all-raw, rah! rah!), and the reactions people have to the all-raw diet vary considerably. Some people have no gas, while others have quite a bit. (And some spew it out in more profusion from the front end than the back. :-) ) I'm not real sure what the percentages would be of people having problems vs. those not. (Mebbe we should take a poll right here and now! Whaddaya say, folks? :-) ) From what I understand, though, the gas arises from intestinal flora (bacteria) working overtime on all the cellulose in a raw-food diet, and contrary to popular belief, vegetarianism/raw-foodism, etc., in and of itself does not guarantee freedom from gas problems. (Hey, ain't those bacteria "symbiotic" like they're s'posed to be, or not!?) So what DOES guarantee freedom from the flatulence? Well, <drum roll, please> there's ALWAYS.... ....BEAN-O! Yes, folks, Beano! Millions of 'mericans swear by Beano to help them through not only post-nasal drip, acid stomach, and the heartbreak of psoriasis, but also FLATULENCE. Believe it or not, even the master of hot air himself, Rush Limbaugh, now recommends that instead of breaking wind, you break an olympic sprint record instead running right down to your local health food store and along with that thar Snapple, purchase YOUR Beano today. Get the RUSH out of YOUR system! Yes, it's possible.... with BEANO! (By the way, has anybody actually tried those "Bean-O" drops they sell up at the front counter in your local health-food store? I hear it really works. Must be a big seller, too, if they have it at the front counters.) But back to our regularly scheduled posting... For me, natural gas production :-) reached all-time highs several years ago when I went on a 95-100% raw vegetarian diet, and it continued to stay at high levels even some months later. My stock was considerably devalued in the eyes of my girlfriend, however, who voiced numerous and regular objections to the aroma at the time--an odiferousness which I sort of got to where I savored. :-) :-) Some raw-foodists say the problem dissipates (sorry, couldn't resist) with time as your body adapts to processing roughage more efficiently, and that may be, but it sure didn't happen for me. Another consideration is food-combining. Following so-called food-combining principles (not combining protein with starch--as occurs naturally in those danged beans--as well as other rules theoretically designed to improve digestion) is supposed to ensure efficient assimilation and eliminate gas. In theory. In practice, it did nothing to mitigate gas for me. The only thing that finally began putting a lid on the gas was when I started eating a fair amount of cooked foods again (grains, potatoes, etc.). I now eat probably about 60%/40% raw by volume and that seems to be where I function best in general (not just vis-a-vis putting the cork back in the ol' stopper), after having tried various levels of raw vs. cooked. Also, I found gas decreased once I finally started IGNORING food-combining principles after having followed them religiously for a couple of years or more. Digestion slowed down and I seemed to assimilate my food better that way and maintained weight easier. Eating the extremely simple meals advocated by food-combining principles seemed to cause food to pass through my gut like a freight train and it left me feeling puny a lot (like Nancy Dunlap mentions in her post) with semi-diarrhea. And then the final cap on the pipeline which pretty much eliminated any remaining natural-gas leakage was adding modest amounts of animal foods. However, YMMV (your mileage may vary). Mine is just one experience. Other people swear going mostly all-raw solved their gas problems. Listen to your own body. Experiment. Don't get stuck banging your head against the wall if one thing doesn't work after you've given it a fair try. Don't get too sucked into idealism. Be practical. Give theories and ideals consideration, but in the end, base what you do on results, and be open to revising your models and theories like a scientist would if the data don't agree with predictions. Most of all, if this whole train of thought is just a joke played on the Veg-Raw group, see if you can laugh at it. That's my two cents. >but something else >happened with an even greater potential for negative consequences. I know I >risk offending some people by telling this. Still, I can't help wondering >if raw foods have the same effect on others. Anyway, I experienced a sudden >and dramatic increase in my sex drive! I mean, I was calling women I hadn't >talked to in years and asking them out. Not an evening went by that I >didn't get someone to come home with me. Again, assuming this is not just a spoof (and now risking tomato splats in addition to any egg dripping from my beard), your situation does seem to, er uh, stick out from the usual stories I have heard from other raw-foodists. Many people who go on a raw-food diet seem to have the expectation (even anticipation and hope) it will make them more "spiritual" and "lessen" their materialistic desires for sex and so on. For me, it certainly lowered sex drive, but did nothing for my materialism, since I craved food all day long on all-raw. (I would just as soon it had been the other way around: INcreased sex drive, and less hypnotized by food.) Some people report their sex drive virtually disappears on a raw-food diet. Relatively few (correct me if I am wrong here, everybody, with your own stories!) seem to have the vastly increased libido you say you're experiencing, although it may increase modestly for some. Not to offend your religious sensibilities regarding masturbation, Michael, but geez, have you considered utilizing "five-fingered Rosie" (always close at hand :-) ) rather than feeling the obligation to always take it out on the women? :-) I'm serious about that. Nothing wrong with either some creative fantasizing or simple expediency to relieve the urge in my book. If you ask me, Onan in the bible gets a bad rap. Shoulda been a prophet and hadda book named after 'im, sez I. :) Of course, if even then it still rubs you the wrong way, I'm not sure exactly what to say. (Use LOTION, though--not yer bare hands!) Another avenue to approach: I find that modest amounts of exercise within reason increase my energy level and sex drive both. However, during times when I have gotten into HEAVY endurance training for competition, it's as if my body needs all its energy for training, and sex drive decreases at those times. So maybe... enroll in a health club. Visualize the women there as an attractant to get you to go, then use the steamy atmosphere to sweat out all those pheromones. Then again, you say you are young. I still remember what it was like to be in my late teens/early 20s with periodic binges on a 2 or 3-times-a-day sex diet. No more. Wait till you're somewhat older. You'll mellow. I know that doesn't help now, but it may not be so unnatural at your age. That's when the body's primed for it after all. Now does anybody want to broach the subject of injaculation as a solution? (I don't believe in it, but some swear by it.) Then there's tantra, karezza, and so forth... --Ward Nicholson <[log in to unmask]> Wichita, KS P.S. My apologies if some find this post offensive, particularly Michael. I trust the serious passages are distinguishable enough from the all leg-pulling.