Ellie wrote: > >I was having some bloating from what I think was bad food combining-- > >juicy fruit after protein. Since changing and taking some cassia, it's > >gone, but I'm still interested in how to tell if I am digesting a food. Shiela Shea wrote: > I think these are some very powerful questions and I am impressed with the > intellectual honesty of the rawfood group and individuals. I don't know if > I have all the answers however I can share my experience. > I realized after I wrote a note on the above issue that you had followed > the protein with fruit rather than having the fruit precede it. The senna > was always a way for me to eat without worrying about or knowing the > consequences of some of my food decisions. It just moved everything out and > that was it. I don't know if my digestion is so skewed from the bulimia or is unique > unto itself. I did have medicals tests in 1979 and the nurse was very pale > when she reported to me that the only foods I should eat are fruits and > veges. I find when I do I'm fine, when I deviate I have some problems > eliminating. I was 9 years into the bulimina and 35 years with constipation > when the tests were taken and that might have an effect. Ellie: > >Kirt posted, that when he eats a stretch of fruit/veggies for 3-4 days, > >he gets loose unformed stools until he has a meal of protein/fat, and > >that this is a sign he is not digesting fruits and veggies. Others use > >loose stools as a sign of indigestion. Could it be that the fruit is > >digested, but triggering detox reactions. If toxins are being released > >via the gut from internal organs, would they come out as diarrhea? Shiela > If my stools are too loose now with more liquid, more food particles > showing I feel that there is some bacterial imbalance occuring. Elaine > Gottschall showed electron microscope slides of the small intestines. One > of the slides showed a layer of mucus covering the wall of the small > intestines and she pointed to bacteria and fungi trapped in the layer and > quite prolific too. I looked at other GI CD Roms at U of AZ Health Sciences > Center Med Library - blowup photos of the spaces below and between the > villa, deep pockets that can become laden with bacteria, etc and one > showing giardia. I extrapolated from that - that as we eat fruit, high > fluids, ie cleansing foods and diets, read raw, that these critters > dissovled out and in some cases reactivate not to mention as you did above, > the possibility of creatures coming from lympth, organs, tissue. > I think it depends on what toxins are being released whether or not they > cause diarrhea. Gottschall mentions the effect the by-products of bacteria > and fungi have on the NERVES and in some cases it is paralysis in which > case elimination would be difficult. There is the theory on diarrhea that > the solids aren't moving, the liquids are. So bacterial, fungal, viral > activation leading to diarrhea, or nerve toxins leading to diarrhea or > constipation. > >Are loose stools a sign of not digesting fruit? Are there other ways of > >telling whether foods are getting digested, like transit time, etc. I eat > >all raw, pretty much instinctively. > I feel that loose stools don't necessarily mean the fruits are not > digesting. For some the fruits serve like a laxative moving the food/fruit > through at a higher rate. Some individuals have extra length of intestines > and I say this because I see it over and over in barium xrays. Other people > have a shorter intestines. The people that have the extra intestines suffer > difficult transit and need to eat light, raw, wet, like the fruits etc. The > people with the shorter intestines can pretty much put away anything and it > pops out the other end. They can eat the protein/fats much more easily and > maybe diets are going to be more appropriate to the length of the > intestines, too. Another factor to calculate in. > I feel that transit time should be under 24 hours. Many people don't have > peristalsis and their transits are up to 4-5 days! Gravity moves the > material through not the electro-magnetic properties of the system. > I find when I eat fruit like mangoes and papayas I have very well formed > stools. My diet consists of fruits and salads, olive oil, nuts (sometimes > sprouted), seeds, 60-95% raw on any given day. The big factor I'm playing > around with in my elimination now is bacteria, the positive. I'm so tired > of the high prices of supplements that I've returned to Victoras K's > rejuvelac, a pint to a quart a day. And I find my movements are well-formed > and more consistent. In other words, I poop daily and easily. I'm going to > add the fermented nut/seed yogurts soon too. I got onto this by > experimenting with Wachter's Phyterzyme formula with enzymes and > acidophilus. When I took 9 each night ( at wholesale the monthly pricetag > on that is $100) I had outstanding elimination the next day, my abdomen > felt wonderful and alive, and the stool was soft and well formed. > I thought, let me experiment with one thing at a time and see what has the > greatest effect. I intuitively felt it would be the flora. So I began with > the rejuvelac. I need a lot. > [Victoras and a bunch of us from Miami spent an Easter holiday on Paridise > Island, he gave a talk, I met him at Hippocrates in 1975. We came back to > Miami together and headed over to the raw food restaurant and sat together. > He mentioned the rejuve has over 27 strains of positive flora. We both > pigged out and the restaurant meaning we overate, mixed too many things > together, and both confided to each other that we threw the meal up in the > restaurant. Year was about early 80's. I hear VK is married to White Dove > these days, very active in CellTech, they are close friends to close > friends of mine who are in the top echelon of CellTech and pulling big > bucks. I became a distributor to please my friends, found it had a neutral > effect on my system, and I stay with the ocean algae which really feeds me. > I believe VK is over the bulimia. If you want me to find out how's he doing > I would be glad to do so for the group. Enough gossip!] > So far the rejuve is restoring my faith in effectiveness, simplicity, and > the living foods. It is helping my elimination and feelings of well being > in my system. Not as powerful as the phyterzyme but enough to know it's > working. I have to keep this up for a year or so to restore the floral > balace. And I still drink coffee (organic), occasionally drink wine, eat > health food candy bars tho much less, and use more cooked foods on long > backpacks. > Also, exercise is an important component in intestinal regularity and > health as it gets everything moving. I went to yoga class last night with > slight gas pain and that dead feeling in my intestines. The 'it's time to > get the enema bag out' syndrome thinking. After all the stretching and > twisting I felt great and got over that hump. I need a lot of movement as a > person, more so that others, I think. I drank a pint of the rejuve when I > got home and had a salad and had 2 big poops this am. > This is long and maybe too long winded however if you feel it's of value > for the group you are welcome to post it. > Kind Regards, > Sheila Shea > http://www.sheilas.com