Share the weirdness you feel when you eated cooked

[Lisa]

In the beginning there was light....yeah and the wonderfulness of eating raw, and it was soooo easy. But then came the holidaze, as I like to call them, and the food, the eating out, the parties, the cookie bakes....it all interferes with my perfect little world where I can control the food prep and often the will power. So, I ate some cooked food. I ate some meat, and some sugar, and dairy, oh my! This is what i noticed: I slept badly, bad dreams, tossing and turning, stuffy nose....My armpits stung, my left shoulder ached right at the joint to the point of me massaging it madly and wondering what the heck I must of done to it and holding it over my head to alleviate the painful pressure. I was cranky and couldn't control my emotions......I even started my period two weeks early. My face looked as though it had aged a few years... seriously. I would love to hear what other rawfuers notice when they reintroduce cooked, meat and/or dairy and sugar to their raw bodies.

[sarabethxvx]

I was raw for 4 months this summer and decided I was going to take a break for the holiday period so I wouldn't feel alienated at parties and holiday gatherings. Over the course of two months I got sinus congestion, my face looks tired and puffy, I gained 5-7lbs, my asthma is back, and my skin is itchy and drier.
Back to raw for me!

[robyn]

I've partaken of more cooked food than I wanted to this winter so far and I have lots of the same symptoms as everyone else. I'm tired, cranky, my skin looks dull and worn...if you've ever heard the expression "Rode hard and put up wet" that pretty much sums up how I feel and look. I don't eat meat so that's not an issue, gluten really makes me itchy and my sciatica flares up. I have however been eating a bit of raw dairy...cheese mostly...and find that actually makes me feel better. I've been really trying to make a conscious effort to eat more raw than cooked to help balance out my diet. For the most part that works for me if I have to eat cooked food and I up my green smoothie intake as well. Soon the "holidaze" (I love that!) will be over and we can get back to our old routines. Remember to take what you've learned from this year to make next an even better one! Love & light to you all!

[teegardinzen]

that's interesting that you mentioned dreams, because i had a crazy dream every night i was on vacation for the holidaze (i like to call them that as well!). i still managed to eat 99.9% vegan, but it was 99.9% cooked. the meal that i really noticed physically was curly fries and a couple bites of grilled fish - whoa. rock in the stomach immediately, lethargic, bloated, and uncomfortable for the next 2 days. i'm glad i did it though - a good reminder of what i'm not missing! have a fabulous day 4!

[T2]

I get an immediate pounding headache, then after a while I get heartburn and tiredness. I try very hard to not eat much processed/cooked food because I know it will make me feel awful. I would rather drink water and go hungry.

[Renata]

I seem to get a lot of mouth sores. When I was a pastry chef working 80 hours a week, I would eat whatever was around, which usually meant cookies: easy to grab and available. The sugar would just make my mouth break out into sores. I ended up getting through the busy season of the holidays last year with 13 cavities, and I had never had a cavity in my life up until that point. It was around that time that I had begun experimenting with fasting wtih raw fruits and vegetables, and I felt so good, I just kept going on the fast!
My mom took me to a raw vegan potluck, where I realized that some people never went off the fast! And so, the beginning of '08 is when I started trying to 'do raw.' It's the raw desserts that convinced me.

Once, after being raw for a few months, I decided to get some dumplings over stir fried veggies at this fabulous Buddhist vegan restaurant I used to love. I felt bloated and swollen for the rest of the day, AND I developed a blister on the roof of my mouth..A BLISTER! Like I actually had to pop it! It was so nasty!

[Renata]

Hey, FarmSchooler,
Loomis is great! I'm studying for a Master's Degree in Holistic Nutrition right now, and I just finished a course on Enzymes using his text! His work is marvelous, I'd reccomend it to all!

[Lisa]

Thanks for the reccomendation Farmschooler...I do take some enzymes-sometimes, but just something I picked up at the health section of the local grocer. I will look into the Enzyme solutions.

FarmSchooler said:

I take enzymes when I eat any cooked food (it happens) and dont have any troubles that I can identify. Enzyme Solutions (Loomis Institute) have an EXCELLENT selection of products that are very need specific. You have to get them thru a certified health professional (ND, CNHP, etc) Even Enzymend (available in many HFS's) works fine for general purposes though.

[Rgibbe2]

Where do I begin? It all depends on the food... Rage, Mood swings, the runs (from meat), constipation (from everything else), headaches, dizziness, arm pit stink, lethargy (from dairy & sugar), gas/bloat, stuffiness and/or runny nose...

[Lisa]

Hi sarabethxvx, I missed you while you were gone. Glad you are back! Back to raw for me too!
sarabethxvx said:

I was raw for 4 months this summer and decided I was going to take a break for the holiday period so I wouldn't feel alienated at parties and holiday gatherings. Over the course of two months I got sinus congestion, my face looks tired and puffy, I gained 5-7lbs, my asthma is back, and my skin is itchy and drier.
Back to raw for me!

[Renata]

If you vitamix your food, or at least chew it very well, and don't eat Genetically Modified produce, chances are you are getting enough enzymes in the food you eat, and your body produces whatever else you need.
Taking enzyme supplements isn't usually a good idea (and this is coming from Loomis himself; that's why I'm kinda suprised he sells them though the Loomis Institute). In his book he cautions against taking enzymes because they are either not needed, or not able to stay intact long enough to get to where they need to be.

The only enzymes you can really take and have them work are Carbohydrate enzymes, because those are the ones produced in the mouth and in the predigestive stomach...the problem is, these are also the easiest to get from food itself, and are usually amply created by the body.

Ways to increase the enzymatic action of your food are, as I said, to either chew really really well, drink more smoothies (vitamix purees chew a little better than teeth do, in a lot of cases hehe), and to massage your greens before you eat them. Also dont eat genetically modified produce (a lot of it has been modified to decrease their enzymes so they don't go bad as quickly).

Good luck! Even though Loomis cautions this, if the enzymes are from the Loomis institute, I'd trust them, just cause Loomis is awesome.

Lisa said:

Thanks for the reccomendation Farmschooler...I do take some enzymes-sometimes, but just something I picked up at the health section of the local grocer. I will look into the Enzyme solutions.

FarmSchooler said:

I take enzymes when I eat any cooked food (it happens) and dont have any troubles that I can identify. Enzyme Solutions (Loomis Institute) have an EXCELLENT selection of products that are very need specific. You have to get them thru a certified health professional (ND, CNHP, etc) Even Enzymend (available in many HFS's) works fine for general purposes though.

[Lisa]

Oh those mouth sores are a constant reminder, aren't they? I forgot to mention that I also developed a canker sore, which I NEVER get when I am raw.

Renata said:

I seem to get a lot of mouth sores. When I was a pastry chef working 80 hours a week, I would eat whatever was around, which usually meant cookies: easy to grab and available. The sugar would just make my mouth break out into sores. I ended up getting through the busy season of the holidays last year with 13 cavities, and I had never had a cavity in my life up until that point. It was around that time that I had begun experimenting with fasting wtih raw fruits and vegetables, and I felt so good, I just kept going on the fast!
My mom took me to a raw vegan potluck, where I realized that some people never went off the fast! And so, the beginning of '08 is when I started trying to 'do raw.' It's the raw desserts that convinced me.

Once, after being raw for a few months, I decided to get some dumplings over stir fried veggies at this fabulous Buddhist vegan restaurant I used to love. I felt bloated and swollen for the rest of the day, AND I developed a blister on the roof of my mouth..A BLISTER! Like I actually had to pop it! It was so nasty!

[mygreenearth]

When I eat cooked food I pretty much fall into a stupor. I get really fuzzy and sleepy. What's crazy is that I always used to feel so sleepy throughout my life, and then I ate 90-100% and I had so much energy. Over the holidays I ate a lot of cooked foods, and the days that I did I wanted to go to bed or just stare at the tv. It was such a shock to me, and I realized that's how I always used to feel. I can't believe I lived my life feeling like that. I don't know how I ever made it through college. So now I am back to being 90-100%, and I have much more energy. My to-do list gets completely done, and then some!