Are Raw Foods Making You Gassy?

Many people who start on the raw food diet, especially after years of eating the Standard American Diet of meat, cheeses, and daily dose of dairy, come across a fairy common problem – flatulence.

When one begins on the raw food diet, fermentations may occur which form gas and flatulence in the intestinal tract. This may have several causes:

1.  Plague encrusted intestines (impacted with mucus and hardened fecal matter)

Years of meat, dairy and processed foods consumption result in an intestinal tract heavily burdened with undigested matter that accumulated in the small pockets of the long intestines. Add fruit sugar or green leafy veggies cellulose on top of that – and you’ve got yourself a smelly feast!

2.  Going from low fiber to high fiber

A diet of unnatural and highly processed foods usually means that your intake of fiber is pretty low. Fiber is crucial to elimination of undigested matter so if we do not consume fiber, most of the toxic waste accumulates in our body. When your body starts getting high fiber from fruit and vegetables it suddenly doesn’t know how to deal with it.

3.  Low hydrochloric acid

Again, years of eating processed, unnatural foods may result in our stomach’s low hydrochloric acid. According to Victoria Boutenko, hydrochloric acid starts decreasing early in life if we abuse our gastrointestinal tract through food excesses, chemical use, and stress. Overeating, especially overeating of fast and proteins, wears out the parietal cells of the stomach that secret HCI.

4.  Less than ideal food combining

Most people do not follow proper food combining. Eating proteins and carbohydrates or sugars and fats in one meal creates improper digestion in the stomach, which results in indigestion, gas, and feeling tired.

5.  Consuming foods are difficult to digest

Some foods such as bean sprouts, wheatberry sprouts, or soaked oats, if eaten in large quantities without being mixed with a sufficiently large quantity of green-leafed vegetables, will result in bloating and gas.

6.  Overeating apples and pears (or their juices)

These foods contain large quantities of pectin and other bowl cleansing compounds that can increase flatulence.

7.  Candida overgrowth

If one repeatedly experiences gas and fermentation from eating sweet fruit as a mono-diet, this could be a sign of a candida overgrowth. A candida overgrowth or another microbial/fungal imbalance of the digestive tract is occurring. This can be over come by an organic no-sugar, no-starch diet, probiotics supplemental enzymes, more dietary greens, juices, seeds, seaweeds, superfoods, grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, vitamin C, MSM powder, and garlic.

8.  Lack of hydration

Water is crucial to proper digestion for it helps out body to eliminate indigestive matter and toxins. Without water the body cannot function properly.

9.  Eating gas-increasing foods such as beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, yeast-containing foods such as breads and cheese.

Here are some possible solutions for flatulence:

1. Mono meals.  Eating one food at a time guarantees you follow proper food combining rules. It also helps you determine which foods tend to cause gas more than others. 
2. Gradual increase of fiber. Fiber is important but eating a lot of it from the start is difficult for some. Start gradually with adding some green smoothies to your daily diet and than adding some fiber-rich foods such as flax seeds (add one tablespoon of ground flax meal to your salad, soup, or smoothie).
3. Enzyme supplement. Enzymes are essential for our digestion so help your body digest better by adding enzyme supplements. You are guaranteed to feel the difference in your energy level after the meal, in your digestion, and overall well-being.
4. Ginger or peppermint tea. These teas are soothing to your digestive tract and help calm it down.
5. Chewing food well. Oftentimes, gas comes from the air you “swallow” when eating very fast. Chewing your food slowly and thoroughly will help your food to digest better (digestive process and the release of enzymes begins in the mouth) but will also eliminate the amount of air that goes into your stomach with food.
6. Blending greens for better digestion. If you are not used to eating lots of greens which are known for their hard cellulose, then you would be wise to blend your greens with some fruit to help your body digest them better. A strong blender breaks down the hard vegetable cellulose and makes it more ready for digestion.
7. Regular exercise such as walks keeps the intestinal muscles in ship shape. Regular bowel movements keep the levels of gas producing bacteria low resulting in less flatulence.

If you follow these suggestions, the problem of gas will become a thing of the past. It takes some time for your body to get used to eating raw foods (especially after years of eating processed foods), but with time your body will grow to love them and will thank you for it with good health and vibrant energy.

Eat well, be healthy, live long!

Comments

[earthmother]

I used to suffer from horrible gas and bloating. If I wasn't burping, well, I was tooting. Since transitioning from SAD to Raw, and following proper food combining, all is 'quiet' here. No more gas. Hooray!

[Alison]

Oh yeah, raw food and gas! I have been lucky to not have any issues, but it's a common problem and unfortunately makes a lot of people give up on raw too early! Great list of reasons and solutions!

[Alina]

Thanks, Alison!

I agree, some folks do give up early on because of this "smelly" issue, so hopefully this post will help them along the way :)

I appreciate your comment.

[Gary]

This is a great post on the gassy side effect to be aware of when changing your diet such as switching to raw foods. One of the remedies that I found that worked was a activated charcoal supplement called CharcoCaps which relieves pressure and bloating.

[Alina]

Thanks, Gary!

Activated charcoal is a wonderful remedy especially for relieving food poisonings symptoms. However, I wouldn't recommend using it too often - following proper diet rules is much more important than depending on another pill to solve our health problems :)

Alina