This is a major problem that people attempting a raw diet typically face. Flatulence and bloating are not only uncomfortable for the person experiencing them, but also make it hard to coexist with others for obvious reasons influencing one's self-perception, image, and confidence. A good news is that those symptoms are not something to settle for because they can be minimized or avoided altogether. While some gas formation is normal as a part of the gut bacteria breaking down their food, which is cellulose and various soluble and insoluble polysaccharides, having an inflated, achy belly is not normal.
The recommendations I will provide below apply to both the beginners and those who have been experimenting with raw foods for some time. Here they are summarized:
Allow your gut and gut microbiome to heal.
Separate sugary fruit meals from everything else.
Allow time between your meals.
Snack mindfully and infrequently if at all.
Do not overeat.
Minimize gut microbiome disturbances such as antibiotics, toxic environmental chemicals, and stress and avoid alcohol.
Chew your food well.
Discussion:
I would like to group (1) and (6) because they are surely linked. Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria (i.e., the bacteria who's metabolites are toxic substances) or yeast in the gut not only suppresses the growth of symbiotic bacteria (bacteria who's metabolites are usable and beneficial for the body), but causes disruption of a healthy gut lining and can lead to flare ups in the body's vulnerable systems. While on a raw diet we naturally increase the amount of wholesome polysaccharides that symbiotic bacteria feeds off, while we naturally avoid refined sugars, processed foods, and animal products, there are still factors that can negatively affect our gut lining and microbiome. There still may be proteins that our body is uniquely sensitive to (for me, it is some group of lectins contained in quinoa, for example), some acute allergens and substances that inflame the gut (for me, it is fresh garlic). There still may be environmental chemistries that we are oblivious to (drinking and household water, laundry detergent, cosmetics, furniture and finishes, etc.). There may be some chronic psychological stress. One other important factor affecting gut health is vitamin D deficiency which also must be prevented or reversed.
Check if you have unusual reactions to certain foods that are typically considered healthful, but don't quite work for you specifically. Revisit your daily life and find the ways of increasing your mental comfort to mitigate chronic stress. Revamp your beauty routine and cleaning products to minimize the use of synthetic chemistries. Work on getting proper vitamins and minerals with your diet. You can check my YouTube channel and other blog posts to find actual how-to's.
Regarding (2), make sure you eat large amounts of sweet fruits separately from everything else. Sugary fruits, on top of complex carbs, fiber, will have prevalence of either glucose or fructose, and some fruits will even have galactose and sucrose. Each type of sugar will be used up rather quickly, but still at a different rate and in different locations in the intestine. This is why mixing large amounts of fruits with varied sugar types and contents with each other and with other foods that have lower passage time will lead to flatulence. The good news is that you will likely need to allow only 40 - 60 min of wait time before and after a fruit meal. In general though, the fruits we have accessible nowadays are a result of genetic selection that was purposefully maximizing sugar content in the fruits (as opposed to starchier, more plain and bitter historic counterparts), so being mindful of how much of sugary fruits you are consuming altogether may be useful.
This automatically brings us to the point number (3). Not only foods with different properties (i.e., ratio between fat, protein, fiber, and carbohydrates) will have different passage time, it is also important to acknowledge that various substances require different pancreatic enzymes and environments in the gut to be fully broken down and absorbed. Striving to eat simpler meals consisting of compatible foods and allowing them to go through the initial section of the intestine where their exposure to the bile and enzymes happen before consuming the next meal will definitely help reduce the occurrence of flatulence.
Related to (2) and (3), avoid compulsive snacking. The fact that you became a raw foodist doesn't automatically mean that you gave up on all of your dysfunctional eating habits. Yes, you may be emotionally eating fruits or nuts instead of candy or chips, but you are still eating to achieve emotional comfort. If you suffer from flatulence and snack a lot, try monitoring yourself for a few days - any time you eat something write down time, what you ate, and in which quantities. Let facts (i.e., quantitative data) speak for themselves because while we keep things qualitative we cannot appreciate their real influence and vastness.
Number (5) is a huge one and it was something I used to struggle with. Raw fruits, berries, vegetables are so easy to consume in large amounts! We regard them as very healthful, beautifying foods (which is true), and at the same time we recall the habits of eating concentrated cooked foods, so it is very tempting to push ourselves into eating so much that our GI system simply gets overwhelmed. We try to get maximum goodness and at the same time avoid nutrient deficiencies that we project from the cooked food tradition, but as a result we cross that optimum point beyond which all the health foods become wasteful and rather disrupt our body. The main recommendation here is: FACE THE FACTS. Measure how much of each food you are eating and compute the nutritional value. See what amounts of each food add up to a complete nutritional profile and eat just as much of the foods and no more. Designing your baseline diet this way and identifying the key foods you need to have in your diet daily is going to help you regulate your nutrition and find your optimal portion sizes. Another idea is to split particularly large, but very nutritious meals, such as salad into 2 meals, for instance.
Chewing your food well, as stated in (7) is another important contribution into not only your digestive comfort, but into the overall sustainability of your nutrition. Digestion starts in the mouth, and as we are chewing our food we expose it to the salivary amylase which breaks down complex carbs into glucose. If we quickly swallow our food, of course, it will get subjected to the pancreatic amylase, but that will be happening along with digestion of all other substances and should any disbalance or disproportion occur (1 - 6), you may end up causing fermentation and formation of gas.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
Flatulence and discomfort are NOT normal on a raw diet, and such symptoms tell that something is not right. Following healthy eating habits irrespective of the dietary preferences is the key to reducing gas formation when it is no longer interfering with one's well-being. Designing a nutritionally complete, regular diet with meals composed of compatible, simple meals may help to significantly reduce flatulence and digestive discomfort. Creating a properly timed eating schedule separating non-compatible foods apart in time and allowing complete and easy passage of each nutrient will not only reduce abnormal gas formation, but will improve nutrient absorption. The same applies to striving for a proper digestion by thoroughly chewing food and avoiding overeating.
If you would like to receive help in building your raw diet that will address your needs and concerns, you can schedule a Private Consultation.
Thank you for reading! Comment below.
Anastasiia
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