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Nuts...I'm bloated

Ok, so I have been a vegetarian for five years. This winter I delved into my first year of nursing school and amidst studying and horrible stress, began to eat more and more processed foods. I went from 100 pounds to 110 just like that and felt terrible. About two months later, I realized what all that nasty food was doing to my body and how horrible I felt. Needless to say I went back to my old habits - oatmeal, cereal, fruit, salads, soups, soy, etc. However, this still wasn't doing it for me and so I began reading about the raw vegan diet and totally agree with the whole concept.

So, to the point - I've been transitioning into raw for several weeks and have begun incorporating nuts into my diet for protein. I feel protein is important because I'm a runner. Before this, I had never really eaten a lot of nuts - just beans for my amino acids. First of all, the nuts make me feel terrible (bloated, lower abdominal pain, gassy) and therefore, I'm not loving the concept of consuming these little devils. Secondly, If I don't eat nuts and seeds where do I get my protein from? Finally, nuts are sooo high in fat and calories and I'm still trying to lose the weight ...I don't even know where I'm going with this - just, input please.

Comments

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    Are you sprouting and dehydrating the seeds and nuts???

  • I find that a diet high in fruits really helps me when I am working out heavily or being really active. Don't worry about the protein. If you eat enough of your dark greens and a variety of fruits and vegetables you should be fine. It's a different sort of feeling on the raw diet. I found that I had to adjust more to the light feeling I got after eating raw foods versus the full heavy feeling I got eating processed vegan foods more than the different foods themselves. Experiment and see what works for you. I also looooove coconut water and it gives me some boost before a workout as well.

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    I'm in the process of research for the next update of 'The Dead Food List' http://www.purelyraw.com/deadfoodlist.htm and I have to say that just about no shelled nut is raw anymore. Unless they come from a website being supplied by a grower directly they are cooked. The raw diet is a great idea until you start and then get a few recipes somewhere, and the next thing you know you are living on nuts to get you over your habit of eating such heavy, hard to digest food. No one bothers to mention in all these cook books that you better go to a lot of trouble or the nuts you use will not be raw.

    A diet of 30% (by weight) cooked nuts is horrible for you! Even if it is vegan. This causes so many people trouble when they first go raw. Then they decide to give up nuts. I personally can't be assed to go to the trouble to order special nuts for $12 a pound, so I use sunflower seeds for any nut in any recipe. I have a method of cleaning and sprouting them that allows me to substitute even the almighty cashew (which are rarely raw btw)

    Even worse are the poor souls who turn to Raw for weight loss and it fails them just like everything else has and they give up thinking it's just like everything else and 'doesn't work for them'. All because they were living on 30-60% cooked nuts and thought they were on the Raw diet.

    I will be updating the PurelyRaw site a lot over the next few months with some great new information and help, all free as usual!!! I am very excited to be blessed with the time to work on it now.

    Hope this helps,

    Chris

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    Our closest relatives on the planet eat 60% leaves and 40% fruit and don't look like they need any protein. Most greens are 35-49% protein by weight. Better than nuts! Green smoothies and salads, fresh fruit and everything else is just an accent. Your body will naturally gravitate towards this if you allow it. Sounds like you are paying close attention to your body and that's the best thing you can do.

    BTW: I believe it is OK to take things slowly and not pressure yourself to get it perfect by a schedule. I took 3 years to transition to raw. I also think nuts are wonderful for transition but not cooked nuts. That only makes things more difficult. Raw nuts were more readily available only a few years ago.

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie
  • superfood2superfood2 Raw Newbie

    Don't worry about protein. If you get enough calories for your body's needs, you get enough protein. It's easy. Do fitday if you have any questions. Average woman needs 30-50 g. a day.

    Many of us, after a time, only eat nuts on "special" or "gourmet" meal occasions where we prepare food for others or for get-togethers.....I find the more I'm raw, the less I want to eat them, especially mixed with other foods and with spices....makes my poop stink.

  • brazil nuts are one of the few without enzyme enhibitors. so you might do well with rinsed bn for snacks. living harvest has good hemp protein powder as well. it is true if you get enough greens that you are probably getting enough protein though. maybe looking into a green superfood powder.

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    I am not 100% raw, but last year in eating healthier and having a new raw foods cafe near me I did go to a few cooking classes and really started getting into more raw recipes. I have found I really can't do nuts, any more than a handful every few days and it bothers my already sensitive GI. While I might have a bite of something while out for dinner(potlucks) with a little nuts I do no eat them at all. Seeds I find I am much better with, mainly hemp seeds or pinenuts(not really nuts) and sometime pumkin seeds. I only eat them in small amounts, not for protein.

    I agree with the others, you can get plenty of protein without eating the nuts. Green smoothies are great for me, and as someone that NEEDS protein(healing adrenal fatigue) to function well I am fine with no nuts. I do sometimes have cooked beans or raw milk cheese(but maybe 1-2 x a month so not a steady source), but my consumption of animal products is 1/4 what it used to be and I'm doing fine with lots of veggies.

  • awesome guys!! Thanks for the input. It looks like I can basically eat what I'm used to eating, minus soy and cereals. I just got into sprouting - and LOVE it. Plus, my dorm room has become a garden until I take my veggies home to plant in May.... my roomie just loves the greens - haha, not. I think I'll just avoid nuts in general. I love my greens and beans (sprouted) anyways.

    Has anyone tried making hummus out of sprouted garbanzos?

  • Oh guys! I logged on to say something totally similar. I am trying to menu plan and about to barf on a stomach full of nuts, planning more meals with nuts. Ugh. I feel like I am in the "high protein" category too; pregnant. Everything seems so almond too...I am sick of it. Off to hunt for super greens salads. And a green powder.

    Thank you for all of your work on this Chris! I will be following your website. So Chris, do you recipe hunt anymore (you are just so raw to me :) )? I was wondering what percentage of a recipe that has nuts is not worth it, like 1 cup? And then you might use 1 cup of seeds? Do you like to mix any flavors of them? Sunflower, hemp, flax, pumpkin? (more?) Or do you add less? When do you omit them? If a recipe calls for 1/2 cup or 1/4

    Think the same thing about sprouted beans...recipe ideas anyone?

  • I made some sprouted garbanzo hummus. It came it okay, only the texture was not as creamy as the cooked kind. I used lemon juice, tahini, garlic, sea salt, and water with the garbanzos. I also made it into three varieties: green(spinach), regular, and red (red bell peppers). My SAD roommates who usually love to try my creations did not really like my hummus, but it wasn't bad either.

  • I O/D on nuts in the early days. A small handful (sprouted if containing brown shell) eaten with greens is my new rule. The greens balance out the acidity of the nuts.

    I get my protien from hemp seed(which doesnt need sprouting), and spirulina when i feel i need it.

    Others do well on green smoothies and the like. :) - Chris posted a good thread link

  • RawaholicRawaholic Raw Newbie

    Nuts are actually fat dominant, not protein dominant. I'm a swimmer who is also starting to do some jogging/running and I never worry about my protein. I find that fruit is great just before a workout for energy and a green smoothie is wonderful for recovery because It's filled with chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, omegas, complex carb (Gary Null and David Wolf say that complex carbs are VERY important for people who exercise a lot/intensely), and some protien. But here are some protein dominant foods that I know of and enjoy eating quite often. Sunflower seeds, peanuts, sprouts (mung beans, sunnies, alfalfa, garbanzo), hemp seed, flax seed, bee pollen, etc.

    Also if you don't want to really so much on nuts to keep you satisfied try flax crackers, avocados and thai coconuts (much easier digested fats that doesn't make you fat), dates, figs, bananas, or oats (soak over night and then process lightly with some fruita and spices to make a lovely porridge).

    Good luck! :)

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    For an alternative to all the nuts you can learn to work with sunflower seeds. When properly prepared they can substitute any nut in any raw recipe. I will posting a Video soon showing my wash/soak/rinse/sprout method of preparing sunflower seeds. Look for that here... http://raw100.ning.com/profile/ChrisCarlton

  • hi!

    an awesome thread! i also have some questions though...

    i have troubles w bloating too and now researching food combining and i have a food diary that i try to investigate what keeps my tummy bloated and gazzy.

    but could need some advice cause i cant find answers to all my concers...

    does anyone know about chia seeds and how fast or slow that digests?? i know that the gel that is created help digestion but maybe not if its eaten on a full stomach? i love it and on many places its served as a desert, but wondering if i will benefit more by starting eating that.... and im also confused about different charts of food combining. for instance i read several diff statement that one shouldnt mix fats and proteins...but nuts is almost just as high in fats as they are in proteins?? and i also wonder when one says dont mix 2 proteins, does that mean not mix for ex diff nuts together and diff seeds??

    and for people that are worried about protein wout consumin nuts, i found raw hemp powder to mix in smoothies great, and someone told me abt raw glutamine and also increase spirulina intake.

    garetful for your opinions

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