Eating more raw food and feeling constipation

[Foggy]

I'm not dedicate to eating 100% raw because I feel like it would limit my options too much, but recently I've incorporated a lot more raw foods into my diet and eliminated a lot of high fat foods. I'm probably eating 50% raw, which is a huge change from what I was eating. The problem is, when I started eating more raw foods I instantly noticed that my bowl movements were smaller and a lot of times I felt like I still had to go to the bathroom when I couldn't anymore. Also, I've been farting a lot more and have an uncomfortable feeling in bowls a lot. Last weekend I started eating less raw food and more of the typical fatty junk that cluttered my diet before and I within a day I was having normal bowel movements. This week I returned to my diet and started feeling constipated again.

I don't understand this. Isn't this exactly the opposite of what should be happening?

[liamona]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I don't understand this. Isn't this exactly the opposite of what should be happening?

It may be just a short term problem.

The author of Fiber Menace wrote the book after being on a high-fiber vegetarian diet led to severe intestinal problems. He has an interesting page on his site called, "Constipation Unplugged." It's got some graphic information on bowel movements.

[ericabiz]

I can tell you what I think may be happening based on my own experience. (I am not a doctor or nutritionist.)

Small bowel movements (esp. hard ones) mean your body isn't getting enough food to make a full bowel movement. Check your calorie intake. You'll probably want to eat at least 1000 more calories a day if this is the case. (It's going to feel like you're eating all the time; try high-fat foods such as avocados and nuts to help ease the transition.)

Flatulence means you have ingested something that your body isn't capable of digesting. Without a stool test and/or elimination diet, it's going to be hard to figure out exactly what this is. Eating some fruits and beans will cause flatulence (plums, for instance, are something many don't tolerate well.)

More info: How to put the squeeze on excessive flatulence

Digestive enzymes will help your body digest food and thus will reduce flatulence. I'm taking one called Gastric Complex right now (2 before every meal.) If this works, you will want take it with every meal you eat. You will have to experiment to find what works.

Above all else, keep a food diary. Write it down--that way you can be sure what patterns are triggering symptoms.

-Erica

[aggie]

i don't eat totally raw...but i recently went thru a time where in spite of how much raw fruit and veggies i ate...i had small hard stools for weeks...some of it could've been from not enough food intake.

some of it could be from a few medications i must take daily.

but now i am doing great....i am drinking lots more water, doing lots more aerobic exercising, and started some supplement pills and drinks containing L carnitine because i don't do red meat.

i am not sure what is making a differnce...but glad