Stomach Acid and Detox Symptoms, Gaining Weight When Underweight (August 22, 2011)
Hi Ana,
I recently bought The Raw Food Detox Diet and read it with great interest. I have food allergy/sensitivity/intolerance and found that your suggestions of the unique “sequence to eat food” very helpful. It definitely helps me to identify the food that causes gas or diarrhea. Is there a good book to read about the topic above (IBS & sensitive GI system) and for weight gain? We would like to know more about gaining weight, not losing it.
Duyen and Tom
Hi Duyen and Tom,
Thank you for your email. Natalia’s methods of detoxifying the body address both weight loss and weight gain. When the body is clean it will achieve a cellular perfection that is reflected on the outside. This lifestyle balances and harmonizes the systems of the body to bring it to its ideal. If you have always been underweight the cleansing process will help you to achieve this balance, and if you have lost weight during the cleansing process stay patient.
During the process of deep cleansing and detoxification many men and women find that they have become leaner than they would like. This is part of the process for some people, and it doesn’t mean you will always stay so gaunt. When the body is flushing out so much old toxic matter it goes through a transformation. Some people hydrate so much waste that they feel a little bulky temporarily, and some people are able to release so much that they feel too small.
For weight gain you can embrace all of the sprouted grain products like the Ezekiel breads, and the Alvarado Street Bakery breads and tortillas. You can use raw nuts and raw nut butters, and plentiful avocado salads. Lydia’s Grainless Apple Cereal is perfectly combined and is delicious with fresh sliced bananas and coconut water. You could also use almond milk, or even water with stevia.
The following is one of my favorite recipes (taught to me by Natalia):
• 4 tbsp of raw sesame tahini
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 cloves raw chopped garlic
• 1 small nob of raw peeled and diced ginger root
• dash of nama shoyu soy sauce
• stevia to taste
Blend these ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy and pour over your favorite green salad. I like to follow this salad with the following desert:
• 2 heaping spoonfuls of raw almond butter
• 2 heaping spoonfuls of carob powder
• 1 bunch of baby spinach
• stevia and nutmeg to taste
Blend these with ice to make your own creamy green slushy.
Love,
Ana
Natalia, thank you for the books and the advice in them. I started the raw food diet about a week ago. I’m a Level 3 (borderline 4) and have severe stomach issues. Some of the raw fruits are making my acid worse 🙁 but I am keeping my chin up about the others. However, I feel sicker and worn out, no energy and my sinus problems have exacerbated. I am assuming it is part of the detox, but any recommendations for what to do or when it gets better?
Thank you, Joanna
Hi Joanna,
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear you are feeling poorly! There may be more than one issue making your detox so intense.
First, I highly recommend that you read Natalia’s Detox4Women. I suspect that you probably have an intestinal yeast overgrowth and eating anything too sweet or starchy will aggravate the problem (even raw fruit and sprouted grain breads can be a problem). Sugars and starches feed yeast growth, and active yeast makes a true detoxification impossible. Detox4Women outlines a very simple approach that will be the most effective for you. Riding your body of yeast and fungal growth is essential.
Overconsumption of fruit is also making things hard on you. It will hydrate and mobilize a lot of old waste that may be too much for your body to move all at once. And then when you have more fruit, it awakens more waste and hits a road block. This creates gas, and the reverse pressure backup you are feeling when your stomach acid comes up.
A good colon-hydrotherapist would be able to move some of the waste that you have already hydrated and mobilized that needs to come out. And then using the Detox4Women approach would be the perfect approach for you.
Love,
Ana
