I am new to raw and have found that the only things I can eat are frozen bananas with strawberries in a smoothie and grapes. I have tried making different salad dressings but get really sick after I eat them. For example anything with tomatoes, avocados, vinegar, oil, and there is more but it gives me an extreme headache and makes me sick. I have noticed today that my joints in my hands are hurting me really bad and it is hard to bend my fingers so I thought it might be from too many bananas. I don't know, so I have been trying to incorporate some cooked food like lima beans, saltine crackers, and soup just once a day (not all at once but soup w/ crackers one day and limas another). But I find that every time I eat something cooked now I am getting really sick with a headache and have no energy. I have no idea what to do I feel like I am trapped to eating just bananas and grapes. If so am I getting enough nutrients, that is my question. I just need some guidance and help. Thanks.

Hi everybody, I am a week into my new Raw lifestyle and am loving it. Before last week I was a totally 'hooked on cooked', alcohol and cigarettes. This passed week I have been living mostly on green juices and salads. However I have been having the odd cooked potato and shop brought coleslaw as well as continuing with the disgusting cigarettes. The good things are that people are saying my skin is glowing (although no evidence of weight loss yet) but I love this process, fully understand and accept the process behind it and am determined to continue with this wonderful, amazing lifestyle.

The problem is my mood swings :-( On Friday at work we had a meeting where I went a bit crazy and fell off the wagon. I drank: 1 cup of coffee, 2 glasses of sparkling wine and I ate various party foods, ie crisps, choclate (I know, I know, I am truly disgusted with myself)! The problem is that I, a normally placid, calm, shy person, snapped at one of my colleagues and today I snapped at the man in the corner shop. I hate myself when I am doing it and feel such guilt and shame afterwards. Why is this happening to me? Is it normal? Am I missing something from my diet.

Please help

This subject is probably talked about all over the forum, but I'm wondering if anyone knows about a supplement called MSM? Any other advice on this topic is appreciated too. Brand names, dosage ideas, all and any.

It has been a couple years since I've eaten raw and I'm back to it. This time though I really feel like I'm going through withdrawals from processed foods, meats and carbs. Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas to deal with it?

Sooo. I am starting to introduce more raw foods into my diet. I am excited about it, and I feel good eating raw foods. When I eat too much cooked food, oftentimes I have digestive problems. Not with raw.

However, I do not have enough energy. I can make it partway thru the day, on mostly raw food. I am not extremely strict about raw; I eat roasted peanut butter and I include a protein supplement made from whey in my smoothies, which contains a full spectrum of proteins. But by 5 or 6 pm, I am too tired to do much. Then I eat a big meal including cooked foods, and I have energy and zest again! BUT, I also feel more gassy sometimes, and a little "heady"-- there's a kind of rollercoaster effect from all the energy the food provides.

I would like to go more raw, maybe 70% raw, but I need to have a couple of easy things to make that will give me that kind of energy that I get from pasta or a stirfry. I'm adventuring out on different new foods pretty slowly, I'm not ready to eat a bunch of weird things at this point. :)

I am vegetarian (not vegan) raw, but milk does not seem to provide this boost like a solid cooked meal.

I have mild adrenal fatigue, which used to be moderate, and I used the adrenal fatigue diet to recover. I take several supplements a day, including Vit E & siberian gingseng.

I'm getting some raw pumpkin seeds to munch on... and I want to get some sprouts too and maybe start sprouting at some point.

Anyone have any tips for me...? :)