Hi everyone:

I am trying to figure out what may be the problem when I eat salad. I am eating organic, raw mized greens such as diff tyes of lettuces, some chards, a bit of spinach in my salad, along with a tomato. I alternate dressings, but it seems regardless of the dressing, I end up with extreme bloating and upper abdominal pain/cramping after eating the salad. I can also rule out the tomatos as the cause. I have read a bit about high fructose being a problem, but this is not fruit i am eating. Could I be missing an enzyme required for raw food consumption? I do not generally have this problem, and do not have it with cooked/steamed veggies. any opinions would be appreciated! thanks.

Well sometimes vinegar does this to people so see if its that... otherwise I think you probably have a deficiency in digestive enzymes. Look for a product that has an enzyme that works on cellulose included. If you have no issues with meat or protien do not take those enzymes. Find a product just for plant materials.

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Look up info regarding digestive bitters on this site or others. They will help your body produce enzymes, stomach acid, and even balance hormones as well as many other things. If you are using vinegar, switch to apple cider vinegar with the 'mother', like Braggs. It will help with the enzymes. Probiotics are supposed to help with the bloating as well. If you are not taking probiotics, they may give you a little bloating when you first start.

Sufficient stomach acid is essential too. The bitters and apple cider vinegar will help with this. Stay away from antacids or anything else that presents that much alkaline when you eat. Try not to drink anything while you eat. That just dilutes the acid and enzymes.

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- Jim
"A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something." �Wilson Mizner

Thank you both for you replies, I appreciate it and I will look into the probiotics, had been taking them for a while, and enzymes. Just thought it seemed so odd for lettuce to cause this. Thanks for your help!

Most dressings contain MSG and Fructose.

I agree with the use of probiotics, that is something anyone can benefit from, not just people with digestive issues, and should be taken daily forever.

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Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)