A healthy bowel produces minimal flatulence, none of it foul smelling or causing pressure, swelling, or pain. Gas is, as Dr. Jensen describes it, “putrefactive fermentations” of undigested proteins. In other words, proteins sit in the gut and become hosts for undesirable bacteria.
The problem is, when converting people to a high-fiber, GreenSmoothieGirl diet, that some people who didn’t have gas before, now do! If they ate Coke and donuts before, they had no flatulence, and then when they start green smoothies as Step 1, they’re gassy and miserable. They might even want to quit and go back to when they felt “better.”
Dr. Jensen likens this to when you sweep a dirty basement: as you sweep it up, a lot of dust is kicked into the air. His research indicates, however, that people, even while experiencing gas problems, report softer stool and easier passing off the gas. It gradually lessens, he said, until it becomes minimal after about three months. Be patient and don’t quit good habits as you seek relief for intestinal gas and bloating.
As you get through that initial period, drink 1 ounce of water for every 2 lbs. of body weight, which will help.
Flatulence from undigested proteins? I thought it was a case of bad food combining? Could you comment, please.
Food combining theory is just that: theory. Quite a few experts say that our body is equipped to handle a variety of foods eaten at once just fine. I have never seen anything empirical or compelling to convince me about some of these complicated “food combining” approaches. When to eat what food shouldn’t be rocket science. That said . . . I do think it makes sense that eating heavy proteins (like animal flesh) with quickly digested starches (like fruit) may cause problems. Perhaps that particular combination could lead to undigested proteins sitting in the gut.
In general, I think you should combine all plant foods however you want to! Eat greens, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds with joy and abandon! A healthy GI tract should handle it just fine. If you personally have damage to your digestive system and find that certain combinations cause gas for you, then by all means avoid those combinations.
Read Ch. 6 of 12 Steps to Whole Foods for more information about legumes and flatulence, and avoiding it.
This is good news for me! I was wondering because I have been having gas even though I haven’t been eating dairy products. So I’m glad that it is supposed to happen like that!