Excited to heal with raw foods! : )

[Aaaaaa]

Hello everyone!
I found this forum, after doing some searching around online for resources on eating raw meat.  Lately, I've just really been feeling this pull to eat at least some of my food raw, especially meats and fats.

A little background on me:  I'm 26, and up until about 2 years ago, I was eating your typical SAD--mostly cereal, sugar, bread, ice cream and skim milk.  UGH!  Then, my freshman year of college, half my body went numb, and I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  Took the crappy drugs for most of college years, until I wised up and started researching nutrition my last year.  I started eating a more Atkins-style diet about 2 years ago, which quickly transitioned into a WAPF diet.  Then, about a year ago, my husband and I got into the paleo/primal lifestyle (cooked & raw foods).  As of about 4 months ago, I had another MS relapse (mild, but annoying) which I think was triggered by a virus and me not being very strict with my diet over the summer (lots of eating out/cheat days).  So, my husband is continuing on the paleo/primal diet, and I am currently eating the GAPS diet (gut and psychology syndrome) which is kind of like a detox and gut-healing WAPF/paleo style diet.  I do feel like a lot of healing has taken place in me, but I still feel like there is a missing piece, which might be raw foods!

So, since I'm a bit of a newbie here, I do have some questions, if anyone could so kindly answer them?

1.  I have access to frozen, vacuum packed grass-fed beef, pork, chicken, turkey, elk, and wild alaskan salmon for meat.  Also have access to pastured eggs--not sure if they are fertilized or if this matters?  As of right now I haven't been able to locate anywhere to get fresh raw meat or fish from.  Is this OK?  From what I've read here, many say fresh is best, but previously frozen and thawed in the fridge for a day or two is OK as well.

2.  What are your suggestions for healing gut issues?  I'm pretty sure I have SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), because I have a lot of the classic symptoms (extreme bloating after eating a lot of veggies or fruit, sensitivity to FODMAP veggies/fruits, symptoms go away when I just eat meat or bone broth, meat, fat and eggs).  I'm currently doing just meat/bone broth/fat/eggs (cooked and raw)/veggie juice/raw milk kefir/raw honey, and the bloating has gone away YAY!  I have many veggie ferments going right now--sauerkraut, kale, salsa, kimchi.  Any other things that you guys do raw-food-wise to heal from bacterial overgrowth/leaky gut?  One thing I'm worried about is because I have an autoimmune disease, and am currently in the healing process, will my system be able to handle any challanges brought on by eating raw meats (like parasites, e.coli)?

3.  What would be the best way to start getting raw foods into my husband's diet?  In his own words, he has a very "discerning" palette LOL.  Meaning, he does like some different foods (kimchi, spicy things, sashimi) but not a wide variety and its hard for him to get to like new things.  Me--I'm the TOTAL opposite!!  I pretty much like EVERYTHING.  So far, we've both been taking raw liver "pills" swallowed frozen and whole.  We both like sashimi.  What's the next step--especially meat-wise?

Thanks so much!! I'm sure I'll think of more questions LOL...so glad I found this forum!  I've been reading over posts for a couple hours now, and already learned so much : )
Also, feel free to direct me to other threads if something in my questions are already being discussed.

~Sile

[TylerDurden]

1)Thaw it outside the fridge, and eat it quickly after it's thawed. Eat it all, don't leave part of it back in the fridge. Frozen meat tastes less good once thawed,  nonfrozen meat is best IF you can find it.

2) Eat "high-meat".


3) http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/important-info-for-newbies/sticky-advice-for-newbies-wishing-to-slowly-ease-into-a-raw-animal-food-diet/

[Aaaaaa]

Thanks, Tyler! : )

[CitrusHigh]

Welcome and so glad to have you here! Read the newbie section like Ty suggested and then go from there. If you can get ahold of any of the books by Aajonus Vonderplanitz I'd recommend you do so.

Don't worry too much about parasites but if you are concerned that your system's not up to par yet, then keep some raw garlic on hand and maybe some grapfruit seed extract, between those two you should be able to keep your system pretty clean. Also GoodSamaritan should have some parasite cleanses for you. I wouldn't say you need to take them now if you're not experiencing any problems (i eat raw pork heart regularly and have eaten raw lobster, snake, etc) without issue. But you can have natural remedies on hand for peace of mind until you are more confident.

Glad to meet another WAPFer going RAF (raw animal foods). Transition over to raw fresh liver when you can, this will multiply the benefits that you experience with frozen liver. Also do you take FCLO by any chance? If so what has your experience been with it?

Cheers!

[Aaaaaa]

I do take FCLO, actually!  It really does seem to help, with mood and immunity, especially during the winter when we don't get much sun (in WI). 
I'm still going back and forth between FCLO and looking into some sort of indoor tanning for vitamin D production, though.  Any thoughts on that?
I've seen some beds advertised specifically for vitamin D on Dr. Mercola's website, but with how much stuff he sells, you never know if you can trust his claims...: P  Plus, I couldn't really afford that right now anyways LOL!
I am going to call the couple of butcher shops that we have locally, and see if they can get fresh grass-fed meat.  I'm kind of doubtful, but its worth a shot!
As for the raw garlic and grapefruit seed extract, how do you take them and how much?

And, an update!  Today I decided to jump in with both feet and starting last night, all I have eaten so far has been raw.  Last night, I had what they call a "GAPS smoothie" (on the GAPS diet), which is fresh veggie juice mixed with 2 eggs and a splash of raw kefir.  It was actually pretty good!  Then today, I had another "smoothie" this morning, and I'm eating a sliced up piece of grassfed rib eye steak (previously frozen, and then thawed over night), and a 3"-ish marrow bone, and some more raw kefir with cinnamon.  Oh, and a couple TBSP raw coconut oil with a tiny bit of raw manuka honey and cinnamon. 
I ate about half of it all for my first meal at about 11:30am, then I just ate a couple more pieces of the meat and a couple sips of the kefir now (3pm) because I was a little hungry (I don't think I ate as much as I usually do earlier because of the weridness of the taste/texture thing.  Its like ikcy and good at the same time!)  and I'll probably eat again around 5:30pm (at work now), and then I usually finish my left overs when I get home at 11pm.  Is it OK to have a piece of meat and keep eating parts of it all day like that?  I am keeping it in the fridge, in a covered dish.  I typically have to eat at least 3-4x per day becuase I have a faster metabolism (tall and skinny), but for some reason can never manage to eat much in one sitting (I feel like my digestive system is kind of small for my body or something).  I didn't take any of my digestive supplements today (HCL and bitters), and do feel a bit of a "sensation" (pressure?  kind of? but not really exactly) in the lower back of my throat (which I would get before probably d/t low stomach acid) but none of the reflux and burping that usually accompanies it.  So that's a plus!!  I am still finding it hard to wrap my head around the fact that some things are more easily digested raw (like meat).   But the n=1 experiment seems to be saying so!