Why Do Fruit Meals Give Me Stomach Aches? How Long Do I Have to Wait After Eating Fruit Meals?

by Jessica
(Jakarta, Indonesia)

Jessica's Question: Hi, I've been eating raw foods almost a year. I noticed that I have to sit down at least 20 minutes after eating fruits before I stand up and walk. If I don't, I can hear my stomach grumbling and I'll have a gassy stomach. I'm just wondering if it's normal. Thanks.

Andrew's Answer: I don't know nearly enough about your diet, eating habits, health, and other issues to make a specific recommendation, but in general:

1) A person should not be disabled by their meals. While it is always going to be uncomfortable to do strenuous physical exercise on a full stomach, you should not be suffering from gas if you are eating well and your digestive system is in good shape. Walking around casually after a meal of fruit should not be a problem.

2) Once a person has been on a completely healthy, low fat raw vegan diet that is free of hard-to-digest nuts and seeds, beans, and other processed foods for a few weeks, the vast majority of remaining stomach complaints are caused by poor food combining. Most can be eliminated by switching to monomeals of fruit (containing large quantities of just one fruit per meal).

Learn more about proper food combining here.

3) Some people have a problem with specific fruits. If you want to test this, simply eliminate certain a fruit and see if your problem goes away. I suggest starting off with the drier fruits, such as bananas and dates.

4) Keep your fat content below below 10 percent of calories consumed.