Is it Necessary to Drink Water on a Raw Food Diet?
I recently received an email from raw reader LeeAnn.
She asks:
Another question is that drinking water is not mentioned at all in your blogs. Should I be drinking alot of water too?? It seems to bloat my belly up more.
On a healthy raw food diet (low fat, high fruit, some greens, with little to no salt or spices) it isn’t necessary to drink water.
There are two reasons for this:
- Fruits and vegetables are water-rich, and
- You avoid any foods that are dehydrating: cooked food, spicy foods, salt, etc.
However, there are several instances in which drinking water is necessary. Here are 6 of them:
#1: If You Don’t Eat Soon After Waking
You will be slightly dehydrated in the morning simply because you haven’t ingested any water in several hours.
If you don’t plan on eating breakfast soon, it’s a good idea to drink some water. This is especially important if you like to exercise before breakfast.
Speaking of exercise…
#2: If You Are Physically Active
When you workout you sweat and when you sweat you lose water. You need to replace this water.
Sometimes this can be accomplished simply by eating a satisfying fruit meal. If your workout is more intense and/or performed in hot weather, additional water should be ingested during and after your activity for optimal performance.
Ideally, you should weigh yourself before your work out and afterwards. The amount of weight you lost is the amount of water you should take in.
#3: If You Aren’t Hungry After Working Out
It’s so important to eat as soon as possible after a tough workout, but intense cardiovascular exercise often leaves us less than hungry.
Drinking water after your workout can help to bring back your hunger.
#4: If You Spend A Lot of Time in the Sunshine
The sun makes you sweat, everyone knows that. And the more you sweat, the more water you need to ingest.
If you live in a particularly hot climate, you can become dehydrated quite quickly. The summers where I live are quite brutal (it has already surpassed 100 degrees more than once this year).
After just 15 minutes laying out in the sun, I’m already thirsty! 
#5: If Your Urine is Yellow
If your pee is not clear to pale yellow (this includes in the morning), you need more water. Also, if you are urinating less than 8 times per day, you need more water.
#6: If You Have Compromised Digestion
Drinking water before each meal can help “prime the pumps” for people who are overcoming a digestive illness such as Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS).
So…Everyone Needs Water Then?
Pretty much. Many people exercise first thing in the morning and everyone exercises regularly (or should, anyway). Getting enough sunshine should also be a priority for vitamin D, which will increase your hydration needs as well.
I personally drink at least some water everyday because I’m active and spend quite a bit of time outdoors.
What About You?
Do you drink any water? If so, how much on average?
Leave your comments below! 
Go raw and be fit,
Swayze
P.S. I know, I know. Mainstream media tells us that we need to drink lots of water…at least 8 glasses (64 ounces) a day.
But these recommendations are for the average person eating an average diet. You know, one that’s filled with fatty meats, cooked sweets, salt, spices, and other condiments. Such a diet is very dehydrating and must be supplemented with lots of water.
On the other hand, a healthy raw food diet is very hydrating. As I mentioned above, such a diet is full of water-rich foods and devoid of dehydrating ones.
But the raw food diet you follow makes you thirsty, you say? Then you are not eating the right raw foods. Remember, a healthy raw food meal should never made you thirsty.
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8 comments
Swayze,
In your last blog, you stated, “On a healthy raw food diet (low fat, high fruit, some greens, with little to no salt or spices)…” Is NATURAL sea salt ok? Thank you!
[Reply]
Swayze Reply:
July 22nd, 2011 at 10:04 AM
Hi Toni,
Check out my article here:
Is Sea Salt Really Healthy?
http://www.fitonraw.com/?p=6096
Swayze
[Reply]
How much do you drink a day Swayze?
I’m drinking over a gallon a day. Since I started this diet I’ve been drinking more water than ever and I definitely feel the need to. I’ve always been a big water drinker though.
I’ve been eating just fruits and greens for the past 5 weeks. My main foods are bananas, peaches, mangos, dates (blended), lettuce, celery and tomatoes.
[Reply]
Swayze Reply:
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:32 PM
It varies from day to day, depending upon how active I am, how much time I spend in the sun, etc. I’d say that I probably average 2 liters, since I spend quite a bit of time outdoors in a very hot climate.
Swayze
[Reply]
On an average day, I drink between 4-6 cups of water, and maybe about 2 more cups if my urine turns yellow.
[Reply]
Your right Swayze since going raw I really don’t drink as much water. When I’m working out I’ll drink about a Quart, but I never get thirsty. Which is interesting, another benefit from raw good dehydration. When I was eating SAD diet I was always thirsty.
thanks for bringing this up.I didn’t really think about the thirst issue before. Another plus for raw!
[Reply]
Hi Swayze,
Since going raw, elimination is greatly improved. However, I’ve noticed that if I don’t drink 1/2 my body weight of water in ounces, my bowels don’t move as often or as easily. With adequate water intake, I have healthy elimination 3-4 times per day. I love raw!
[Reply]
Hi Swayze,
You mentioned couple of thing about fermented foods(mostly negative and applied to those processed on the shelf)so how would i encourage friendly bacteria to flourish,i have a terrible problems with bloating ,gas and such?
Regards
Tom
[Reply]
Leave a comment, beautiful.