As I explained last week, a healthy raw food diet is full of water-rich produce and, therefore, is very hydrating.

What’s that? The raw foods you eat make you thirsty? Here’s what you’re probably doing wrong:

You Eat Too Much Salt

Most mainstream raw food recipes are full of  salt, pepper, and other condiments. While these flavor-enhancers can make food taste really good, they also irritate and dehydrate your body (especially salt).

That’s right, you don’t need salt. You can get all the sodium your body requires from fresh fruits and vegetables.

Remedy: Get rid of the salt and spices. Try flavorful substitutes like sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, and scallions instead.

You Eat Too Many Dried Foods

While foods like dried fruits and nuts are perfectly acceptable on a raw food diet, their use should be limited. Any food that has been dried is no longer whole, fresh, and raw. Most of the water is gone, taking some of the nutrients in the food along with it.

If you eat a lot of these foods, you simply won’t get the water your body needs.

Remedy: Limit dried ingredients like raisins and sun-dried tomatoes to a handful or less per recipe. Many other popular processed foods within the raw food movement—like cacao and hemp powder—should be limited (ideally, avoided completely) as well.

You Eat Too Much Fat

A diet high in fat is typically a diet low in water. That’s because most raw fatty foods like nuts, seeds, and oils are very dense, low-water foods.

And while other high-fat foods like avocados and mature coconut meat do contain a good deal of water, they’re also high in calories. Getting lots of water from these foods means you are eating too much fat AND too many calories.

Remedy: Limit your fat intake to no more than 10% of total calories. Focus on getting your calories from fruit—that’s FRESH fruit, not dried—instead.

Today’s Take Home Message

The more fresh fruits and vegetables you eat, the more water you will consume. The less dehydrating foods you eat—like dried nuts and salt—the less water you will need.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

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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:

1. Fruits and vegetables are water-rich, and
2. 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.

Want to know how to do raw right AND eliminate all your food cravings? Be sure to check out my cravings-crushing program…

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On top of that, I had restless leg syndrome.  Basically, whenever I would try to be still for more than 5 minutes (e.g. lying in bed or sitting in a theater), my legs would feel like I just *had* to move them.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of a tingly sensation.  Almost painful, but not quite.

AND I experienced severe muscle cramps, called Charley horses, in my legs and feet on a weekly basis.  These usually occurred in the middle of the night while I was attempting to sleep.

Needless to say, my sleep wasn’t exactly deep and restful.

No More Pain!

For years, it seemed that nothing would help with my pain.  I tried all kinds of stretches and relaxation techniques.  No change.

I tried changing my diet from SAD to “healthy” SAD and then to Vegan because a vegan diet was supposed to be the healthiest diet ever!  No change.

In late 2007, I gave low-fat raw a try.  Within just a few weeks, my pain was *completely* gone.  No pain in my knees.  No creepy-crawly in my legs.  No muscle cramps.

I could even do high intensity cardio on an 8-inch step without even so much as a twinge of pain!

Why the change?

High-Fruit = Hydration

One of the top benefits of eating a diet high in fruit – which I discuss in my free report The 4 Principles of a Healthy Raw Diet – is that fruit is water-rich.  Many fruits are comprised of 90% water!

Not only are these foods satiating, they are *hydrating*.  If you are getting enough calories from fruits and veggies and not consuming dehydrating cooked foods, you will be much more hydrated than if you ate a predominantly cooked food diet.

Before I went raw, I simply did *not* have enough water in my body to transport nutrients to my joints and muscles.  I drank a lot of water, but not enough to undue the damage of the food I was eating.

This meant that the everyday wear and tear of the cartilage in my knees was not being replaced by vital nutrients transported by the water in my body.  My legs and feet were simply becoming exhausted from the lack of water, resulting in cramping.

Stay Hydrated

If you are suffering from joint or muscle fatigue, get hydrated!

Eat lots of yummy water-rich fruits and veggies, drink lots of water (and only water), and stop your consumption of dehydrated cooked foods and salt.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

I recently posted an article on a simple routine to Naturally Cure Dry Skin.  Because beauty truly does come from within, today’s article focuses on the relationship between your diet and your skin.

Even though this simple 2-step routine will go a long way toward clearing up your dry skin, it’s not the best way to ensure a healthy epidermis.

The absolute best thing you can do for your skin actually has nothing to do with soaps, body crèmes, or exfoliants!

Hydration

One of the biggest problems with eating an unhealthy cooked food diet is the simple fact that this diet is extremely dehydrating.

Why?  Two reasons:

1.    The food is cooked, meaning that much of the water has been drawn out via heating.
2.    Most cooked food staples are full of irritating salt, spices, and condiments that draw the water out of your cells.

This is why dieticians, nutritionists, and the like recommend a staggering 8-12 glasses of water per day.  This water is needed to counteract the dryness and toxicity inherent in the standard cooked food diet.

But don’t think raw foodists are off the hook!  Unfortunately, the mainstream raw food diet doesn’t do much better in terms of hydration and actually makes the same two mistakes present in a cooked food diet:

1.    While not cooked, many of the foods consumed are DEHYDRATED, and so much of the necessary water is removed.
2.    Raw foodists are known for their love of salt, as well as other irritating spices such as garlic and cayenne pepper.

Again, we see the exact same problems associated with cooked food eaters: dry and toxic ingredients.

This is likely the reason so many raw foodists continue to experience acne (as well as other health issues).

If they would just stop consuming all the dry, fatty, irritating foods and start consuming more fresh, water-rich ingredients, I bet they would see a marked improvement in the condition of their skin.

Which segues nicely into my final point…

How to Stay Hydrated

If you really want radiant skin, you need to stay hydrated.  And the best way to stay hydrated is NOT to drink gallons of water a day, but to eat a diet of water-rich foods.

And what diet might that be?  Why, a low fat raw vegan one, of course!  The amount of sweet fruit you will eat on such a diet has *more* than enough water to keep your skin healthy and hydrated.

And the more simply you eat – meaning the less irritating salt and spices you consume – the less toxic ingredients your body will have to dilute by removing precious water from your cells.

Another benefit of simple eating: no water retention!  Again, irritating salt and spices have to be diluted, which means that your body actually holds on to the water to keep the salt in solution.

Sounds counterintuitive, right?  You are holding onto more water and yet your body is dehydrated.

That’s because the water is no longer in your cells or bloodstream, but in your skin.  This is what gives so many salt lovers that “puffy” look.

It’s Not Just About Diet

Instead of ending on that note, I want to quickly add that it isn’t all about diet.

Perhaps you saw this one coming, but it’s so true!

No matter how clean your diet is, your skin (and your health, for that matter) will never be as great as it could be if you do not take other health factors into account.

Factors such as:

-    Exercise
-    Sunshine
-    Fresh Air
-    Clean drinking water
-    Etc.

All of these have a huge effect on the look and feel of your skin.

Healthy skin comes from within!

Your Results?

Have you recently stopped consuming dehydrating cooked and/or raw foods in favor of more fruity, fresh fare?  How has this worked out for your skin?  Are you radiantly raw and loving it?

Leave a comment below!  I’m a sucker for success stories.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze