Vegan foods and plant-based diets are all the rage these days. Even eating oil-free WFPB (Whole Food Plant Based) seem to be on the rise, which in itself is a good thing, but people still can face major health challenges, even on low-fat diets.

I received a message from one of my readers. Sue writes:

Hi Ariel

I currently follow a whole food, plant-based diet with no added salt, oil or sugar. This works very well for me, but I tend to eat large portions. I feel my energy levels and vitality could be better? Is there anything you suggest I can change that?

Eating larger portions of cooked vegan foods usually means you are not eating enough (if any) fresh fruit; I see this all the time.

Even if your meals are oil-free and low fat, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are consuming enough quality high water content food, which explains why you (still) can’t quite achieve optimal levels of energy and health.

Of course, you feel much better eating a low-fat, WFPB diet compared to more abominable diets like keto, S.A.D (Standard American Diet), etc., but you may still feel tired.

The problem with processed food (essentially all cooked food is processed food) is that you always want to eat more. Not only is it addictive; you will never satisfy your hunger, unless you supply the fuel and vitamins your body is craving, which in humans, is mainly obtained by eating fresh fruit and greens.

Whether food is cooked, smoked, refined, pickled, canned, bottled, sweetened, dried, or saturated with salt or other additives, food processing generally has three obviously detrimental effects. The first is to kill nutrients. The second is to add toxins and the third is to reduce the all-important water content.

We must remember that, in terms of volume, water is our greatest nutrient need – second only to oxygen.

One might think that the lack of water in cooked foods is somehow counteracted when water is used in the cooking process or drunk during the meal. Unfortunately, it does not work that way.

Our bodies are built to process food in the packages that nature has explicitly designed. In fact, drinking during a meal can aggravate your system by washing digestive juices from your stomach before they can do their job.

Unfortunately, most nutritionists and dietitians never talk about the importance of eating foods that are high in water content, partly because they have never studied it, and therefore ignore the issue, as nutrition courses are designed by the same flawed systems that support big pharma and junk food manufacturers, who make up nearly the entire food industry.

After all, if people were educated about the importance of eating foods with a high water content, we wouldn’t be drinking Coke or eating MacDonald’s. Whether the burgers are vegan or not doesn’t really matter, you’re still eating very poor quality food.

Not only are we killing ourselves (and the planet) by producing and consuming food with low water content, but we are also killing our pets (dogs and cats) by feeding them the worst kind of dry food, which exposes them to horrendous diseases.

Yes, our beloved dogs and cats also need foods with a high water content, as their bodies are 70% water, much like humans and just about every other animal on the planet.

Incidentally, wild animals – which feed exclusively on raw foods – do not suffer from constipation, heartburn, indigestion, diarrhea, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels; nor do they suffer from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or the many hundreds of diseases that affect humans; unless instigated by the actions of humans themselves, such as pollution.

Have you ever noticed that wild animals don’t get fat? Have you ever seen an obese giraffe or monkey by any chance? I bet you never have… Mother Nature is amazing, isn’t she?

So, why then do humans get it so wrong? There are hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of “qualified” dietitians and nutritionists around the world, and yet we continue to suffer from the worst obesity epidemic in history. Judging by the results, it is clear that these “professionals” are not as “qualified” to do their jobs as their title suggests.

You know the expression: if you want to find the truth: “follow the money”? We live in terribly corrupt and hypocritical societies, which explains why such important issues, as climate change and obesity, take decades to be addressed and even when action is taken, the results are inefficient to the extreme.

You might say, well Ariel, the raw food diet you teach mixes things up, dehydrates foods, and even adds salt to some recipes. Yes, that’s true. I don’t promote a strictly 100% clean raw food diet, where all you do is eat apples and lettuce for dinner. By the way, this is also fine, and I do it too; I have days where there is minimal processing in my meals.

I don’t believe in perfection, nor do I promote it, but let’s be reasonable, it’s one thing to add flavour to already healthy meals where foods with high water content are prevalent, and another is to eat toxin-filled ashes; which is what many cooked foods are.

The best way to get into the habit of eating foods with high water content is to make sure you only buy food from greengrocers or from the produce section of supermarkets, and keep your diet as hygienically raw as possible!

Enjoyed this article?

Check out the essential guide: Raw Dinner Recipes.

Get 16 quick and delicious oil-free dinner recipes that don’t require a dehydrator.

You can get the eBook right now – for FREE – by clicking the banner below.