Axel,

I have no idea about what causes the water retention, but here are a
few general thoughts:

in my opinion, the most important points to improve health are (in
decreasing order)

1) Mental and emotional balance.
2) Get enough rest, sleep and exercise.
3) Have a balanced and varied diet that provides a wide range of
nutrients. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
4) Avoid processed, industrial foods (e.g. soft drinks, cookies). Use
only fresh foods instead.
5) Avoid or restrict grains and dairy, except perhaps brown rice and
raw, low-sodium dairy.
6) Do not use vegetable oil for cooking. Prefer low temperatures
(e.g. boiling or steaming) and/or rare meat.
7) Do not use salt.
8) Try to increase the percentage of raw foods without sacrifying any
of the above points --especially point #1.

Note that the preceding reflects my own priority order; other people
may have a differing opinion. What I meant is that, if the price to
pay to reach a high % of raw foods is an eating disorder, it means
that not only you fail to reach #4, but also you are sacrifying #1.
A wiser attitude would be to stay at stage #7 or even #4. Now, you say
you are starting to eat raw again. I hope you'll be able to succeed
this time but, should your eating disorder come back again, I would
suggest you not to reverse priorities and consider that there are more
important goals in your life than reaching the 100% mark.


--Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>

P.S. Happy new year!