The Model Diet:

Raw Vegan Science, Self Compassion, and the Vision for a Healthier World

A deep and wide-ranging conversation with Wendy van der Grinten of Healthy by Wendy covering the model diet from every angle, from the science and philosophy behind it to emotional eating, detox symptoms, fat ratios, napa doodles, and what a fruit-centered future could actually look like.

Wendy brings a sharp, curious, and refreshingly direct energy to every conversation and this one was no exception. We covered a lot of ground, laughed a fair amount, and got into some genuinely useful territory for anyone curious about what the model diet actually involves and how to apply it without losing your mind in the process.

The 2026 Ultimate Raw Vegan Bundle Is Open Until May 11th

Wendy’s contribution to the bundle is Toxin-Free Childhood, a practical guide for identifying and removing hidden toxins from your home and your children’s environment. It covers chemical load in the house, hidden dangers in water, air, and bathroom products, and includes DIY toxin-free care product recipes using simple plant-based ingredients. If you have children or are thinking about it, this is one of the most genuinely useful books in the entire bundle.

My contributions are The Model Diet, 411 pages covering the full philosophy, science, and practical framework behind low fat raw vegan living, and the 80/10/10 Diet Masterclass co-created with Dr. Douglas Graham, which includes Dr. Graham’s The 80/10/10 Diet as an ebook from day one. The masterclass goes to $747 after the bundle closes. Right now it is part of everything for $50.

Over 30+ Raw Vegan Resources worth over $1,500 all for just $50 until midnight PDT on May 11th.

What the Model Diet Actually Is

The model diet carries three meanings simultaneously and all three matter. It is nature’s model, the dietary template that comparative anatomy and physiology point toward for our species. It is an ideal diet plan, a framework built on the longest-running science and the deepest lived experience of people following a fruit-centered raw vegan lifestyle. The model diet is also about what happens to your body when you follow it: genuine vitality, healthy body composition, clear skin, and the kind of energy that makes you want to move rather than collapse.

The cover photo gets people’s attention, sure. But the model diet is not a vanity project. Health and vitality are attractive as a natural byproduct of nourishing yourself well, not as the goal you starve yourself toward. That distinction matters enormously and runs through the entire book.

The model diet is also built on what I call the Four Pillars of Truth: nature and comparative anatomy, the largest body of long-term scientific data, the shared experience of people living this way over many years, and intuition. Run any health claim through all four and you get a much clearer picture of whether it holds up. That framework is woven through every chapter.

The Biggest Lesson from 22 Years on the Model Diet

Wendy pushed me on this and I appreciated it. After all these years, what is the thing I actually had to learn the hard way? The answer is self-compassion. In the early years I was genuinely hard on myself. If I deviated from the model diet I felt like a failure, like a fraud, like someone who did not deserve to be taken seriously. I kept my first major slip-ups hidden for five or six years because the shame around them was real.

That rigidity does not serve anyone. The model diet works best when it is a direction you are genuinely moving toward with enthusiasm and self-love, not a standard you beat yourself up against. When you are stressed about your food choices, judging yourself or others, you are not going to experience the connection and vitality this lifestyle is capable of giving you. The framework matters. The compassion matters just as much.

How to Actually Start the Model Diet

The question of transitions came up and it is worth addressing honestly. Some people dive straight in and thrive. Those tend to be people who are already fit, metabolically flexible, and genuinely ready for a full commitment. For most people, especially those coming from a high-fat standard diet, a more gradual approach makes the model diet more sustainable and more enjoyable.

Starting with fruit for breakfast is where I started. Four and a half years of gradual transition from standard American to fully raw, not because I was being lazy but because that was my honest process and it built a foundation that has held for over 22 years since. Any meaningful step toward the model diet, more fruit, more vegetables, less processed food, is worth celebrating. Progress compounds.

The one thing that derails people more than anything else is the all-or-nothing mindset. If the model diet has to be perfect from day one or it counts as failure, most people will not make it. If it is a process, a dance, an experiment you approach with curiosity and flexibility, you are going to learn more, enjoy it more, and stick with it longer.

Detox Symptoms Versus Real Nutritional Needs

This is one of the most practically useful distinctions in the whole model diet framework. True detox symptoms tend to be short-lived, non-repeating, and not accompanied by other physical signs of depletion. Irritability, headaches, strong cravings for specific foods in the early days of a transition, these can be genuine detoxification responses. I go deeper into this in my the book and also in my blog post on True Hunger, What is Hunger, which I recommend everyone to watch.

Nutritional needs, on the other hand, persist and intensify over time. They show up in multiple ways simultaneously, in your nails, your skin, your hair, your energy, your mood. They come back again and again rather than passing. They tend to get stronger rather than resolving on their own.

A useful example: if you are constantly craving chocolate, especially in the evenings, it may not be a character flaw or a detox symptom. It may simply be a need for more calories, but micronutrient wise it may be a need for magnesium. If you are not yet eating an abundance of vegetables and greens, your body has learned to associate chocolate with that nutrient that it is rich in. Start eating more dark leafy greens and watch what happens to the craving. The model diet addresses these patterns at the root rather than through willpower or suppression.

Fat, Avocados, and Staying Relaxed About the Details

We got into avocados and fat ratios and I want to share the honest version of how I approach this. In the long run, across days and weeks and months, I fall between roughly five and fifteen percent of calories from fat, occasionally a little higher. That average is what matters, not any single meal or day.

If I have three avocados one evening I might feel slightly less sharp the next morning. I accept that. It is information, not a moral failing. The model diet is not about obsessing over every gram of fat. It is about understanding the general territory you are working in and being honest with yourself about how different choices affect how you feel over time. That self-awareness, built through genuine experience, is worth far more than any rigid rule.

For what it is worth, napa cabbage sliced into noodles, what I call nappadoodles, topped with blended mango, avocado, and chive is one of my favorite simple model diet meals right now. Inexpensive, nutritious, quick, and genuinely delicious. That is the spirit of the model diet in a bowl.

The Model Diet and Emotional Healing

Wendy asked whether people starting the model diet will inevitably end up doing emotional work alongside it. The honest answer is yes, and that is a feature rather than a warning. When you stop using food to numb and start genuinely nourishing yourself, life gets a little more raw in every sense. Things you were buffering start to surface. Moments of discomfort that used to send you to the fridge now just sit there waiting to be seen.

The model diet does not cause this. It just removes the layer of static that was making it harder to hear yourself. And when you can hear yourself more clearly, you start to notice the habits, beliefs, and situations that are not serving you. That is not a problem. That is the whole point. The awareness is the gift.

The Future the Model Diet Points Toward

The last chapter of The Model Diet looks outward and forward, toward what a world more aligned with these principles could actually look like. Clean energy shipping fruit around the world with no environmental impact. Biodomes growing tropical fruit in northern climates. Subsidies going toward fruit and vegetable farming instead of animal agriculture. A world where the model diet is simply what people eat because it is what is most accessible, most affordable, and most aligned with our biology.

That might sound idealistic. I think it sounds inevitable if we keep showing up, living this way visibly, and making it look as good as it feels. Every fruitluck, every live, every bundle, every conversation like this one is a small piece of that future being built right now.

Go Find Wendy, She Is a Gem

Sharp, warm, direct, and deeply committed to helping families create genuinely healthy homes. Find her on Instagram @healthy_by_wendy and on YouTube @HealthybyWendy. Her book in the bundle is a must for anyone with kids or anyone thinking seriously about reducing toxic load in their environment.

And if you are near the Netherlands in late June, the Dutch Fruit Festival is happening June 22 to 26. Use code rawadvantage100 for a discount and come find us both there.

Be sure to check out my Events page here for the most current festivals, retreats and events, often with discount codes!