Water that is not in raw food has no active ions, electrolytes, nor minerals bound with nutrients. It must have all three properties or it is only 10% cellularly utilizable by the body. Contrary to many opinions, water leaches nutrients from the blood and intestines, and dilutes digestive juices so that when your pet eats the food, it does not digest or assimilate the food properly or efficiently. The leeching causes wastes to embed in the tissues rather than being discarded from the body.
It is a false notion that water nurtures and hydrates tissue. In fact, water dries the cells while it bloats the body because 90% of it circulates in the bloodstream without cellular absorption. Water is never a good replacement for body fluids spent during evaporation/perspiration because cells cannot absorb it. Only water that is nutrient bound in food properly replaces fluids. Knowing this fact makes it even more logical to have an animal gain their water requirements from a raw food diet that contains over 70% moisture. (Compare the water content to a dry kibble diet that has an 8-10% moisture level.) Raw meat diets contain from 55% to 90% water that is 92-100% cellularly utilizable. Dehydration is impossible on the raw food diet when water is not consumed.
