There are a lot of differing opinions about what people should eat, whether it’s for health reasons or moral beliefs.
Within groups dedicated to certain diets, there are always those that gain a following and become trendsetters within the their community. People turn to them for advice, recipes, and inspiration, but if the trust is broken, those same fans can come down hard.
Yovana Mendoza is an influencer who goes by the name “Rawvana” on social media and YouTube.
She has over a million followers on Instagram , half a million subscribers to her English language YouTube channel, and almost two million on her Spanish channel.
In the six years she has been amassing her audience, Rawvana has turned it into a full-time business.
Besides things like ad revenue or sponsorships, Rawvana sells a variety of raw vegan cookbooks, diet plans, and detox kits through her website .
She’s making her living touting how wonderful and healthy her raw vegan diet is and charging fans for the chance to try it themselves.
So what do you think happened when those same fans found out that her openness about her eating habits may not be as truthful as she wanted them to believe?
They turned on her, of course.
It started when a fellow blogger posted a short clip of Rawvana and a friend at a restaurant in what appears to be a chance encounter.
The camera swings to show Rawvana with a plate that seems to be fish.
As the camera lingers, Rawvana slowly lowers her arms as though to block the fish from view.
Of course, it was too late for that and she seemed to realize it.
In the few days since the video dropped, Rawvana’s own posts have been inundated with negative feedback and there are already reaction videos being posted by other prominent vegan influencers.
Since this is how the internet works now, Rawvana posted a 33 minute apology video.
In it she explains that after a year of the diet and a 25-day water fast, she stopped having a period. At first, she thought it wasn’t a big deal, but eventually got some testing done and her hormones were all out of whack.
She tried many different diet adjustments and supplements over a few years, but even once her periods were back, she was having serious gastrointestinal issues.
Eventually she was diagnosed with SIBO.
SIBO is a gastrointestinal issue where you can’t properly digest fiber, and unfortunately, raw fruits and veggies are full of fiber.
So she decided to go on the SIBO diet, which involves eating eggs and fish, and she’s feeling much better. She’s hoping to eventually go back to her vegan diet, but her health comes first.
While it’s good that she’s being honest now, most people are still pissed about the whole situation.
They note that she first lost her period a year into the diet and yet has been continuing to promote and make money off of it. The whole time she was saying how great she felt and how healthy her diet made her, she was sick.
While I appreciate that she’s hoping to document her health journey and find a way to return to eating raw vegan, I think the damage has been done. Her comments are now only anger and fish emojis.
