From Music to Raw Veganism: The Unexpected Journey of Raw Vegan Bella

What makes someone completely overhaul their diet, reject medication, and embrace a lifestyle as radical—and fascinating—as raw veganism? For Bella, a music teacher, sound healer, and passionate writer, the turning point came during one of the most challenging periods of her life. A health scare forced her to make a choice—and that choice changed everything.

In this candid and thought-provoking interview, Bella shares her deeply personal journey of healing, the realities and misconceptions of a raw vegan diet, and how she’s woven her love for music and wellness into a truly holistic approach to life. From her very first 30-day experiment to the success of her book Straight From the Soil, Bella offers grounded and inspiring insights.

If you think raw veganism is just another restrictive fad or a flavorless lifestyle, think again. Keep reading and let Raw Vegan Bella challenge your assumptions with her honesty, wisdom, and a surprising dose of humor.

Raw Veganism Interview with Bella

1) Can you share your journey into raw veganism and what motivated you to adopt this lifestyle?

I was going through a difficult transitional period in my life, and the stress of it all was taking a serious toll on my health. After experiencing a painful headache that persisted for over four weeks, my mom convinced me to visit the doctor and check my blood pressure. Sure enough, it was too high—dangerously high. The doctor wanted me to start medication immediately.

But I’ve been a pharma-skeptic since my teenage years in the ’90s. My grandfather was a chiropractor who didn’t believe in taking allopathic medicine, and I’ve always taken after him. So, I made a deal with the doctor. I took the prescription and told her I would fill it just in case, but that I’d try making some lifestyle changes for thirty days to see if I could heal without medication. I never filled the prescription, because I was certain I would find another solution.

I went home and started googling “natural healing high blood pressure.”

There were so many accounts of people going raw vegan. I was shocked. I lived in L.A. at the time, so I’d seen the raw vegan craze up close. I was already into veganism, but honestly, I had thought the raw movement was a joke. I was actually pretty annoyed that this might be a real solution. But I was desperate, so I committed to thirty days raw to see what would happen. If nothing changed, I’d give it up. But if something did… well, then I guess I’d spend the rest of my life as a raw vegan. I was willing to do anything to be healthy and drug-free.

I decided not to check my blood pressure again until my follow-up appointment thirty days later. When I went back, the doctor was shocked and told me to keep doing whatever I was doing. I admit I felt a little smug satisfaction. But then I had to reckon with the promise I’d made to myself. I braced for a life of being raw and shifted into long-term planning mode to figure out how to make it sustainable.

2) As a Raw Food Educator, what are the most common misconceptions people have about raw vegan diets, and how do you address them?

Number one is the belief that it’s boring or gross to only eat raw food. It’s a very foreign idea to most people, and it takes time to discover the recipes that actually make you excited to eat.

Another big one is the fear that you’ll waste away and suffer from malnutrition. Honestly, a lot of influencers do little to dispel this fear. You can find plenty of underfed raw vegans all over the internet. Education and discernment are crucial. The raw food world has a lot of B.S., and if you want to benefit from this lifestyle, you need to be smart and use common sense.

A lot of people fall for the fruitarian nonsense, something I’ve only recently started to speak out against. To me, it always seemed obviously flawed, but it seems to be gaining popularity. Now, you have fruitarians going on message boards every day asking why they feel so terrible. Well, maybe it’s because you’re only eating sugary fruit with little to no fat or protein.

Like most diets, raw food comes with its own dogma, but you can’t go into any lifestyle blindly accepting everything you’re told. Regardless of the path you choose, you still need to get enough macros and micros. You need to be smart and disciplined. Educate yourself and trust your gut when choosing a teacher.

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3) Your book, Raw Food Beauty, emphasizes the connection between diet and physical appearance. Could you elaborate on how raw foods contribute to beauty and overall health?

My book is titled Straight From the Soil because the food I eat is prepared with minimal intervention—straight from the earth, essentially.

When I first went raw during that initial experiment, I was 34. In hindsight, I realize how silly it is to worry about your appearance in your 30s, but I was just as concerned as anyone else. I was honestly shocked by people’s reactions. After just a few weeks of eating raw, people started stopping me to ask, “What are you doing?” When I told them I was eating only raw plant food, they would laugh in this exasperated way, like, “Now how am I supposed to copy that?!”

As I continued to explore raw food, develop new recipes, and fully commit to the lifestyle, the comments kept coming. A few years in, I hit a wall with self-study through books and YouTube. So, I signed up for a serious, year-long course with two renowned raw food educators.

At the start of the course, I decided to focus on beauty so I could write a book explaining why raw food was having such a seemingly anti-aging effect on me. By then, I was five years in—my weight was at its best, my skin was clear, my eyes and teeth were sparkling white, and my hair was full and strong. I decided to write the book so that when someone asked me how I did it, I could simply direct them to my Amazon page.

4) In addition to your work in nutrition, you’re also a music teacher and sound healer. How do these disciplines intersect in your approach to holistic wellness?

I’ve been teaching music for over two decades, and I love it. It’s what I’m most passionate about and where I’ve found the most success. Teaching music isn’t easy, even for the most skilled musicians. Over the years, I’ve learned how to break down complex concepts into simple, understandable pieces. Because of that, I’ve trained hundreds—maybe thousands—of musicians. (I’ve lost count.)

Honestly, I’m an obsessive student myself, and I love sharing what I know with anyone who’ll listen—probably to the annoyance of those closest to me. So, when I fell in love with raw food nutrition in the same way, I had to start teaching it too—just to preserve my relationships. 🙂

Sound healing is the bridge between my holistic lifestyle (I’m also certified in Massage Therapy and Yoga) and my music background.

5) You offer plant-based coaching services. What can clients expect from your coaching, and how do you tailor your guidance to individual needs?

I start by teaching the basics of good nutrition, then work to identify where the client is struggling. I like to get to know their tastes and help them create recipes they’ll actually enjoy and stick with. In my experience, if you hate what you’re eating, you won’t stick to any lifestyle change. I know I wouldn’t. So I really try to understand them as individuals, and then we move forward from there.

6) Your YouTube channel features recipes like raw vegan ricotta and pho. What inspires your recipe development, and how do you make raw vegan dishes accessible to newcomers?

I made those videos early in my journey, when I still had strong emotional attachments to certain dishes. When transitioning, it’s important to honor that. I wanted to create recipes to help others make the switch, because I knew that was often the biggest barrier. My friends and family—who are far from raw or vegan—loved them, so I figured others would too.

I focus on flavor. I grew up in an Italian family, so food and flavor were everything. Garlic, onion, peppers, fennel, salt—strong flavors. I aim to make my recipes taste amazing. I also keep nutrition in mind—how can I pack the most nutrients into one dish?

With raw food, people are often surprised by how quickly they feel full. I actually found it easy to undereat at first. So now, I try to get as many nutrients into one dish as possible. These days, I mostly eat giant salads, big green smoothies, and green juice when I have time to make it.

7) Traveling as a healthy vegan can be challenging. Could you share some of your top tips for maintaining a raw vegan diet while on the road?

It’s true! Any influencer who says it’s easy is being disingenuous, in my opinion.

I’ve shared many tips on my IG page, but here are a few favorites:

  • Travel with a stick blender and a nut milk bag. When you arrive, either buy a large container or use a cooking pot if you’re staying somewhere with a kitchen. You can easily make green juice and nut milk. Smoothies are harder with a stick blender, but juicing is very doable!
  • Make the grocery store your first stop and stock up on easy-to-eat raw foods. Don’t cling to your usual recipes—use whatever you can find and see it as a chance to get creative.
  • Bring collapsible containers and a foldable cooler bag. For road trips, fill the containers with salad and keep them in the cooler with an ice pack. For flights, refrigerate them the night before—they’ll stay cool on the plane. (You can’t fly with ice packs.)
  • Most importantly: don’t aim for perfection. I stopped doing that years ago, and I’ve actually been more successful. I stay raw about 80% of the time when traveling and eat whatever vegan options I can find—pasta, bread, cooked food—yes! I travel to enjoy life, not to prove I’m some kind of raw food ascetic.

8) Your Substack writings delve into various topics. What themes do you explore, and how do they complement your work in raw food education?

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and—once again, to avoid annoying my loved ones—I mix that interest into my writing. I’ve paused my Substack for now, but when I do write, I like to focus on health philosophy and social culture as they relate to food and wellness. I’m interested in how society supports health trends, as well as historical context and future direction.

I’ve always had a strong interest in social criticism around health. Growing up in the U.S., I’ve had more than my share of infuriating experiences with the medical system, and I’m quite opinionated—as you can probably tell!

So, I write to share my thoughts, hoping someone out there finds them helpful. I don’t think I have any real power, but I do believe it’s possible to make a small difference if you care deeply and are willing to speak up. It’s exciting to live in a time when I can share my philosophy with people who actually want to hear it.

9) With your diverse interests and expertise, how do you balance your roles as an educator, healer, and author?

Honestly, I’m not sure. At some point, I just accepted this about myself. I have a strong passion for the arts, health, philosophy, and food. Being an educator and a writer lets me pay attention to all of these interests without sacrificing any of them.

Surprisingly, my music students benefit the most. My voice students especially need help staying hydrated and energized, so I often share nutrition tips and recipes with them. Living a raw lifestyle helps me stay alert, focused, and full of energy for my young piano and voice students.

Since the time this interview was conducted, Bella has since started a new blog called Raw Vegan! No Friends!, which is about navigating feelings of isolation on a radical health journey.

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10) Looking ahead, what projects or goals are you excited about in your journey as Raw Vegan Bella?

I’d love to write more articles and connect with more like-minded people. I hope to find easier ways to help others make raw food work in their lives. Right now, most of my time goes to my music students, so I can’t offer as many raw food consultations as I’d like. But I’m hoping to be of more service in the future. I have so much information to share, and I’m excited about the possibility of reaching more people with it.

Thank You, Bella!

A huge thank you to Bella for sharing her story, wisdom, and vibrant energy with us. Her journey is a powerful reminder that healing and transformation often begin with the simplest of choices—and the courage to trust your instincts.

If you’re curious to dive deeper into her world, here’s where you can find her:

🔗 Official Site: BellaPayne.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rawveganbella/
🎵 Musings on Music & Wellness: SoundHealth+Beauty
📖 Book: Straight From the Soil
🛒 Amazon Page: https://amzn.to/42pq3Gi
🌿 PayHip Store: https://payhip.com/NaturalBeautyFood

Follow her, learn from her, and let her journey inspire your own path toward health, beauty, and authenticity. 🌱✨