Posts Tagged ‘fruitarian diet’

The fruitarian diet is heavy on the fruit, with the inclusion of some greens, and nuts. There are people who thrive on this fare. However, most people should not count on doing well on this diet. There are a number of reasons why this diet is not part of the mainstream. The fruit of today is very sweet; it is purposely grown to be that way. The sugar content would be too high for diabetics. A large portion of the population is diabetic or pre-diabetic, this diet would be a disastrous for them. 

PROBLEMS OF A FRUTARIAN DIET

One of the problems with a  fruitarian diet is the poor quality of today’s conventional fruit. It travels long distances, sometimes over continents. It is has undergone hybridization, chemical fertilization, applied pesticides, and is harvested before it is fully ripe. There are times it is frost bitten, having been frozen on route. Of course there is locally grown and certified organic fruit, found both at farmers’ markets and health food stores.

While that sounds fine it is expensive, and I doubt that soil is as nutrient rich as it was in the past. Even with the best fruit money can buy, it does not have everything that is needed for adequate nutrition. Vitamin B12 is one of its short falls. Meat is the number one source for this vitamin.

Most fruit is high on the glycemic index. In all long lived societies the diet is not high on this index.  This diet lacks not just protein, but minerals, and fat-soluble vitamins. This is a short term diet for most people. Diabetic or hypoglycemic symptoms appear with this type of eating. This is not the Garden of Eden diet. Man did not subsist on any one type of food with the exclusion of all others.  Food was scarce in certain parts of the world, and what was eaten was the food that was available. This wasn’t always pretty. The pickings were slim, and no one turned their noses up when offered food.

FRUITS-SUGAR HIGH

Fruitarians are on a sugar high, and that feels good. What they call feel good foods, are the ones that can produce euphoria. This is nice for awhile, but gets in the way of grounded thinking. When the diet has adequate greens and other sources of nutrition then many people can meet their nutritional needs. Maintaining nutritional levels are relevant, and any eating plan that does not supply vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and riboflavin would not be good for the long haul.

There are people that can thrive on a fruitarian diet, but most people will have problems on a purely fruitarian diet. The real issue is the few are leading the masses. These hardy individuals assume what is good for them is good for everyone.

The fact is many do consume things that are not on the fruitarian diet. The diet is anecdotal; no one is being followed around 24 hours a day. It is akin to the cookies we eat when no one is  looking don’t count. Most everyone has done that from time to time.

When they have unpleasant symptoms it is called detoxification. That seems to go for years for some people.

FRUITARIAN DIET FALLACY

Fruitarian diets are neither evolutionary, nor even plausible for the whole human race. I can just see the whole European continent, the Baltic, Japan, and the indigenous people in the remote Northern Hemisphere insisting on becoming fruitarians. By being able to picture that, you can see the fallacy of living off only the fruit of the land. 

WATER FASTING

Water fasting is a well debated topic. It is something that should be approached with extreme caution, especially if you are going to try it for an extended period of time.

In the world of diets there is a schizophrenic element to all of the advice. The conflicting dietary recommendations are enough to drive you crazy. I became disillusion after trying many of the various diets, in a quest for better health.

Being adventurous, I embarked on many very questionable lifestyle diets. The first one was a fruitarian diet, starting with the water fast at a well known retreat. This was a 30 day only water diet, followed with a fruitarian diet.

RETREAT

The retreat I chose was in the Florida Keys. Everyone at the retreat was supposedly fruitarians. That was until they got an overwhelming urge for some chips or protein. There was no medical supervision. Weakness was your constant companion, though you were told you should be able to paddle a boat, walk a few miles, and jump on a trampoline. Sleep eluted you because you were running on empty.

OWNER

The best part is how they diagnose your health condition. The owner was a chiropractic doctor, and not in a position to know by looking at you the extent of your issues, it is a hit or miss game. Since my diagnosis was a congested liver, it covered everything.  He was in no position to diagnose any underlying problem.

His liability should have been the issue and because the stay is voluntary this doesn’t come up.  Suffice it to say reserves have to be good to fast for an extended period of time.

When you are done fasting and that is at the discretion of the director of the facility, you start a fruitarian diet. Getting your strength back on a fruitarian diet is the next issue you will face. The other is you lost minerals on the fast. Now add a high sugar fruit diet and watch your smile go as you become a periodontal candidate. This is one way to become disillusioned with extreme dietary intervention. There are people that claim great successes with both water fasting, and a fruitarian lifestyle. They are the individuals who have strong constitutions, and some of them say one thing and practice another.

TRUTH

The chiropractor that conducted the fast shows off his feats of strength. He shows the signs of aging from a receding hairline to wrinkling.

I have seen people on the hunter gather diet look better and perform well on feats of strength. Yet, everyone is impressed with the promised of pristine health. The truth shows, and turning a blind eye to what you may or may not want to see, does not make a diet good. 

Most people do not hear from  individuals that these approaches have failed to deliver the expected results. The hype from the gurus and followers is where you find the information on these diets. There is always another side to any program, but finding examples of these mishaps are not always easy to locate.

I think both points of views should be represented. There is always a danger to not understanding that everything has its drawbacks. The fruitarian diet by itself does not present the panacea for every ailment known to mankind. These diets happen because of allopathic medicines insistence that nutrition has little to do with health. In an attempt to improve how we feel we turn to alternative programs to compensate for this failing. By focusing of a single minded approach we are also embarking on a path that recommends a seriously flawed view