Axel Makaroff asked a few questions regarding my post on fruitarianism.
Let me address those questions, and add some info to my original post.
Tom:
>>Mental problems: the diet can promote social isolation. One may experience
>>a feeling of lassitude (apathy/do-nothing) and associated mental
>> 'cloudiness', which can be an early symptom of Vitamin B-12 deficiency.
Axel:
>This too applies to me.
Tom:
Let me mention here that if one experiences severe fatigue, lassitude, plus
other unexplained neurological symptoms (such as twitching, tingling,
unexplained pains), and such symptoms do not go away after use of vitamin
B-12 supplements (give them 3-4 weeks to work), then you should see a
Physician - perhaps a Neurologist. You see, the symptoms described could
be vitamin B-12 deficiency, but they could be something much worse - the early
symptoms of multiple sclerosis (other possibilites include lyme disease).
Seeing a Physician is a good idea under such circumstances.
Axel:
>What kind of diet do you follow?
Tom:
My diet is about 1/3 fruit (some sweet fruit, though I limit consumption of
the real sweet stuff), about 1/3 vegetables, about 1/3 short sprouts. I am
fairly picky about the vegetables I eat, consuming mostly celery, cilantro,
dandelion greens, endive, fennel bulb. I use turmeric as a spice on my
sprouts, as it is a powerful blood sugar regulator, and protects me if I
overeat sugar from fruit or carrots. [Hippocrates Institute recommends a
maximum of 15% fruit, by weight. I find 30-35% workable for me. If I go above
35% for long, cravings can become a problem.]
Morning meal is usually fruit; lunch is usually vegetables, often with avocado;
evening meal is usually sprouts. In choosing which foods to eat, I use the
Ayurvedic system of my body type vs. the properties of the foods. This is
similar to what Gabriel Cousens describes in his book, "Conscious Eating".
I would mention though, that I did not learn the system from him, but
came to Ayurveda through the writings of Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. Robert Svoboda,
Bhagwan Dash, and others. I find it to be useful and workable, though the
biggest drawback is that many will find it complicated at first. The advantage
of the system is that it can tell you what symptoms to look out for if you
choose to eat a food that is not well suited to your constitution.
Axel:
>All of the above said about fruit: does it apply to all items under what
>botanically considered "fruit", or just those that taste sweet?
Tom:
In discussing fruitarianism, I am really talking about fruit under the common
definition - the product of a tree, bush, or vine, not the botanical
definition. The botanical definition of fruit is more general, and grains
and seeds (also nuts) are defined as fruits. The principal problem in
fruitarianism in the high sugar content of modern fruit, and the extensive
processing it undergoes that makes it a devitalized food.
Axel:
>What is wrong with avocados, peppers, cucumbers? Are they also far removed
>from their wild forefathers?
Tom:
Wild avocados are smaller than cultivated, and very fibrous - more work to eat.
Wild cucumbers are smaller than cultivated, with a stronger flavor - I
suggest buying and eating the smaller 'pickling' cucumbers - nearer to the
wild, better flavor than the standard cultivated variety. Some hot peppers
are very similar to their wild relatives, while most sweet peppers are not.
Although there is a big difference in wild and cultivated food, one must be
realistic. Most of us are not in a position to collect wild foods regularly,
and we must rely on cultivated foods from the markets. Naturalism, the
idea that we must rely only on foods that we can collect nude, with our bare
hands, is a lot of nonsense. (Besides, the people promoting that often use
it to try to justify their diet of cultivated fruit, unaware that modern,
cultivated fruit violates said principle!) Humans are by definition, tool
users and we modify nature to survive. (Refs: interviews with Ward Nicholson,
also Ralph Cinque, in "Health & Beyond"). So, don't fear or hate cultivated
foods, don't feel bad that you eat them. Simply realize that they are not
all that natural, and eat wild foods, or near-wild foods, when you can.
There is nothing to gain, and much to lose, by introducing fear or
perfectionism, into one's approach to diet.
Axel:
>What kind of diet to reverse things as much as possible do you recommend?
>Let's say I have been a fruitarian for about 3 years, although I have
> always eaten or juiced lots of vegetables. Now my health is going downhill. I want
>to reverse this, and don=B4t mind giving up fruit entirely.
Tom:
If you follow a more diverse diet (of your choice) long enough, the side
effects of the fruitarian diet will eventually go away. The principal
tools that can be used as fast antidotes are:
bitter greens/foods, to counteract the sugar consumption, -and-
ginger or pungent greens, to strengthen a digestive system weakened by a
high fruit diet, -and- vitamin B-12 supplementation to protect your nervous system.
Go easy on the ginger at first, as it is very hot and can burn you up if
used in excess.
I recommend, that those interested in a fruitarian diet, follow a near-
fruitarian diet instead, one that includes antidotes for the problems common
in fruitarianism. Such a diet would be:
1) A maximum of 65% fruit, emphasizing the less sweet fruit, semi-sweet fruit -
things like cucumbers, also pomegranates, blood oranges, white grapefruit,
and so on.
2) Regularly eat bitter greens or other bitter foods (turmeric, bitter melon)
for protection from sugar addiction/diabetes-like symptoms.
3) Get vitamin B-12 from a reliable source (supplements, generally)
4) Regularly eat pungent greens or small amounts of pungent spices (ginger, hot
pepper), to keep your digestive fire at proper levels.
5) Eat soaked/sprouted nuts/oily seeds (like sesame) regularly, as a source
of fatty acids. (Avocado is expensive, and you may tire of it if eaten daily).
6) It's OK to eat other sprouts if you like, they are a nice change from fruit,
but are not required. Item #5 emphasizes oily nuts and seeds because they
provide fatty acids.
Axel:
>After a while without any sweet-tasting thing , I start feeling a desire for
>SOMETHING, whatever it is, that tastes sweet. Is our enjoyment of sweets
>natural or not? I assume there are sweet-tasting foods in the wild, not as
>sweet as a mango, though.
Tom:
Certainly, there are wild, sweet foods, even some wild, sweet fruit: berries
come to mind immediately. There is a variety of mango, called 'turpentine'
in Florida and the Caribbean, that grows wild from seed. It is usually sweet,
(but sometimes sour), small, with a strong flavor. It also has a huge amount
of fiber in it - which functions, in a way, as a natural appetite control
mechanism (so much work to eat). Julia Morton, in "Fruits of Warm Climates",
reports that modern grafted mangoes are the result of at least 4,000 and
possibly over 6,000 years of human directed varietal selection. So, to
summarize - enjoying sweet is natural, but a diet high in sugar (whether
sucrose or fructose) is not natural.
Axel:
>What about eating stuff like carrots, pumpkins, etc? Otherwise, I would have
>to stick to vegetables and nuts, and that=B4s it, and this is sort of a real
>pain for me.
Tom:
Carrots are pretty high in sugar - eat with caution. Carrots are also high in
sucrose, otherwise known as white sugar. Don't be afraid of, or hate, sweet
foods. Simply recognize that they are not good for you if eaten in large
amounts, and control your consumption of them. Short sprouts (root the length
of soaked seed) are a good substitute, as they often have low glycemic index,
and provide slowly assimilated sugars.
I will post my table, wild vs cultivated fruit, very soon.
Axel:
>To conclude: thanks Tom Billings, through the vast expanses of space and
>culture, you might be of great help. I have to reprogram my mind to see all
>of those goodies in my local health food store as just another man-made
>creation that gives pleasure but hurts you. This is simply closer to Nature
>than Oreos. But I can go without them.
Tom:
I hope I have provided some potentially useful information.
Axel:
>PS: I am still reluctant to the idea in part because I was on antibiotics
>for several months before becoming frutarian, so maybe all of my symptoms
>exist despite my fruitarian diet. Is this possible?
Tom:
Antibiotics can have unpleasant side-effects. You might investigate some of
the pro-biotics on the market, see if they help. Antibiotics can decimate
your intestinal bacteria, while the high sugar of a fruit diet can create
conditions favorable for the growth of yeast and other undesirable bacteria.
Tom Billings
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