This morning there were two sets of questions on my recent post regarding
fruitarianism. I will answer both posts, but will answer Peter's first
as his is shorter.
Peter:
>Tom, Thanks for a dynamite post and testimonial. I'll bet you that
>there are those who will claim that 8 years was not a long enough trial
>period and if just you had hung in a little longer.:-)
>There is a handful of long time raw food eaters in the San Francisco
>area who have been on a fruit-based diet for a number of years and who
>claim/seem to be doing fine. One of them eats 30-40-% of his fruits as
>cucumber, one is an remineralization activist and another claims that
>consumption of blue-green algae and seaweed to be the secret to a
>successful high fruit diet and seems to be an icon of health after
>having been on the diet for 20 + years. What is your take on this?
>Could large amounts of trace minerals be what is protecting some of
>these individuals from serious deficiencies?
There are 4 individuals here who are fruitarians, or have a high % fruit
diet, who have been doing it for many years and claim that it is working
for them. Before discussing each case separately, let me say that in my
pending response to the other post (from Axel Makaroff), I will describe
a near-fruitarian diet that is much safer than a purist diet. As will be
clear from that post, the individuals below have incorporated some of the
remedial measures I suggest, into their diets.
Let me discuss them individually.
Person A - long time fruitarian, very physically active, and also eats a
large amount of blue-green algae (1 pound per month!). The algae is a bitter
herb, and the bitter taste is the antidote to sugar. It also provides minerals,
which are lacking in fruit, and may provide some B-12 (the B-12 issue is
controversial). There is a school of thought found in Chinese medicine,
Ayurveda, and other systems, that one must eat all 5-6 of the different tastes,
to have a balanced diet. A fruit diet, with its overload of sugar, would seem
to violate this principle, save for one exception - if the person eats bitter
foods. The bitter taste, and the energy it represents, is a chameleon:
supposedly your body can convert the bitter taste energy into any of the others,
if there is a deficiency of the other taste(s). So, one could say,
figuratively, that eating bitter foods redeems you from the effects of many
dietary "sins".
Person B - a gardener, has his own vegetable garden, and grows and eats a lot
of greens. Same effect as the algae - minerals, provides the bitter taste (in
the greens - even lettuce has the bitter taste) which neutralizes the effect of
so much sugar, but probably no vitamin B-12.
Person C - eats a lot of cucumbers, which 1) reduces the amount of sweet fruit
eaten, thereby reducing the sugar consumtion, 2) provides limited amounts of
the bitter taste, the antidote to sugar, and 3) according to Ayurveda, is
'tridoshic' - meaning that it is one of the rare foods that actually helps
the body (everyone) to regain their proper metabolic state. Person C is aware
of the effects of too much sugar, and consciously switches to cucumbers when
he feels it is appropriate. He does overeat occasionally; once he told me
he ate 10 pounds (4.5 kg.) of mangos in one day! Person C also eats a lot of
dulse - at least an ounce a day (tasty but expensive), so he does have a
good, reliable mineral source.
Person D - I know the least about this person. May be something of a zealot.
Used to eat green vegetables but stopped them a few months ago and is now on
100% sweet fruit. I think that trouble lies ahead for this person; it is
only a matter of time - wait and see.
There is one other issue, unfortunately a not-so-pleasant issue, that must
be addressed regarding claims of long-term efficacy of fruitarianism. That
issue is the honesty issue: many former fruitarians readily and openly admit
that while they were fruitarians, that binge eating, backsliding or "cheating",
and lying about eating, were part of their normal behavior. Because of this,
the question of whether those who claim it works for them long term, are
being completely honest, is a fair (and non-hostile) question. Some former
fruitarians admit that they told people they were fruitarians while they
were eating say, 65% fruit and 35% candy (due to sugar addiction). This is a
difficult issue to resolve, as blunt questions like "are you really telling
the truth here?" tend to make people defensive. [Dr. Bass mentions this issue
in his "Health & Beyond" interview.] I don't see an easy way to resolve this
at present. Note that I am not saying that all fruitarians are dishonest
cheaters, only that the prevalence of such behavior raises questions about
their claims.
Let me request that people read the next follow-up (to Axel's post), before
commenting on this post. That followup may provide some additional relevant
information. I will post the comparison table, wild vs cultivated fruit,
separately.
Tom Billings
[log in to unmask]
|
