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May
29
10 Good Reasons to Eat More Fruit
Filed under 80-10-10 and Low Fat Raw by Frederic Patenaude
10
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A few weeks ago I came back from a trip to Hawaii. I hadn’t taken a real vacation in a long time, so this was something I really needed. When I left to Hawaii, it was the end of April and the weather was still fairly miserable in Canada.
I arrived in Honolulu on a bright sunny day and we were greeted at the airport by my good friend Shelli, an awesome personal trainer I first met in San Diego almost 15 years ago.
Shelli brought us some pineapples and papayas so we would have something to eat right away until we could shop the next day. When I got to the hotel, I proceeded to devour an entire pineapple! I was so thirsty from flying that I needed something juicy.
In my entire time in Hawaii, I ate on average one pineapple a day. I brutalized my tongue with an onslaught of the delicious acid fruit, but fortunately Hawaii pineapples were ripe and not too acidic. I also did not eat them all at once but throughout the day.
This, of course, was in addition to all the other fruit I ate when I was there!
When I’m in the tropics, I find it easy to eat massive quantities of juicy fruits. When I’m in a colder climate, I crave heavier fruits, like bananas, and also temperate climate fruits, like apples, pears and cherries.
I’ve been eating fruit in massive quantities since 1997 and I believe it’s only helped my health. All the health troubles I suffered in my years as a pure raw foodist were not caused by eating fruit, but rather by eating:
- Too much fat
– Too much dried fruit
– Oil
– Complicated raw food recipes
– Insufficient quantities of fruit
15 years later, my diet consists mostly of carbohydrates like fruit. My teeth are doing great (no cavities), I’m getting in better shape every year, and fruit is still the food that I love the most — as long as it’s ripe and delicious.
To all the naysayers that say fruit is evil, fruit is bad for you… consider these 10 good reasons to eat more fruit:
Fruit is the best carbohydrate — The human being is meant to live primarily on a diet of carbohydrates. That’s what all long-lived populations in the world eat, such as the Okinawans in Japan (sweet potatoes), the Costa Ricans of the Nicoya Pininsula (corn tortillas, beans, rice and fruit), the healthier Asian populations (rice), the Hunzas (fruit), and the best athletes in the world. Fruit is the best carbohydrate food because it is alkaline forming (grains are slightly acid-forming, and animal foods are very acid forming). It’s rich in vitamins and minerals and packed with nutrients.
Fruit doesn’t require any seasonings — Fruit is probably the only food that people love to eat in its natural state without any seasonings. It’s perfect on its own. Who wants to add salt and pepper to a papaya? A pineapple doesn’t need any dressing, and a banana is perfect as it is.
Fruit is low in sodium — Fruit is naturally low in sodium and because it doesn’t require any seasonings, eating more fruit will help you lower the overall sodium content in your diet. The more calories you get from fruit, the less sodium-rich your diet will be. This will in turn lower your blood pressure and keep you healthier.
Fruit is low on the glycemic index — It’s a myth to think that fruit quickly raises blood sugar. In reality, fruit is low on the glycemic index. While a piece of white bread has a glycemic index of 95 (high), a banana is 54 (low), a peach is 42 (low), and grapes are 46 (low). Only a few fruits, such as dates, have a high glycemic index (103 for dates). The reason why fruit is so low on the glycemic index is that fruit contains a combination of sugars: fructose, sucrose and glucose. Each sugar is assimilated at a different rate. Fruit also contains plenty of fiber, which slows down the assimilation of sugar. In this sense, fruit is the perfect energy food. It contains some sugar that is assimilated immediately, giving you instant energy, and some that are assimilated slowly, giving you long-term energy.
Fruit is hydrating — Fruit is so full of water that it’s not only a food in itself. It’s a drink! Many fruits are over 90% water.
Fruit is fast food — Fruit can be easy and quick to eat. What could be easier than peeling a mango and eating it? Or biting on a ripe peach? Almost all fruits are conveniently packed, wrapped in their own mother-nature containers we call peels, and ready to be consumed. There are a few exceptions though, such as the spiky durian, or the giant jackfruit, whose skin is full of a sticky substance similar to glue!
Most long-lived cultures eat fruit — The Hunzas, who for a while were reputed to be some of the longest-lived people in the world, probably ate more fruit than most cultures in the world. Although fruit can be a delicacy in many cultures, most long-lived cultures in the world today and long-lived people anywhere typically eat a lot of fruit. For each centenarian we can find that smokes constantly and eats a junk food diet, you’ll find many more that eat plenty of fruit.
Fruit is packed with antioxidants — Fruit is packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants — so much that many companies are trying to concentrate this goodness into expensive fruit juices and pills. Almost all of the anti-aging compounds that are the most effective are found in fruit. Think of the reputed richness of antioxidants in blueberries, pomegranate juice, açaí berries, and the tropical mangosteen. Colored fruits are almost always packed with healthy compounds we are only beginning now to research and understand.
Fruit keeps you lean — Fruit is the perfect weight loss food. Just eat a large apple before any meal, and it will fill you up and prevent you from overeating at the table. Fruit is filling because it’s filled with fiber and water, yet it is low in calories. Fruit, on average, contains 250 calories per pound. On the other hand, bread contains 1200, starches are 500, and nuts are 2800! Only vegetables have a lower caloric density than fruit. That means you can fill up on fruit and be certain to never get fat!
Fruit Makes You Beautiful — David Wolfe, who published my first book The Sunfood Cuisine, used to say that beautiful people eat a lot of fruit. Research has shown that certain compounds in fruits and vegetables, like carotenoids, help the skin look more vibrant and beautiful. One research even showed that people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are considered more attractive because the carotenoids gives the skin a healthy natural “tan” look. (http://www.psypost.org/2011/01/carotenoids-attractive-skin-tone-3547). Just make sure you don’t drink too much carrot juice though, otherwise your skin might turn orange!
You don’t have to become a fruitarian to get the benefits of fruit. Start eating more fruit today, beginning with your favorite one! My favorites include pineapple, white peaches, Hawaiian papaya, Rainier cherries, just to name a few.
What about you?
10 Responses to “10 Good Reasons to Eat More Fruit”
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My favorites are ataulfo mangoes and peaches, but almost any fruit is amazing when it’s perfectly ripe!
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Hi Frederic,
I feel i’m on the right choice: be vegan but not on the right track…
I used to eat fruits for breakfast & lunch but generally it’s pretty much the same:
bananas, apples, dates topped with greens smoothies ( lettuce, bananas, dates, spirulina, hemp protein powder and sometimes chia )…sometime i can have mangoes but it’s a general routine – dinner is pretty much the same as well : salad (lettuce, romain…) with carrots, cucumber, tomatoes topped with lemon juice – sometimes i add beets, cabbage, cauliflower – usually i take steamed potatoes, rices or quinoa with a ton of veggies like zucchini, egg plants, carrots, cabbage, brocolis…i feel that i miss something because at the end of the day i eat pretty much the same things over & over again…i struggled to get plenty of fruits – i would like to get them organics and i can only find bananas, apples – sometimes pineapples, kiwi or oranges but nothing like watermelon, melon, papayas or mangoes…
do you think i should avoid or reduce bananas and dried dates? it’s the main sources of my carbs but i feel i need more leafy greens, and juicy fruits?
do you believe i could go on fruits even if there are not organics to get more variety & juicy fruits?Do you believe we should eat fruits as well for dinner and it’s ok to go with cooked foods like potatoes, rice, or quinoa…?
but it’s true that i like bananas & dates even if i feel sometimes that dates give me too much sugar – not sure if it will be healthy for the pancreas…
please advice
thanks
mikael -
Miriam says:
Hi Mikael
Your lifestyle sounds pretty good to me except for the rice and potatoes. Rice being a grain, and white potatoes having no nutritional value and its also a tuber. Dates are great because they have lots of calories and the experience I have had is that if I don’t get enough calories during the day, my sleeping pattern is disturbed. Eating dates brings up the calories and they are filling too. Bananas are good too. Lots of green leafy veggies is necessary too and I have them in a smoothie in the morning with pineapple and orange as the base as this is vitamin C and this helps the absorbtion of the minerals in the greens throughout the body and so you get the most benefits from the greens. I also add coconut oil in my smoothie. This is so good for the entire body and it also makes the smoothie much nicer tasting. I have found that if I listen to my body, it will gravitate towards what it needs and so I just eat it. Fruit is my favourite too as I sit here with papaya, banana and passionfruit……so delicious! This lifestyle is so good….I am almost 61 and feel about 21….life is good. Enjoy! Miriam. -
Yvonne says:
I have just loved learning to eat more fruits than ever. I have always loved fruit. As a kid, my mom would have to stop me from eating my brother’s portion of fruit up for the week, I would always want fruit as an after school snack. I just finished the Sring Cleans Week and I had never eaten that much fruit in one week. I still had so much fruit left over that I started sending 4 different kinds of fruit with my SAD husband and he thanked me for sending all the good fruit and that he said that he really enjoyed them. I will be shopping for more water rich fruit now that summer is almost here. I am looking forward to all the fresh fruit that So Cal as to offer in the summer months.
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Tracey says:
Hi Frederic, I signed up for the spring cleanse and did not receive anything. Was looking forward to doing it.
Thanks. -
Bon jour, hier je me suis fait la Rocket me a soup, mon blender avait bien fait le travail. J’étais contente. Je me préparais à réchauffer ma soupe, ma toute 1ière mais avant bien sûr j’en ai pris une cuillerée et … incroyable, je ne me suis jamais rendue à la cuisinière … Un régal, je suis vraiment épatée, froide, pas de sel,ni rien, un délice !
WOW
Merci pour cette recette.
Sylvia -
Frederic,
Your comments on Hawaii brought back an interesting memory. About 30 years ago I was in Hawaii on my Honeymoon and one afternoon we decided to tour the Dole Pineapple factory in downtown Honolulu. This was before they moved most of the Pineapple operations to lower cost countries. At that time the tour started in the pineapple fields on the other side of the island outside of the crowded city area. That was the first time I saw how a pineapple grew. I was enthralled by this amazing plant which would grow this huge pineapple on top of its stem almost like it was presenting it to the gods as a sweet offering. After walking amongst all of these amazing rows of plants we then were shuttled to the factory to see how they processed and canned the pineapples. Today I would probably cringe at the site of all of those wonderful pineapples being crammed like sardines into those cold steel cans but at the time I was in awe at the workings of this frenetic beehive of activity. Large dusty trucks would make non-stop runs from the fields loaded with the freshly picked pineapples which would be dumped into the mouth of the factory beast. Then long rambling conveyors would guide the pineapples to the processing floor. Workers in the traditional hair nets and outfits similar to a Maine fisherman prepared for a noreaster filled the processing area and scurried about like a fire drill had been announced. Their task apparently was to make sure the pineapples made it to the canning machines. One of the more amazing things on the tour was the Ginaca machines. Named for the Dole employee that invented it, this machine would take the whole pineapple and make it can-ready in a matter of seconds. It would remove the outer skin, remove the core and slice it into donut rings seamlessly and without stopping. I stood watching this process for what seemed like hours not noticing the evil eye I was getting from my new bride. Had I know what was next on our tour I may have cut my mechanical canning visit a little shorter, as what followed was the tasting room. Now I have been to many tasting rooms, from the old Strohs beer room in Detroit to the wine rooms near Niagara Falls and the Ghiradelli chocolate Factory in San Francisco (This was back in my Standard Amercian Disaster days) but nothing compares to the taste of fresh pineapple straight from the field. I was, after all, used to the acidy 2000-miles-from-the-field variety that was available at my local store. This fresh pineapple was just pure sweet and wonderful. We were only given one quarter as part of the tour but I was able to talk my way into an extra slice which I savored for every bite. This may have been the highlight of my honeymoon. Well almost! There is nothing sexier than great fruit fresh from the plant! Well almost, again!!! Thank you for triggering this fond memory.
Bill K.
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Rae says:
I just discovered a different variety of mango called champaign mango, which is sold at Sam’s Club. What’s so great about it is the extremely thin and flat seed that takes so much less space in the smaller fruit compared with the proportionately much larger seed in the standard mango.
I also discovered that Dulcinea mini watermelons actually taste as sweet as regular seeded melons, though most seedless watermelons are hardly sweet at all.
As for papayas, I much prefer them in the dried form, but they are always described as “low sugar.” Does it actually take a lot of sugar for them to stay so firm and plump compared to say dried apples or mangoes? -
Frederic Patenaude says:
@Mikael: the diet sounds great. There’s no reason to eat a lot of dried dates. Much better to get calories from other fresh fruits instead (like bananas), and not focus on dates. They are a concentrated sugar and too much of it can lead to dental problems. It’s okay to eat potatoes, rice or quinoa for dinner but don’t mix them with fruit as they don’t tend to digest well together. In other words: have EITHER fruit or starches for dinner. However, one piece of fruit before or after a meal of starch is okay.
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Marcelo says:
Hello Frederic,
Have you reviewed the book “The Starch Solution” from John McDougall? I would like to know your opinion on a vegan diet focused on cooked starch.
Thanks
