There is a lot of controversy about fruit. Some people say that it is very good for you. Others will say that it is full of sugar content and that it is bad for people with diabetes and that we should all watch our fruit intake.
Fit For Life talks a lot about proper fruit consumption. Until I read this book
and started applying it I had no idea that fruit could be eaten in a way that is not good for the body. For example if fruit is cooked obviously it changes the chemical composition of the fruit. Cooking fruit makes it very high in sugar calories. That makes sense because we all know if we sit around and eat apple pie or cherry cobbler all day it's going to definitely add some pounds to the waistline. I had not given it much thought before reading that book but having canned fruit in a little cup, would be the same as eating it in a pie. It is cooked. I grew up on home made jams, and we put fruit into all kinds of food that we cooked. It is sweet and delicious. In my early years I never thought about it.
Orange juice that you get out of a can, or even in a carton, or a jar, from the fridge at the grocery store is concentrated. That's a big fancy word that means cooked. When any kind of fruit has been cooked it turns into a sugary acid.
When Health experts tell people with diabetes that they should not be eating fruit, they would be correct if they were talking about fruit that is cooked. It is actually pretty nasty. When you think of a food that will spike your blood sugar level, that one is pretty guaranteed. What if they ate it raw though? Is it the same? The calories are similar when you compare concentrated orange juice to fresh squeezed orange juice, but what if it is not just about calories? The Canada Food guide does not distinguish any difference in cooked or raw fruit so I thought they must be the same. Now though I believe they are not the same because of
what I experience in my own body when I consume them.
An interesting thing that fit for Life brought to my attention is what happens to a fruit that is eaten raw, but then has other food added into the stomach at the same time with it. This is something I had never heard any health experts say, but by
experimenting in my own body I would definitely agree there is something to be said for this.
Fit For Life tells us that if we eat fruit by itself but the fruit remains alkaline, and that alkaline is basically good for us. That lines up to other things that I have read that suggests that too much acid for instance in the system is a contributing environment in our body for diseases such as cancer. I think most experts would agree that alkaline is preferable.
How do we prove that it stays alkaline in the body when it is eaten raw? I am not a scientist, so I don't have a test I could run. I could however do an experiment in my own body. I could test how I feel after I consume these things on separate occasions. I could even log the results in a journal and see long term if there is any difference in anything that is measurable.
We have been trained to eat all kinds of things with fruit. My father told me for years that fresh squeezed orange juice, or any kind of orange juice would give him an immediate heartburn. That would suggest acid. So I had him do a little test. He knew that if he drink orange juice as he normally did, quickly followed by coffee and with breakfast that he would have heartburn. So I asked him to try it with only orange juice that is fresh-squeezed, and to have nothing else for at least an hour and see what that did to him. The result was he had no heartburn. In fact he realized afterwards that he could enjoy fruit by itself on an empty stomach first thing in the morning without any painful side effects. He could even drink grapefruit juice that was fresh squeezed. He also noted that if he ate anything else within 45 minutes of putting that fruit of his mouth that he would then be sick immediately. He definitely could not drink concentrated orange juice and concentrated grapefruit juice was even worse.
You've been eating fruit all your life. Try this. One morning eat fruit the way you've always eaten it. Put your bananas on top of your cereal, take your vitamins and meds with your oranges, have fruit inside of a protein shake, or put strawberries on your waffles with whipped cream. After you eat these things go sit on the couch quietly and think about how you feel. What does your stomach feel like? How is your energy level? Is there any gurgling going on? Could you go outside right now and go for a brisk walk?
Tomorrow morning have only fruit. Don't cook your fruit, don't add sugar to it. Don't drink coffee with it. Don't have toast with it. Don't take vitamins or medication at the same time. Just have fruit. Raw fruit. You can squeeze oranges for real fruit juice if you want. You can eat pieces of watermelon, or handfuls of grapes. After you have eaten your fill go sit on the couch. And think about how you feel. Does your stomach hurt? What is your energy level like? Could you go outside and go for a brisk walk or a run right now.
There is one side effect eating fruit, and you might find it to be a little inconvenient but it is very healthy for you. You're going to have to go to the bathroom more. You are also going to be hungry faster. That's not really a problem though, just take a mandarin orange or a banana with you. They travel real well.
I find weight loss to be very easy if I eat fruit all morning. It gives me lots of energy, and my mind is very sharp. I don't even feel like I need coffee.
In the past when I took off a lot of weight, I kept it off for 10 years, and I hardly did any exercise. The one thing though that I did do continuously, is that I ate a lot of fruit in the morning that was raw, and I didn't eat anything else. I ran on 4 to 6 hours a night sleep when I did that. I didn't seem to need any more sleep. I just naturally woke up after 6 hours.
I have recently gone back to doing this, and the weight is coming off. I feel great. I would encourage you to try it out. Tell us how you feel?
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