HYBRID FRUITS & VEGGIES

[misslinda]

Anyone have expriences with hybrid foods or against them? Thoughts,opinions or additional information?

This was jsut brought tomy attention and here is a brief article I found off rawguru.com



excerpt
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I learned about hybrid foods from Wolfe’s book where he brought to my attention that hybrid foods are "missing vital electrics." This is what Wolfe has to say about hybrids. "They are unnaturally high in sugar and off in the mineral ratios. Hybrid foods are devoid of proper mineral balance that all wild foods contain. So when we eat a lot of hybrid fruit, that leads to mineral deficiencies in our bodies. Not only are hybrid fruits and sweet, starchy vegetables unbalanced in minerals, it is eating too much of hybrid sweet fruit and sweet and starchy vegetables that causes the body to bring heavy minerals from the bones into the blood to buffer the hybrid sugar. This hybrid sugar is not completely recognized by the liver and pancreas. The minerals and sugar are spilled off into the urine. Hybrid sweet fruit and sweet starchy vegetables can over stimulate you and cause you to lose minerals."

So, what are hybrid foods? Hybrid foods are foods which will not grow in Nature. They are foods which must be nurtured and protected by humans or else they will be overcome by birds, insects, worms, fungi, and bacteria.

Some common hybrid fruits are: seedless apples, bananas, several date varieties like medjools, kiwis, seedless pineapples, seedless citrus fruit, seedless grapes, seedless persimmons, seedless watermelons. Common hybrid vegetables include: beets, carrots, corn, and potatoes. Common hybrid nuts and seeds include: cashews, oats, rice, and wheat. Brown, white, and "wild" rice are hybrids. Commercial "soft" wheat is a hybrid. Alfalfa sprouts and most commercially available legumes are hybrids.

Hybrid foods are attacked by different forms of fungi and are much more susceptible to early decay. Hybrid foods can feed fungal conditions like candida whereas non-hybrid or wild fruit will not lead to such a condition.

Hybrid foods are everywhere so if you eat you’ve got to eat some hybrids. If you want to make eating hybrids work for you David Wolfe recommends that you eat small amounts of the fruits and vegetables. Mix bananas with fat (avocados, nuts, olives) and it will lessen the hybrid effect on the system. If you eat more green-leafed vegetables and avocados, nuts, or olives with hybrid sweet fruits or vegetables it will decrease their effect on the blood sugar and increase the utility of elements in the food. Hybrid grains, and legumes should be soaked and sprouted, and absolutely never cooked. As long as they are raw, the body can draw nutrients from them and can deal with them.


end article
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[greeninlosangeles]

So I guess green smoothies is the answer...

[Sheryl]

Everything is a hybrid as far as the scientific definition goes... but what I think they are really talking about is the plants mankind has purposely hydribized for high sugar, quick growth, resistance to pests etc. The point made is that these foods aren't necessarily the best foods for us. That's why we see wild foods, berries and greens at the top of so many nutrient charts!

A friends grandmother has a banana tree growing that's been there for 40 years (the parent plant anyhow - they spread from the roots when you cut them - and for best yield you chop down the plant after each bunch of bananas (did you know that bananas are technically a GRASS??)). It was delicious and creamy and actually had seeds. But seeds aren't considered desirable, so for the sake of the $ the seeds have been bred out.

The same for 'seedless' watermelon. Most are actually bred to go red and sweet faster, so they can be picked underripe when the seeds are still small and white. People get their convenient 'seedless' watermelon, however they are missing out on the full nutrient value of a fully ripened fruit.

For me it's about variety. I eat lots of greens, get a good variety of fruits and vegetables each week. I don't avoid foods like bananas, however I don't make them a mainstay of my diet. Variety is key to meeting your bodies nutrient requirements too since different foods have such widely differing nutrients.

Must run - talk to you all in a few days!
Sheryl

[chilove]

Most fruit and veggies are hybrids and have been for a long time. People have been hybridizing since we discovered agriculture. I do not worry about it all. This diet is still a million times better than anything else we can possibly do, hybridization and all.

Audrey

[THX-1138]

Agreed, virtually all fruits and vegetables are hybrids.

Anyone who calls themselves a guru, should not be taken seriously.

[rawpriestess]

I am not against anything,

What you resist, persistss

So, we mostly eat what we grow, with love and attention, we do our best each and every day.

we buy organic when we must buy food, we don't eat packaged or frozen or canned, we don't eat out much anymore.

we don't eat at friends homes
we are buying an island just so we can eat off the land.

But if I do get a banana without seeds, I'm not gonna' stress, because stress kills more people thatn hybred foods for sure.

[kayla]

Since the topic has come up, does anyone else think that the seedless watermelons taste funny? :confused:

I LOVED watermelon as a child when we would spit the seeds out, and all I've had lately is seedless watermelon and I do not find it as satisfying.

[rawpriestess]

I have never tried one, don't want to.

I like all those black seeds, to spit at my hubby. LOL

still a kid at heart.

[Sheryl]

I love crunching up the seeds - they are delicious!!!

Cantelope seeds are a little hard though!

I agree worry is not good; freedom, love, excitment, wonder, happiness and delight are!! *GRIN* Delight in your food and you will feel the energy!

Sheryl

[Shivananda]

As others have previously alluded to, virtually everything grown commercially today is hybridized, because breeders have been able to progressively crossbreed native plants for size, for yield, for disease resistance, and for other desireable characteristics that increase a farmer's yield. It's a process that has been going on since agriculture started, thousands of years ago. Even the hybrid seed breeding process that produces vigorous, often seedless varieties has been widely used since the 1920s, so most of the food we buy today in stores is what is called an F1 hybrid, unable to reproduce itself. And this food is often more nutritious, with more protein, more vitamin C, or whatever, than its parents. David Wolfe's scary message is way overstated, filled with hyperbole and rhetoric. I would pay it little mind.

In any case, there are two alternatives to eating commercial food varieties from the commercial food chain (ie., 99% of what is in the supermarkets), and that is to buy traditional varieties from farmers markets and food co-ops or to grow your own.

Traditional, or heirloom varieties, are ones our ancestors grew in their gardens or on their farm, but which did not lend themselves to large scale commercial farming. Many of them died out and have disappeared, eclipsed by "newer and better" varieties. But seed saver networks have worked to preserve the best of them, ferreting out treasures from people's gardens that they got from Aunt Tillie or Granpa's brother. And you can now buy seeds for them from specialized growers like Seeds of Change. And some of them are startlingly different from the commercially grown varieties you see in stores.

My favorite example of the breadth of what's available from heirloom seeds is the tomato, which is available in sizes from tiny little gems the size of currants, to monsters the size of melons, perfectly round or massively lobed or long like a chili pepper or pear shaped or cylindrical, yellow or orange or green or green and white striped or red and white striped or pink or purple or deep burgandy or virtually black, from those which grow quickly on compact little 6" bushes (for cold, short growing seasons) to 8' bushy vines the size of three people which leisurely grow in hut, sunny locations. And they have taste and texture variations to match, from tart and acid to sweeter than a valencia orange, from so juicy you can barely pick them intact to nearly juiceless roma types intended for use in cooked sauces. And none of these wonders is commercially viable. You have to grow them yourself, or get them from someone who grows them "by hand."

[misslinda]

I guess I missed some info that I need to research b/c I am not fully knowledgeable on HYBRID definition period :o

I take Wolfe's statement from an educational standpoint. I repsect him very much and consider his opinions to be just as valuable as anyone elses. :)

I only buy certified organic local first then expand.........then organic etc. So even though they are organic, I guess I didn't realize that some foods are hybrid because of the farming practices that have been altered for many years.........sadly do to "modernization."

Greeninlosangeles, LOL.......that's is becoming a GIVEN !!!!!!!! the UNIVERSAL answer...........if we don't know, that's gotta be green smoothies! :p :)

Sheryl, that is really interesting about the bananas! Has anyone ever been able to find non hybrid bananas for sale?

:) thank you for the insight everyone.

[Queenie]

One thing I know: if it has seeds, it's closer to its natural form. Let's not be too pessimistic! Herbals aren't hybridized, which is why it's a good idea to have some nettles and clover and stuff like that around. If you're a gardener, you can focus on old varieties. For example, there are antique varieties of roses that are not hybridized.

Off varieties of tomatoes taste way better than that homogenized stuff they sell in the store. Anyone ever had a Purple Cherokee tomato??? OMG soooo good. If you can get them to grow...

Valencia oranges have their seeds; you can choose them over navels. Concord grapes have their seeds and taste so much better than those awful seedless things it's not even funny.

I'm very anti-seedless. Seedless means Sterile in most cases and do you really want to eat STERILE??? But I wouldn't worry too much about things being hybridized. Some things go back to their natural form more easily than others. Man tries to mess with nature and look at the backlash - no worries. The planet knows what she is doing.

[THX-1138]

Since the topic has come up, does anyone else think that the seedless watermelons taste funny? :confused:

I LOVED watermelon as a child when we would spit the seeds out, and all I've had lately is seedless watermelon and I do not find it as satisfying.

YES! They taste funky.

[THX-1138]

David Wolfe's scary message is way overstated, filled with hyperbole and rhetoric. I would pay it little mind.

I bow to you wise sir! :p

[misslinda]

I'm just curious THX, what do you have against Wolfe? Is there something I am missing here? His claims are no different from what I have been reading of ther doctors and raw sites regarding hybrid fruits an veggies. Is it the information or his personality you are referring to? :confused:

I find this hybrid issue interesting b/c, looking back---everytime I eat a banana alone or oranges without seeds, I get extremely tired and fatigued so coming across this info intrigued me. Now when I eat tangerines with seeds, I don't have the same reaction.

I'm just glad to know that there is a difference between hybrid and those [closer] to its natural state. ;)

[ArcticMist]

Something I find interesting.

My son loves golden delicious apples. Personally I think they are not very good.
I saw a special one time where it showed how they grew them. They took seeds from other apples and implanted them in another apple tree to get the hybrid. So if you actually grew the golden delicious apple seeds. You would never know what kind apple you were going to grow because they use so many different types of seeds.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I've heard some folks say they've had seeded and seedless fruit on the same vine or plant (growing organically on their property). If it comes from the same plant, I don't see how one could be nutritionally superior to the other, as plants require specific nutrients from the soil in order to grow fruit.

[misslinda]

Arcticmist--that is very interesting.........thank you for sharing that!


Here is a helpful link

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/wildfruit.html

:)

[RowanC]

I'm a heck of a lot more concerned about Genetically Modified (GM) foods and foods whose seeds are "Round=up Ready!" than I am about hybrids. Pretty much everything we eat is a hybrid.

Once again.. for some interesting reading, go to www.organicconsumers.org
and read about the foods you're eating.

[Shivananda]

Concord grapes have their seeds and taste so much better than those awful seedless things it's not even funny.

OK, this is a great example of why assumptions just cannot replace real education. You seem to assume that because Concords have seeds they must be somehow outside the bounds of this controversy...

But in fact, Concord grapes were one of the first modern agricultural hybrid success stories. And for very weird reasons. They were developed only about a dozen miles from where I am sitting now, in Concord, Massachusetts, something like 100 years ago (not precise, I'm working from memory here) That's why they are colled Concords.

And the guy who developed them was wildly anti-semitic, working on a crazed theory that the Jews had corrupted all the grapes and that a pure strain needed to be developed from the ruins to eliminate Jewish influence over that part of our diet. So he worked and he worked on crossbreeding and over the years developed a big, juicy, sweet grape with a bold flavor that grew well in the Northeastern US. But it didn't go over well at first as a table grape, because it really had too much a one-dimensional taste for many people, so it was pretty cheap to buy.

And then along a Baptist minister named Welch, who wanted to develop a non-alcoholic sacramental "new" wine for offering communion in teetotal churches, and the big simple taste of Concord grapes, and their ultra cheap price, seemed to fit the need. Later the Welch's communion grape juice came to be sold to the public, and then grape jelly was added, and today nobody even remembers that the Welch's brand started as Baptist communion wine. Even more ironic, that same anti-semitic grape became the basis for the sweet kosher wine most associated with the American Jewish experience, Mogen David.

So, anyway, my point is, watch your assumptions... :)

[misslinda]

LOL......boy, I didn't start this thread to make people "shine" at each other :p :eek:

I simply wanted to shed light on some information that we can all agree that exsits--right?. So, let's let each person decide what they choose to believe is right answer for him or her.

Personally, in terms of latest research, I will have greens with my "more than likely" hybrid foods and purchase what may be "more than likely" non hybrid if at all.

Until I can figure out how to go back in time and learn how to grow real food like the aztecs, than this for now.


COCO!!!!!!!! I started this thread for us--where are you??? :o

[Sharon in Colorado]

And the guy who developed them was wildly anti-semitic, working on a crazed theory that the Jews had corrupted all the grapes and that a pure strain needed to be developed from the ruins to eliminate Jewish influence over that part of our diet. So he worked and he worked on crossbreeding and over the years developed a big, juicy, sweet grape with a bold flavor that grew well in the Northeastern US. But it didn't go over well at first as a table grape, because it really had too much a one-dimensional taste for many people, so it was pretty cheap to buy.


Manishewitz Concord Grape is our wine of choice at the Passover table. I guess we get to have the last laugh!

Tradition....TRADITION!!

[rawpriestess]

I love trivia, what an interesting story about the Concord grape.

some of the best grapes I ever had were in Japan, and they were very small purple, with a tough thick leathery skin, the grape was very sweet and the skin was very tart, they had more seeds than flesh. they were great.

[misslinda]

I love trivia, what an interesting story about the Concord grape.

some of the best grapes I ever had were in Japan, and they were very small purple, with a tough thick leathery skin, the grape was very sweet and the skin was very tart, they had more seeds than flesh. they were great.


RP, I know what grapes you are talking about...as a young girl, I use to tell my mother it felt like a "lewgee" in my mouth :eek: sorry folks not to grosse anyone out !!!