how important is fruit?

[Zaphirah]

I rarely eat fruit. I'm just not too keen on it, except for a short time in the summer months when I pick it myself. I know the importance for greens, but is there a special importance to fruit? Should I be worried about missing vitamins or something else and force myself to eat it or do you think I can be perfectly healthy without it?

[Frugal Raw]

To know for sure, you could track your intake on NutriDiary or Fitday. Figure out how much you'd normally eat in a day and see if there are any deficiencies, then research what veggies might have them for you.

One thing I can think of off the top of my head, is the issue of assimilating plant-based iron. Vitamin C unlocks the iron so that it can be assimilated. I generally spritz all of my salads with lemon rather than make a dressing...

[chetsunset]

I'm the opposite. I eat way too many fruits and not enough veggies. Fruits are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytosterols. Fruits esp berries are full of antioxidants to help fight off free radicals. Blueberries are also high in lutein and zeaxanthin that are good for eye health. don't forget avocados and dates are also fruits.

[Zaphirah]

the tomato is a fruit right? I eat about 5 of those each week, plus 2 avos and 2-4 POMS...are there any other incognito fruits that mask themselves as veggies? :cool:

[GoingtoRAW]

I am also the opposite. Especially since I have been drinking smoothies - I tend to really load up on the fruit. My morning smoothie is all fruit and my evening smoothie is fruit with greens. I have been drinking smoothies twice daily for 2 weeks now and this morning I was wondering if I am getting too much fruit. I get plenty of veggies too but I started to worry about all of the sugar from the fruit. In addition to drinking the fruit loaded smoothies I may also eat 1 to 2 pieces of fruit per day. :eek:

[Zaphirah]

fruit is just too sugary for me or something. I can't eat much at all. Like 1/2 of an orange or 1 small banana. I do add fruit to my GS, but not much, maybe a 1/2 c?

[GoingtoRAW]

One thing I have noticed since drinking the fruit loaded smoothies is that I don't really crave sweet foods anymore.:)

[DavidZaneMason]

Fruit is just a tool.....like a hammer. It is the right tool for some people....at their level of cleansing....and THEIR goals. The important thing (as stated above) is that YOU come to a conscious choice about what levels of nutrition are right for you....and foods you have chosen to get you there.

-It is important to have goals...and your goals will determine what level of foods you are comfortable with. Just my opinions - which I hope are helpful.

-David Z. Mason

[VibinOnLife!]

Hi Zaphirah!

Thank you for the e-mail by the way. I apologize that I have not written back yet, but I really appreciate all of the information that you gave me about your fast. I'm actually on day 3 of a green juice fast! I'm not sure how far I will go. The suggested time is 3-10 days.

Anyway...about the fruit...

Actually it's a good thing that you don't eat a lot of sweet fruits. The more sugar you ingest, the lower your pH level is and the more acidic your body becomes. And it is better for our bodies to be more alkaline, as disease cannot live in an alkaline environment. Most disease feeds on sugar, and that's sugar in any form. I'm not against frutarianism, because I don't understand it. But one thing that I do know is that Dick Gregory was a frutarian for over 20 years and developed a form of lymphoma that is said to usually occur in people who work in chemical plants!

Anything that has a seed is a fruit. The easiest way for me to get it was to think about a tree, plant or vine. These things have stems/branches and leaves, whatever they produce outside of that...the part that actually holds the seeds that allow it to reproduce, that is considered the fruit.

And please frutarians, don't write me any harsh posts. I am not trying to offend anyone...really! :o

Hope this helps! All the best,

VOL

[trinity082482]

I think fruit is equally important as vegetables. A good balance is important. I eat about 50/50 daily.

[raw_danceruk]

I think amount of fruit is very personal.. agreed with David..depends on your goals, your path, what is IDEAL for you.

For me I eat mostly fruit, 1-3kg ..and for me I feel grounded and balanced... but for others eating greens is their thing..

Find your own happy medium.. if your happy without fruits..and you feel grounded with out..then roll with it until your body signals otherwise..

Hope that makes sense ;)

[Zaphirah]

my "thing" is fermented raw foods. I would eat a 2 gallon bucket of kraut each day if my body could tolerate it. LOL!

[Veganforlife]

I think fruit is equally important as vegetables. A good balance is important. I eat about 50/50 daily.

I so totally agree!!!

[possumannie]

Cucumbers and squash are both technically fruit; a good way to judge is if the blossoms of the plant turn into the "vegetable" and/or if you cut it open, it has visible seeds, then it is a fruit. :)

[possumannie]

Oh and pumpkins! They are technically in the...melon?...family, I believe I read.

[simone_24]

when i first went raw, i would constantly over obsess over the way i ate, "should i go 80-10-10?" "should i do the green smoothie thing?" "am i eating too many fats?" etc, etc. In the mist of all of this i ended up bingeing over and over again on SAD foods. I finally realized that the most important thing to do was not stress over how i ate raw but rather as long as i was raw is most important. i personally am not a big fan of fruit except for cucumbers and tomatoes. it probably isn`t enough but when i think back to how i have ate before we went raw, i`ve came a long way....

[menat]

I put more fruit in my smoothies than veggies, because I was using collard greens in the beginning and they are bitter. Now I am switching over to spinach since I do think the spinach scare is over now? I still add other veggies like beets, celery, squashes and carrots.

But I think I will make a pure veggie smoothie only of spinach, tomato, onions, garlic, okra and jalepeno peppers in order to make a soup.