…and a favorite fruit salad
by Caroline Dupont, M.Sc., RHN
Just about every nutrition client that I see is afraid of fruit to some extent. Some avoid it altogether, some eat only low-glycemic fruit, others feel guilty when they eat “too much” fruit. They ask doesn’t it feed candida and cancer, and cause diabetes and weight gain? No, no, no and no! It actually helps to heal all of these conditions. In fact there’s only so much healing that you can do without fruit.
Fruit fear is one of the most unfortunate trends in the world of nutrition and medicine, both allopathic and alternative. Basically fruit is being lumped into the same category as white sugar, corn syrup and other refined sweeteners, which do contribute to disease. The sugar in fruit is actually minimal when you consider all the other nutrients that it contains like pure living water, soluble and insoluble fiber, macro and trace minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and hundreds of phyto-nutrients, many of them as of yet undiscovered. Most of us don’t know that the sugar in fruit is actually designed to usher powerful anti-oxidants and phyto-nutrients directly to the cells so that they can fulfill their purpose which is to keep us healthy, vital, happy and connected to our soul.
Every cell in our body runs on sugar in the form of glucose, and the world’s longest lived populations eat high carbohydrate diets. Check out The China Study by Colin Campbell, Blue Zones by Dan Buettner, and Healthy at 100 by John Robbins. Glucose is most easily obtained from fruit (the fructose is converted to glucose). It’s easy to digest, leaves no toxic by-products, and brings with it a vast array of critical phyto-nutrients that contribute to the smooth functioning of the body. While complex carbohydrates from other sources like grains and legumes are fine (unless they contain gluten – that’s a topic for another blog), they are harder on the digestive system and they don’t pack the same nutritional punch as fruit.
Here are some other things that might help you to see fruit in it’s true light:
- Our closest cousins in the animal word are the higher apes (98% or our genes are exactly the same) which feed on 60 to 85% fruit.
- Fruit is the ultimate fast food. Delicious just as it is, there is no need to chop, cook, soak, sprout, season, tenderize, etc.
- It has 4 times more phyto-nutrients than vegetables. Vegetables are great too, but if you avoid fruit are you ready to quadruple your vegetable intake to compensate?
- With all those phyto-nutrients (over a thousand in wild blueberries for example) they are anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-cancer.
- Fruit is water and fiber rich, two essential qualities to keep your bowels moving, your skin glowing, and your mind clear.
- Fruit has properties that soothe your adrenal glands, strengthen your endocrine system, renew your reproductive system, repair your vascular system, restore your liver, and revitalize your brain – there is no pill or other food that enhances so many of your bodily functions as well as fruit.
- There are essential fats in berries and greens, as of yet undiscovered by science, but revealed by Medical Medium Anthony William, that specialize in repairing the brain. This is especially important nowadays with the damage done by heavy metals in our systems contributing to neurological diseases like Alzheimers, dementia, autism, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, and more.
- Components in fruit rewire DNA and RNA and easily clear the lymphatic system of toxins.
- When you allow yourself to eat as much fruit as you want you will have far less cravings for baked goods, cookies, deserts, and processed starchy foods – as you likely know from experience you can only avoid carbohydrates for so long until you find yourself binge-eating.
- Fruit fights cancer better than any other food because of its vast array of phyto-nutrients. For example grapes contain powerful sub-categories of dimethyl resveratrol will kill cancer cells. Along with fruit, vegetables, herbs and wild food are your cancer fighting team.
- Candida increases when there’s a high viral load in the body. It’s actually protecting you from the virus by consuming foods that would create worse problems if the virus were feeding on them. Once you get the virus under control with a low-fat high fruit and vegetable diet, the candida will naturally decrease.
- Diabetes is primarily an adrenal, liver and pancreas imbalance and requires a low-fat, high fruit and vegetable diet, along with practices to transform stress into wellness.
- Excess weight is due to an overloaded liver and, again, fruit is the ultimate liver cleanser. It will also help you to control your cravings for processed foods, and will elevate your moods to decrease emotional eating.
- In order to heal cancer, candida, diabetes and weight issues it’s most helpful to decrease protein and fat, an excess of which burdens all of your organs but particularly the liver and pancreas.
I believe that the lack of fruit in our diet is also greatly contributing to mental disease and ongoing challenging emotional states. Each and every fruit is pure nourishment and pure soul. They uplift us spiritually and can help alleviate many difficult emotional and mental states.
Here is my favorite fruit based green salad. It’s quick and oh-so-delicious-and-satisfying. As you’ll see there are endless variations and I hope this idea becomes a part of your life! Every meal counts and contributes to your wellbeing.
1/2 ripe avocado, cubed
2 cups fruit (pears, berries, mango, bananas, etc.)
2 stalks celery, sliced
red or green onion, sliced fine
1 cup cilantro, chopped (optional – basil, parsley or arugula are also nice)
juice of 1 orange
juice of ½ lime (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
4 cups lettuce or spinach
small handful raisins, dried cranberries or mulberries, or chopped dates or figs (optional)
sprouts, any kind (optional)
salt, to taste (optional)
Toss everything in a bowl. The avocado will mix with the orange juice to form a dressing.
Enjoy!