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In some recent fad diets, fruit has had a lot of negative press, mostly because of its sugar/carbohydrate content or the idea that it raises acidity. But fruit, far from being in any way detrimental, can be a key in renovating your body and helping to establish permanent good health. Fruit is in fact good for you, and was all along.
Advertising for some new beverages now claims they have “less sugar than juice” Don’t be taken in… not all ‘sugars’ were created equal.
The sugars found in fruit are in the form of sucrose and fructose. By the magic of the enzymes fruit contains, the moment you begin to chew it, these sugars are converted to glucose. This puts the sugars from fruit into a whole different category from other sugars. The number one fuel for our bodies is glucose, and any other fuel we consume must be converted to glucose before the body uses it.
When we consume fruit, we are ingesting glucose that is bound together with minerals and vitamins, water, fiber and enzymes. Glucose bound in this manner is used synergistically to nourish our cells, and does not contribute to weight gain nor does it feed yeasts or Candida. Glucose bound in this manner does not acidify the bloodstream. When ripe, raw fruit is eaten, its enzymes help to get those fruit sugars into the cells within a few minutes and there is very rarely any danger of any blood sugar troubles, even when fruit is eaten by diabetics.
Even though many fruits contain acid, as they are assimilated into the cells in their complete synergistic form, they actually have an overall alkalinizing effect on the body, because they aid in the elimination of wastes that are almost always the real cause a chronic acidic condition.
However, drinking pasteurized orange juice or other bottled fruit juice will send your blood sugar levels soaring, will feed yeasts and Candida, and will acidify the bloodstream because the enzymes that are an integral part of fresh fruit have been killed in the pasteurization process.
The best kind of fruit to eat is: FRESH! Use it in its original state, as it came off the tree. If it is juice, it should be fresh raw juice made from fresh ripe fruit.
Forget about no-fruit diets
Specialty diets recommended for various conditions often prohibit fruit to the point where the person on the diet feels unable to eat fruit without severe consequences. However, fruit belongs in everyone’s diet, and the key to including it is its prudent use.
Eat Your Fruit First
This isn’t just a good suggestion, it is in fact vital to taking advantage of all fruit has to offer. The reason for this rule is some unique qualities of fruit
Fruit not only eliminates itself, it digests itself! Of all the foods we have to use, fruit is the easiest to digest because it comes with everything it needs to break itself down. Digesting fruit requires no energy output on your part, and you will never feel tired and lethargic after eating fruit.
It takes only about 20 minutes for fruit to pass through the stomach when it is consumed prudently, whereas other foods can take anywhere from two to eight hours to leave the stomach, depending on what is eaten. The trick is to eat fruit by itself on an empty stomach.
Here’s why: heavier proteins and starches churning around in the stomach will most certainly interfere with the digestion of fruits that want to pass right through. The prolonged contact of the fruit with complex proteins already in the stomach causes the fruit to begin to rot instead of digest, and prolonged contact with starches causes fruit to ferment.
Health advocate and author Marilu Henner, says mixing fruit with protein and starch is like turning your stomach into a cheap brewery. The deleterious effects of doing so are reactions similar to those from drinking alcoholic beverages. The combination of fruit and starches or proteins can get bad enough to cause bloating and gas. Most people mistakenly blame it on the fruit, and claim that it doesn’t agree with them and gives them indigestion.
Some people have been eating things that leave undigested residues behind in the gut for so long that the stomach is never truly empty. While fruit will initially cause havoc with these people, it will also facilitate the elimination of those undigested particles. Some guidance may be needed here, but fruit is invariably key to healing that problem and restoring normal digestion.
Fruit should never be used as a dessert It is not going to help the weight loss process, but will hamper it! When fruit is allowed to ferment the starches and rot the proteins in the stomach, the body often stores the toxic residues in fat cells until it can deal with it later. One of the reasons low carbohydrate diets are so successful for weight loss is that they keep people from eating fruit with other foods by removing it from the diet altogether. On the flip side, when fruit is consumed before other foods, the mild cleansing action it has will aid in the elimination of extra weight.
We need all of the benefits of fruit in order to move toward truly vibrant health. And in order to take full advantage of all our fruit has to offer, it must be consumed by itself, on an empty stomach. To help you start the day with fresh fruit, here a simple recipe for a delicious fruit smoothie.
Strawbanna Smoothie
The secret to making a deliciously creamy smoothie with no yogurt, ice cream or dairy substitute is frozen bananas. Simply peel ripe bananas, break into chunks and freeze overnight in a ziplock bag. These will stay good in the freezer for more than a month.
1 cup apple juice (fresh is best!)
1 cup frozen bananas ( about 2)
3 or 4 frozen or fresh stawberries
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. This makes a very thick smoothie you can eat with a spoon. If the fruit won’t blend and seems stuck, wait for a minute while the fruit thaws slightly and blend again. If you prefer a thinner smoothie, add more juice.
