“Man has always thrived as he has eaten freely of fruits.”--_H. Irving
Hancock._
“The best food on this planet is ripe fruit. The healthiest people
on the globe are the fruit eaters of tropical countries. The great
muscular Maoris of New Zealand are a frugiverous race. I have seen a
boat crew of these great chocolate colored giants that would outrow the
‘crack’ university crews were they properly trained. The bread fruit
of the Samoan Islands has made a race of giants. I have examined these
men and women on their native soil and finer human specimens never
lived.”--_Dr. Paul Edwards._
“The more we depend upon the fresh fruit just as it is plucked from the
tree, the greater will be the blessing.”
“It would be well for us to do less cooking and to eat more fruit in
its natural state. Eat freely of fresh grapes, apples, peaches, pears,
berries and all other kinds of fruit that can be obtained.”
Fruits supply sugar, acids, mineral matter and bulk. The mineral
elements of fruits are more readily assimilated than those of flesh
meat and vegetables. Acid fruits aid in the digestion of nuts and
other nitrogenous foods. Acid, juicy fruits keep the system clean and
free from germs. They render lime and soda salts soluble, enabling the
system to throw them off. They _allay_ instead of _creating_ thirst.
Alcohol and tobacco cannot stay long with the individual who uses no
flesh foods and partakes freely of ripe juicy fruits. Use more fruit
and fewer vegetables if you would not experience thirst.
Cane sugar is not digested in the stomach but causes fermentation by
hindering the digestion of other foods. The sugar of fruits (grape
and fruit sugar, so-called), and that of honey are all ready for
assimilation, so require less labor on the part of the body and may be
used more rapidly for the repair of muscular fatigue.
The laxative effect of fruit is very important. Very ripe bananas taken
when the stomach is empty often produce immediate effect. Pineapples
after nitrogenous foods, ripe olives, peaches, pears and nearly all
fruits are helpful.
It is better to use the juice and pulp only, of seedy fruits like
blackberries and black raspberries. With many people the seeds produce
hives.
The matter of bulk in the diet is an important one. The whole digestive
tract suffers if there is not a fairly good bulk of food to be handled
by it, yet serious results follow when a large quantity of concentrated
food is consumed; consequently, fruits and green vegetables being
composed largely of water supply just what is needed.
Fruit must be thoroughly ripened, sound and well matured. Many unripe
fruits contain raw starch which causes trouble when they are eaten.
The largest fruit of its kind is usually the cheapest. It is poor
economy to spend money and (if the fruit requires paring) time, for
seeds, skins, and cores. Besides, as a rule the larger fruit is more
perfectly matured, so more wholesome as well as of a finer flavor.
Do not use the skins of fruits much. They are composed largely of woody
fibre and are intended only for a covering to the fruit. In the days
of stomach washes, the skins of fruits were noticeably abundant in the
“unswallowed” food.
For the best effect, fruits should be used without sugar. When one has
accustomed himself to the use of grape fruit and oranges without sugar,
the addition of it will make them positively disagreeable to his
taste, besides causing rebellion in the stomach.
Since acids hinder the digestion of starch, it is better to take acid
fruits at the close of a meal including starchy foods, and we should
especially avoid taking starches and acids into the mouth at the same
time, before the starch has been acted upon by the saliva.
There is great opportunity for the display of artistic skill in serving
fresh fruits, and nothing so well repays a little effort as the
combination of leaves, ferns and vines with fruits. One beautiful dish
that I remember was of plums, grapes and peaches with autumn leaves;
another, with rich branches of foliage plants and a variety of fruits.
Grape leaves combine beautifully with fruits.
One person with whom I am acquainted can use no starchy foods. The
many attempts which she has made to use them invariably result in her
becoming extremely weak, and helpless with rheumatism; but she thrives
on a diet composed almost exclusively of acid fruits and nuts. She
writes--“On my fruit and nut diet I seldom feel thirst, but after
eating even starchless vegetables I suffer exceedingly from it. I find
also that I do not require so much sleep as when living on another
diet.” Her chief fruits are sour apples, grape fruit, oranges and
mealy-ripe bananas with a few raisins, dates and figs occasionally for
dessert. She is at her best when currants are ripe; and takes them
every day as long as they can be obtained.