Enjoyment for its own sake is of great benefit in itself. It allows us to relax, to NOT crave for more, but rather to savor what is already given. People seem to have forgotten that - the automatic healing power of enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
Naturally, each fruit has its own specific health benefits that can be a factor in alleviating one or the other disease. However, when writing and posting these articles it was never our intention to thereby claim that eating fruit can replace other forms of treatment. We do NOT encourage you to regard eating fruit as an element in the fight ‘against’ illness, whatever it may be. Eating fruit is simply good for health, as it is one of the simple pleasures that life grants us.
From this point of view, you don’t eat mangosteen, as it were, in order to avoid cancer or combat a cancer that has already manifested, even though the anti-oxidants in mangosteen may have precisely this very effect. Rather you eat mangosteen because you enjoy eating them. Our focus is always on health, NOT on disease; on simple pleasures, simple practical steps, not on complex cures. Many studies in psychosomatic medicine have proven indisputably that this shift in attitude and attention, away from illness, and back to health, is itself already healing. It also helps prevent illness.
Now, of course, it is not only whole fruit of different varieties that you can buy and enjoy, preferably in their unadulterated state. Rather, you can buy all different kinds of fruit products: in cans, in bottles, in tetra packs, you name it.
And precisely here, at this point, is where the ‘right way’ and the ‘wrong way’ of eating fruit, comes into play.
And precisely here, at this point, is where the ‘right way’ and the ‘wrong way’ of eating fruit, comes into play.
Few authors have given more though to the subject than Harvey Diamond, in his Fit for Lifeseries. We quote from his book Fit for Life – Not Fat for Life, to make the point that needs to be made. Yes, there two ways of enjoying fruit: the right way and the wrong way.
“Most people have no idea whatsoever that there is a right way and a wrong way to eat fruit, so that they not only lose all the benefits it can provide, but they actually eat it in such a way as to cause harm… In order to reap the many benefits of fruit and change your life for the better in the process, there are two, let’s call them guidelines, to acknowledge and adhere to.
1. All fruit and fruit juice must be consumed in their natural state – not cooked, heated, processed, refined, pasteurized, irradiated, or altered in any way.
2. Because of fruit’s unique nature in that it does not require time in the stomach for digestion, it should be consumed alone and on an empty stomach.”
“The life of any living thing on this planet, plant or animal, entirely depends on the condition of its enzymes. If its enzymes are intact, life continues. If enzymes are killed, life ceases. Remember that the heat to cook food is far in excess of what it takes to completely kill enzymes. Eating fruit or drinking fruit juice that has been cooked or heated renders it not only valueless, but harmful…”
“The standard American diet [Indian, too] is primarily acid-forming, which, you can be sure, is a major contributing factor to the poor health and overweight condition of the population… All fruit [however] is alkaline and therefore neutralizes acid in the body. Whenever I say that all fruit is alkaline, the first thing people say is, ‘What about oranges, grapefruits, pineapples and lemons? They are all acid fruits.’ True enough, but that is only their botanical classification. Once inside the body, all fruit is alkaline, unless it is subjected to heat, in which case it is acidic, and contributes to the problem associated with a predominantly acid-producing diet…”
“Orange juice made from concentrate is pasteurized. It’s dead, acidic and harmful… And it’s not only orange juice, by the way. Apple, grape, cranberry, grapefruit, [lychee, mango….] you name it, they are pasteurized. And more often than not they are laced with some refined sugar, additives, preservatives and other various and sundry chemicals. It’s everything but natural.”
“Since you now known the first guideline for eating fruit correctly, lets move on to the second guideline… Recall, if you will, the exceedingly important revelation made earlier, that fruit stands alone as the one and only food in the entire food chain that requires no digestion in the stomach. No digestive enzymes have to be produced by the body (as have to be with other foods) because all the enzymes required for digestion are already in the fruit as long as they are not destroyed by heat."
This unique feature means that in order for fruit to be properly broken down and utilized effectively, it is essential that all fruit be allowed to pass through the stomach to the intestines unimpeded so its full potential can be realized. The only thing to stop it on its journey through the stomach is if there is already food in the stomach, or if the fruit is eaten along with food that must stay in the stomach. When this happens and fruit comes into contact with digestive juices, it spoils and turns to acid. All the positives associated with eating fruit correctly are lost and turned into negatives. It causes starch to ferment and proteins to putrefy, which in turn causes so many of the digestive disorders that are so prevalent.”