Don't mix fruits?

[Abascas]

i'm contemplating switching to a raw/fruititaria diet, and i have a few questions. first, i went to the fruititarian.com site, and one thing on there didn't make sense to me. it said not to eat different fruits withouth 2 hours between them, what is the point of this? my second, if i did begin to do such a thing, are there any specific things i'd have to watch out for when first begining? silly/stupid questions, but yeah.

[bugaboo]

The two-hour thing must have something to do with getting all possible nutrients from the first fruit and so that you can absorb the most nutrients from the next meal. I don't know for sure, but this is my thinking behind the time issue.
I don't really understand the raw food/fruitarian thing for health but I'm sure the thinking behind it exists for a reason. You are a brave soldier for trying it out. Sounds very difficult to me.

[cedarblue]

from what i can gather, the reason behind this is that fruits take different times to digest so to its best to allow a fair time between eating different fruits so all to allow the optimum time for digestion.
mono eating is where you may just eat one fruit at a time, say bananas for breakfast and then just apples later on for example.

i dont think the fruit combining thing applies with smoothies as the fruit is broken down when making so its ok to combine fruits this way.

if you were contemplating going this way i'd read up on it as much as possible from people who are doing it and then be sensible about whether it is right for you - maybe a high raw diet would be a good thing to work towards first? i don't know how you are eating at the moment. perhaps join some raw or fruitarian forums first to research from other people doing it?

i don't think thats the way for me, i enjoy my veggies too much to cut out and i think greens are vital for a healthy diet.

just my opinion though - read around and ask questions.

good luck.

[Heartsease]

I think it also helps to consider how people would 'naturally' find fruit....like,wow! Here's a tree convered in plums. People would eat until they were full, I think. (I would and have done). They would likely not take one plum and wander off to the next tree and find a pear. I think...in my experience...and considering our closest relatives....that mono eating would easily occur. Now that we have shops and planes we mix foods that would not likely mix in 'nature' ie. mango and apple. (One is a temperate fruit and the other tropical). I could be talking rubbish,of course.

I am a bit of a softie for plant rights (although I am not a fruitarian) and I like to remind myself (to make myself feel better?) that some leafy plants thrive when nibbled on. There are many plants in the kingdom that will suffer/die if they are not regularly chomped on/trimmed.

[emmapresley]

i think melon is a good fruit to eat all by itself :)..should i rephrase that? i heard that it was better for digestion to eat melon seperately from other fruits..is what i mean.

[cedarblue]

yes i think that is right emma p, melon should eaten alone.

[RedWellies]

Funny that it's often served as a starter then...

[cedarblue]

probably lack of imagination there rw - the token veggie/vegan starter??


ideally all fruits should be eaten on an empty stomach at at least an hour BEFORE a meal, never as a dessert. perhaps the melon starter started as an aperatif a while before the main meal was served.

fruit salad as a dessert is a no-no really, the body won't be able to digest the fruit properly or draw all the nutrients from it as it's already digesting what's been eaten. fruit after a meal may also make one 'gassy'!

[emmapresley]

i do this every so often for like a good run of a few weeks..just eat fruit for breakfast and up until about 1pm..just always always on its own. i have to get into the habit of doing it, but i always feel sooo much better when i do.
definately i never eat any fruit after a meal..it just sits there for ages fermenting on top of all the other stuff that's been eaten and i hate it when people offer me fruit and i say no i dont want it..because its either later in the day or whatever and then thy look at me and do lots of judging. grr.
course when i'm not doing this fabulous eating-fruit-on-its-own thing, i either don't eat it at all or scoff several banana down in one go. ugh, i'm so inconsistent.

[cedarblue]

i also only eat fruit in the mornings, with greens in the smoothies too though.

[harpy]

I've never noticed any special problems from eating fruit before, with or after other foods. If the other stuff you're eating is vegetable matter anyway I don't understand why it should delay the digestion of the fruit. If you had a steak or something, then it might I suppose.

Probably the best thing is for people to experiment and see what works best for their individual digestions.

[Abascas]

ok, a few more questions, i'm wondering how these things would fall, if anywhere, into a raw diet:

soy/rice/ext. milks
Chocolate
frozen berries
tea
coffee
juices
bread

anything weird to look for? doubt it for a few of them, all of them seem obvious of where they fall, but i'm stupid a lot. I'm ignorant on a great many things

[cedarblue]

soy milk = not raw
you can make fresh nut milk etc though.

you can buy raw chocolate, regular vegan choc is not raw

frozen berries = raw

tea/coffee/juices from concentrate = not raw but up to you
freshly squeezed veg & fruit juice = raw

regular bread = not raw
'bread' can be made in dehydrator or purchased in some wholefood shops mainly in the u.s i notice.

[Reuben]

Is pasta raw?

[cedarblue]

no, although you can make raw 'pasta' from courgettes with a spirooli / saladaccio or into wide tagliatelle strips with a potato peeler.

[mexicanpotato]

i think melon is a good fruit to eat all by itself :)..should i rephrase that? i heard that it was better for digestion to eat melon seperately from other fruits..is what i mean.


Yeah, that's right. Melon has the highest water content of all fruits. It leaves the stomach in literally minutes. This process is messed up however when you eat it with other food (even other fruit sometimes) Its best eaten alone.

Actually, most fruits leave the stomach in a few minutes so they should be eaten alone as well. In my experience, its best to eat fruit on an empty stomach and wait 15-30 minutes before eating other food (with the exception of bananas and avocados in which case its best to wait about an hour) and NEVER eat fruit on a full stomach.

As far as not mixing most fruits, I haven't heard of that. It would sure make fruit salads difficult though!

[cedarblue]

agreed, melon is best eaten alone.

[howdawg]

Why shouldn't one eat fruit on a full stomach? I appear to be very ignorant on this subject matter...

[emmapresley]

it digests really quickly so if your belly is full up with carbs or other stuff that takes a lot longer to digest then the fruit sits on top of it and ferments..making you have gassy stuff and all that. cedarblue will be able to epxlain it better :)

[xwitchymagicx]

Yes...I eat fruit seperate, and melon seperate. lol

[crimson~noir]

Actually, most fruits leave the stomach in a few minutes so they should be eaten alone as well. In my experience, its best to eat fruit on an empty stomach and wait 15-30 minutes before eating other food (with the exception of bananas and avocados in which case its best to wait about an hour) and NEVER eat fruit on a full stomach.


That is very interesting, I eat a few portions of fruit a morning for brekkie I guess I need to space them out a bit!

[Kitteh]

I think my Mum always used to say we shouldn't eat fruit after a heavy meal... but often I want something sweet after a meal, not before it. I have stopped having fruit salad after dinner but I still eat a banana with my cereal or with nuts at the same time..

And I mix fruit and veggies in a juice but I saw someone posted that it's ok because it's a juice.

[cedarblue]

yes, kitteh, as far as i know fruits and veg are ok to mix in juices and smoothies as they are broken down in the juicing/blending process.

i generally mono eat whole fruits with a gap between to aid better digestion.

[Kitteh]

Thanks CB :)

[nervine]

hmm i don't think mixing fruits is bad at all, iv been having kiwi and banana for breakfast the last week.

just keep this in mind:


Some of the worst combinations you can eat are:
- acid-starch, such as tomato and potato, apple and bread
- sugar-starch, such as dates and bread, bananas and bread, honey and oatmeal
- protein-protein, such as avocados and nuts

The habit of eating nuts and seeds with sweet fruit (especially with dried fruit) leads to fermentation.