Fruitarian Diet – (Is It Worth Trying Out?)

Recently I had the opportunity to join a group of sports nutritionists, met many experienced people there, and came across the topic “fruitarian diet”. I asked Chris Williams who has over 5 years of experience in individual sports diets to help me describe this topic for you today.

The Fruitarian diet consists of eating 50% to 75% raw fruits, the rest will be seeds, plant proteins, vegetables, and whole grain products. It i

s a variation of the vegan diet, also excluding meat, milk, and eggs completely.

As we all know every diet similar to a vegan diet is very hard to maintain for a longer period. Before trying this diet you need a strong resolve to keep it going for at least 72 hours, otherwise, your body won’t start the process to remove toxins from your body, and that’s the most common reason to start this diet.

fruitarian diet

Is a fruitarian diet healthy?

A fruitarian diet is healthy as long as it lasts only a few days and its purpose is to cleanse the body of toxins and excess weight. Such a diet can be repeated from time to time, with monthly breaks.

Then its advantages will be a gradual reduction in cholesterol levels, weight loss, and lower blood pressure. Research suggests that fruits can also reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.

Fruitarianism is a highly restrictive, low-energy diet. Fruitarian diets should be used as a temporary diet such as 7-14 days. Most doctors, and our nutritionist Chris Williams, believe that single-ingredient diets used for long periods are detrimental to health.

The Fruitarian diet is very effective as fruits are low in calories, and they contain a lot of water so the filling of being full will last longer to help your stomach to keep that diet going.

The hardest part is to stay away from any meat if you’ve never tried any diet similar to the keto diet. The diet that’s harder than the fruitarian diet is

water fasting, if you think that eating fruits is hard think about not eating anything except water. We recommend learning more about water fasting on our blog.

What should I eat on a fruitarian diet?

fruits

To talk about a fruitarian diet you need to consume 50% of your calories in the form of raw fruits, the next 25% to 50% can be seeds, nuts, weights, and vegetable pro

teins. Below we have written out an example of a fruit diet, and what it should contain:

Sweet fruits: melons, bananas, peaches

Acid fruits: lemons, tangerines, pineapples

Subacid fruits: figs, strawberries, cherries

Nuts: pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts

Oily fruits: coconuts, green grapes, olives, avocados

Vegetable fruits: tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers

Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, squash seeds

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There are many other examples of food that can be eaten but stay focused on those categories mentioned above, and that 50% minimum of calories from raw fruits. Use a blender to mix fruits, which will help you in consumption. Avoid at any cost things like:

  • Grains
  • Animal protein (ex.: eggs, poultry, beef, pork)
  • Processed foods
  • Legumes
  • Starches
  • Beans (ex.: peas, soybeans) 
  • Dairy products (ex.: milk, cheese, yogurt)

As Chris Williams said: “The golden ratio should be 80 % carbohydrates, 10% fats, 10% proteins, but it’s hard to maintain, in comparison to a normal diet that is composed of 40% carbohydrates, 40% proteins, and 20% fats. So don’t force yourself if that’s beyond your capabilities.”

What are the pros and cons of a fruitarian diet?

Cons

  • Risk of nutrient deficiencies
  • Restrictive
  • May promote tooth decay

Pros:

  • Good for satiety
  • Great for removing toxins from your body
  • Helps with hydration
  • Promotes whole nutritious foods

Fruitarian diet consequences

The main disadvantages are low levels of complete protein and insufficient amounts of zinc, iron, and calcium, which can lead to chronic fatigue and increase the risk of osteoporosis.

There is a lack of vitamin B12, which can lead to anemia. There is also a lack of fatty acids and the high levels of sugars in the fruit can lead to symptoms similar in people with diabetes. You may also experience mood swings due to changes in blood sugar levels, but don’t confuse the natural sugar found in fruits, with refined sugar.

The sugar contained in fruits is called fructose, and the one that is refined is called sucrose. Contrary to popular belief, sugar isn’t the devil and many claim it’s impossible to get too much sugar while eating whole, fresh fruit. You can’t overdose fructose but you can sucrose.

Before switching to fruitarianism, you should consult with your doctor to make sure your health permits such a radical change in diet. You should start gradually to get your body used to the diet.

The fruitarian diet is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women, teenagers, people with chronic illnesses, or the elderly.

fruitarianism

How to start a fruitarian diet?

You should pick a time range in which you have lots of free time, after a few days you will be low on energy, so avoid periods with a lot of work to be done. Try to watch some videos with results after the fruitarian diet to stay motivated. If you want to learn more about the fruitarian diet, here are the studies that include experiments based on that diet.

Get to the shop and buy a supply for at least 2 days. Try to get every category of food that you can eat: sweet fruits, acid fruits, subacid fruits nuts, oily fruits, vegetable fruits, and seeds.

Start slowly, lower the amount of meat and fats that you eat in your whole day, and try to grab fruit as a snack. If you get used to it, increase the number of fruits, and lower the proteins consumed, after some time you will get to the point of 50% percent fruits eaten in a whole day.

As Chris Williams said: “Because fruits are in general low on fat and full of water, you can eat a lot of fruit for relatively few calories. On a fruit-based diet, you would need to eat large amounts of food to meet your calorie requirements, effectively making you feel full.”

Stacy Reed
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