Use your head

Time for a sober moment: There are plenty of people around the world who'll tell you that fruitarianism saved their lives, or at the very least significantly enhanced their health and sense of wellbeing. You might find such stories very inspiring. In fact you might be battling a health crisis yourself and be searching for some last-ditch hope; or perhaps you're just tired of being tired - just fed-up enough with dragging on from day to day, and ready now to give fruitarianism a try.

No problem - just don't be silly about it. And don't expect the fruitarian diet to fix a health-crisis which took years to develop, in a couple of days or even weeks. Chances are you'll experience benefits almost from the very beginning - but, as the saying goes, miracles may take a little longer.

So let's say you're curious about what fruitarianism can do for you - shed stubborn weight, enhance your vitality, erase some niggling aches & pains, perhaps fight a rather more serious health challenge - how do you go about it ? Well, here's the Beginner's starter-pack of 5 Reminders:

FRUIT VARIETY
Make sure that you eat as wide as possible a variety of in-season fruit every day. Even during the trickiest seasons you should be able to manage 5-7 different kinds. Prof Meyer recommends (as did the fruitarian pioneer C. De Villers-Dreyer) that one should eat avocado pear every day – 150-250gm.

NUT VARIETY
It’s the amino-acid thing. A variety of nuts – eaten together – will provide an amino-acid profile which satisfies all protein requirements. Obviously, we’re here talking about raw, unprocessed nuts – organic wherever possible. You’re aiming at around 100 gm daily.

SEED VARIETY
Patrick Holford (Optimum Nutrition Bible) makes a very eloquent case for this way of obtaining your Omegas – 3, 6 and 9. Mix your sunflower seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds & pumpkin seeds together. Include them in your blender-concoctions, or eat them by the spoonful with fresh dates or raisins. Especially handy in a ziploc bag in your hiker’s backpack, or as a travel snack in the car.

COUNT
For the beginning I strongly recommend using a nutritional calculator - an interactive one if you’re wired in a way that makes it possible. Otherwise just use the tables in the Dr Meyer’s book Fruit for Thought. Most of the information you’ll need will be there, and for the gaps try to get hold of a really handy little book by Joseph M.Kadans PhD, Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts & Seeds. Please don’t be daunted by this – it is nowhere near as big a hassle as you might think. Eventually your body – through your appetite & taste - will regulate your menu, but initially you should not expect to be able to rely on that. Your appetite will not yet be a reliable guide of your nutritional requirements. Don’t be silly about this – use your head, not your taste buds.

MEDICAL CHECK-UPS
For the peace of mind of your nearest & dearest – if not your own – have regular blood-profile checks. Quite apart from being a sensible thing to do, it’s also a quick & convincing way to handle the skeptics in your life.

To quote Asterix: Hereendeththelesson. Now try this: bananas, brazil nuts, coconut flakes, carob powder (all organic) half glass water. Blender. Bliss.

Next time: 4 problems - one solution.