Interview with a fruitarian - 4 - Fruitbat Anne

Interview with Fruitbat Anne
(* voir aussi la même interview en français *)

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Hi Anne, - http://fruitgod.com & Annes Myspace
Thanks for doing this interview!! - You're 42 this year, is that correct?

Yes.

And you've been on a fruit diet for, what, 16 years now?

Yes, I started transitioning onto a fruit diet when I was pregnant, with my elder son, in 1991.

Had you been vegetarian or vegan or doing raw foods prior to switching to a fruit only diet?

I became vegetarian in 1985, progressed to a vegan diet a year later and gradually started omitting refined and processed foods from my diet.

What was the deciding factor for you? Were you influenced by a book, or a particular person or did you just somehow evolve into fruitarianism?

When I was at uni, in 1986, I tried a raw food diet as a progression of veganism. However, as well as fruit, this diet included raw veggies, lots of sprouts, seed 'cheeses' and rejuvelac.

This diet never really 'did it' for me. I was not really enthused or delighted by the sprouts and raw veggies.

In 1991, whilst pregnant, I attended a talk, at our Animal Rights Meeting, by local fruitarian author David Shelley. Now here was someone who glowed with health and enthusiasm.

This guy really did walk his talk. I was captivated as were several of my friends. We immediately set off upon the road to Fruitarianism.

Some of my friends went straight from a vegan diet onto fruit. As I was pregnant, I went through a transition stage. I ate mostly organic fresh fruit but I also ate some cooked veggies and grains.

What was beautiful about my beginnings in fruitarianism, was that there was athis lovely supportive group all embarking on a fruit diet. We also had an organic fruit buying group and we were fortunate enough to obtain really great quality organic fruit.

Prior to switching to a fruitarian diet, had you met anyone else that was practising it?

No, David Shelley was the first fruitarian I met, and a great advert for the cause!

You were living in Leicester, England at the time, they have a good fruit market there, I guess that would have helped?

Well Leicester market is certainly a wonderful place for fruit, however most of our fruit was from the organic buying group. I think that this organic fruit realy helped as it was the best quality organic fruit sourced from all over the World and was full of goodness and vitality.

We did get fantastic Mali mangoes from Leicester market and the multicultural nature of Leicester meant that we also got great Asian and West Indian fruit.

It must have been great having others around you that were also moving onto a fruit diet!!

Yes, I was very lucky with this.

You successfully raised your first child, Camlo, on a fruit diet, and your 2nd child, Cappi, is nearly 4 and thriving on fruit, did you ever feel under any pressure to feed them anything other than fruit??
Never, because they always had the most wonderful health.

When people see that a child is truly healthy I do not think that anything that they do or say can stand up against the sight of true health.



What happens if either were or are presented with sweets, lollies, ice creams and the like?

Cappi shows no interest in eating these things, he has been offered sweets many times but I explain that he does not eat them.

There is cooked food in the house , but he never wants to eat it. He often says to me 'We eat fruit Mum'. It is as if he does not consider other foodstuffs as food for himself.

Do you have to be constantly vigil that they don't eat food that you don't want them too?

No there is no difficulty here.

I think I would find that difficult. It is a very fluid and relaxed thing with Cappi.

If he found a biscuit on the floor, he would not pick it up and eat it.

I think I would find it very strained and challenging if he was constantly looking out for cooked food to eat.

I think the simplicity that Cappi sees fruit as his food makes our life flow in a beautiful and relaxed way.
I understand your partner supports your choice of food but himself eats the traditional vegan cooked diet, do you think he intends to join you on a fruit diet at some point? Do you think he eats more fruit since you've been together?

My partner has a great interest in fruit and the fruit diet.

One of his goals is to one day be on a fruit diet and there have been periods in our relationship where he has eaten a fruit diet.

I think when one has a house full of delicious fruit, then there is always the incentive for anyone else in the house to eat more fruit.

How long have you been living in Australia? You must have a bigger choice of good quality fruit than you ever did in England?

I have been in Australia for almost five years now. The big difference here is that just about all the frut we eat here is locally grown, which I love.

The fruit I ate in England was of great quality because of the existance of our organic buying group and the Market and ethnic fruit shops, however it was just about all imported.

From an environmental point of view , I much prefer eating local.

Also we have the bonus of being able to grow fruit in our own back yard. Cappi has had the pleasure of picking and eating papaya, mangoes and bananas from the garden. Something that my elder son never had the chance to do , when he was young.

After practising fruitarianism for as long as you have, you must surely know a fair few people doing likewise?

When I was living in England, we had that beautiful support network of seven or eight fruitarians all living nearby. We have since spread out to all corners of the globe. Living in Australia , I have contact with lots of lovely fruitarians but it is mostly via e-mail or letters.

Did you notice any big difference to your health and vitality after moving to a fruit diet?

So much, I just feel really well and healthy. I have tried macrobiotic and raw food diets, which gave me a certain level of health but nothing has given me the real aliveness and vitality of a fruit diet.

Especially when I am on mono, I feel so happy and well.

It is pure joy to spring out of bed each morning and feel more alive than I did when I was 18 .

How did your parents react when you told them you ate only fruit and nothing else? And how did they feel about their grandchildren not being given food other than fruit?

My late mother was just fantasic. She was the most open and non-judgemental person I have ever met. She would go out of her way to buy the nicest fruit for Camlo, when he was little.

Her support was a treasure.

My father is more traditional in his thinking. I think he would love to be able to buy Cappi sweets and ice-cream.

I think it is the case with some people that they feel more comfortable and secure if others are eating the same diet as themselves. If others are eating differently ,then their security is threatened somehow.

However, my father does respect my wishes and does not give Cappi sweets or cooked food.

You've got a twin sister right? Is she anything like you? What does she make of the fruitarian thing?

We are definately not identical twins!

She is great in that she always gives Camlo and Cappi lovely fruit. Which I really appreciate.

However I think she thinks our diet is a bit extreme and that I am a little nuts!

What's your take on all this vitamin B12 and protein questions that seems to concern most people interested in fruitarianism?

B12 is a funny issue. I tend to think that fruit eaters need less B12 than flesh eaters. Absorbtion is a key factor too for B12.

I think that on a foraging fruit diet all the B12 we need would be on the surface of the fruit.

I think we need to be growing our own fruit or foraging for it.

As for protein, the only cases of protein deficency I have heard of is when a person is literally starving, so any protein they ingest is converted into energy.

I personally believe that protein overdose is far more of an issue than protein deficiency.

What's the most common question you've been asked once people learn that you are on an all fruit diet??

But don't you eat bread?

Where do you get your protein from?

Do you have a favourite fruit?

All Hail the Charentais Melon .



Can you recall the first time you tried one?

No, but I imagine the melon would have been from Waitrose in England.

Since I got bitten by the Charentais bug, I have spent time in Cavaillon, in Provence, the Home of the Charentais Melon. It was just paradise for a melon lover; fruit shops everywhere filled with melons. I have never been in a town with so many fruit shops.

I was in melon heaven!

Hah sounds great! .. And while still on the subject of melons that you are so clearly a great fan, I know that you have done several months monoing on just melons, could you tell us a little about how you felt while you were doing that? [See also: http://www.fruitnut.net/HTML/205_NonFiction_Fruit_Melon.htm]

I felt so fantastic in every way whilst on melons. Mentally, physically and emotionally, I was on a high, without being 'spacey' or ungrounded. I felt so well and happy. I tend to feel at my best whilst on a mono diet, something about the sweet simplicity appeals so much to my body. I was getting very good quality melons during my melon days, including the mighty Charentais, my favourite.

A month and a half into my six month melon diet, I came first in a walkathon, out of 4,000 people . Proof, to me, that if one is getting quality fruit then one can mono very healthily for extended periods of time.

And another year I believe you even fasted every 2nd day, that's some feat! How was that? How were you eating on the days you ate? (do you think you ate more than average on those days?) - was it a full calendar year, or did you start in a month and end in the same month the following year?

I started on January 1st. 1997 and carried on for a full calender year. During this time I attended college full-time, cared for my six year old son and treated massage clients. Again I felt great. My teeth also improved during this year. I think they appreciated the rest!

I do not think I ate much more than usual on my eating days, although sometimes I ate earlier in the day, than I normally would.
I felt very lucid and clear headed; I won a writing competition during this time, which I put down to my clear mental state.
I was eating juicy fruits and avocado during this year.

Obviously you don't have cravings for foods other than fruit any more, but did you ever? and if so what where they, and when do you think you stopped having them?
When I first went on an all fruit diet,after the transition period, I would often have dreams about other vegan foods, I could even taste the foods quite clearly in my dreams. I also craved pulses and veggies for a few months.

Several years into my fruit diet, I got a really, really strong craving for eggs. I had not eaten eggs for about 10 years. The craving was so strong that if I had not been ethically opposed to eating eggs, I feel that I may have given in to it. After about 36 hours the craving totally disappeared , never to return!
I tend to think it was some old residues from eating eggs that were being eliminated.

I think that after a few years on a fruit diet, a lot of elimination has taken place and the body being cleaner does not desire cooked foods. Also fruit simply becomes one's food and I did not view other foods as food for me.

What do you think would be a typical days eating for you? Can you just give an example of what you might eat on an average day?

If I am on a mono diet, then obviously I just eat that fruit all day.

If not I still eat mono meals, that is one fruit at a time, not mixed with any other.

At the moment (Australian Summer) I may have a mango or 250gms of lychees for breakfast.
An avocado for mid morning.
Some fresh orange juice lunch time.
In the Afternoon more juicy fruit,a selection from what is seasonally available at the moment: mango, lychees, watermelon, passionfruit, fresh figs, sapodilla or jackfruit.
Late afternoon maybe another avocado or more juicy fruit.

I do not tend to eat nuts and seeds as I find them harder to digest than fresh fruit. If I feel a need for more concentrated fruit, I much prefer to eat avocado. Similarly I do not usually eat dried fruit. I much prefer fresh fruits and I feel dried fruits can be de-hydrating.

I think that good quality dried fruit can be useful however if one has limited access to good fresh fruits.

Living in South East Queensland, I am fortunate enough to be able to obtain great fresh fruit year round.

Well you clearly seem comfortable on such a diet, but do you think it could be improved on? How do you see yourself eating 10 years from now?? Where and how do you see yourself living in 10 years from now?
If I grew or foraged wild all my own fruit.
I really think home grown and wild fruits cannot be beaten!

In ten years I would love to be living in the middle of a Tropical fruit orchard!

What's the worst thing you've eaten since being on a fruitarian diet, and how did you feel after it?

I have not really eaten any thing 'bad' since being on all fruit diet. I think that I had a long transition period leading up to a fruit diet. Therefore when I started on an all fruit diet it had been years since I had had sugar, white flour or other highly processed foods.

Foodwise, I last felt 'bad' after eating ready cut up Jackfruit in Bali. I think the flies from the next-door meat market had been dancing on it!

I know that a lot of fruitarians have teeth issues, how are yours and if they are good, what's been the secret of your success with them?

My teeth feel great at the moment. I think that there may be elimination through one's teeth when starting on a fruit diet. I believe that teeth, like the other living parts of the body, are channnels for elimination and when one is on a clean diet then elimination may occur through the teeth. Elimination of foreign matter such as fillings may happen as the body has a chance to cleanse.

I think that great quality fruit is the key to a great quality body, including good teeth.

Wild foraged foods, home grown and organic. I believe are vital for whole body health.

Do you think you've been an influence on other people you've met, to eat more fruit?

A really nice thing that happened to me at a David Wolfe talk in London. I met a beautiful and healthy young woman she said
that she converted to raw food after reading an article about Camlo and I , that was in The U.K.'s 'Best' magazine.
That was a lovely feeling. So I hope that the more of us fruity people there are in this World, then the more there will be!

Camlo, your oldest son, has decided of his own accord to eat food other than fruit, and is currently experimenting with cooked foods.. Can you tell us a little about how that started and what changes you've noticed in him since that change? Physically and Emotionally(if any).. How do you feel about that? Do you think he will one day return to a fruit diet? Do you think he would be open to being interviewed like this too? I would love to hear his point of view, and I'm sure others would too!!
Camlo still has good health and still eats a lot of fruit. However he has put on more adipose tissue, since eating cooked foods.
He is still a lovely soul and I do think that food is only one part, albeit a big part, of what makes us healthy and happy people.
I think Camlo appreciates the beauty and health that a fruit diet can bring, and I think it would be wonderful for his well being if one day he goes back to eating fruit.

Camlo wanted to eat other foods, as I think that he felt the peer pressure to be more like his friends. Here in Australia vegetarians are few and far between let alone fruit eaters.

I do think it is important that he makes his own decisions, one cannot force another to be a fruit eater. I chose my path and Camlo must choose his and I respect this. I do only have vegan food in the house as an ethical boundry.

He does not want to be be interviewed at the moment, try him in a few years time!

Well, Camlo may be reluctant still to be interviewed, but If I'm still around and blogging in a few years, I'd love to interview him.. What about Cappi, I know he's still young, but do you think he'd be up for the challenge? He'd be without doubt the youngest fruitarian I've interviewed yet!!
I think Cappi will be up to it.



That's great news, I'll prepare an interview for him.. Meanwhile, what do you think, does he really do well on fruit? What kind of fruit does he enjoy most?
Cappi is a beautiful , healthy and thriving fruit boy! Just try catching up with him! Jackfruit and Durian are his favourites

What was the first thing he ate - after breast milk of course?

Mulberries were one of the first, also avocado and chocolate sapote.

Have either Camlo or Cappi had any of the traditional childhood diseases? How was/is their health while growing up on fruit?

No neither has had any of the 'usual' childhood ills; such as Chicken Pox, Mumps and Measles; despite them coming into contact with their peers suffering with these diseases. Personally, I think that if one's immune system is working properly then disease simply will not occur no matter how much one is exposed to others with so-called contagious illnesses.

As children, their general level of health and vitality is wonderful and people often comment on this.

Camlo still has good health, even though he eats cooked foods ; a legacy I think to his first 14 years on fruit.

How do you feel if people tell you that you must be crazy, and that you can't possibly live on just fruit?
Life is too short to worry too much about what other people think.
According to the 'sane' literature I should be dead by now!

Finally, is there anything you'ld like to add as words of encouragement to those that are aspiring toward fruitarianism?

Just try it for yourself and feel how good it is!
One can read all the books in the world and all the personal testimonials, but nothing beats one's own life experience.

Have a Fruit Ball!
Love and thanks from Anne XX.

Thanks Anne

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