Friday, March 04, 2011

What are the best fruits to eat?

Another recent question I've received, this time from a reader, Anna, in California, who asks:

I'm a vegetarian turned fruitarian (thanks to your website). Can you please help me out with a starter grocery list? I live in California, so tropical fruit's aren't abundant here. I love almost all fruits, but are there any in particular you would recommend/are against? Any other advice would also be appreciated.

Good question, and one that I've sort of tackled before in bits and pieces, so I'll try and group those thoughts together here.

OK.. I ultimately sincerely believe that the whole idea of someone else advising another of the best foods to eat, what to eat, when to eat, amounts to eat etc, is folly. It is an erroneous path to expect another to know better than ourselves what appeals most at any given point in time.

Unfortunately it seems it is the path that many seek. The need for guidance is understandable, but guidance beyond the simple basic understanding of what constitutes true food, is generally false. Sure there are many people that try to sell such flawed knowledge, pretending that only they know what is best for you. What I teach is different. The lesson I try to give (away) is that beyond the understanding that fruit is the highest of all food, the only food with the potential of being given completely karmically free, and the purist most life giving and nourishing solid food sustenance found on the face of the Earth, beyond this simple knowledge, that which the body will most benefit from eating at any given time, not allowing invalid food choices to enter the arena (ie no condiments, cooking, dehydrating or over processing of ones fruits etc.), is purely unknown to anyone but the person asking. What folly it would be for me, or anyone, to try tell someone they should eat nectarines in abundance when they are in season.

You should eat what appeals to you at every given meal. So don't think, oh, someone is eating 20 bananas daily, and fairing very well on them, that you should do the same. Every meal is different. Every meal your body will tell you what appeals most. Use your nose and senses to judge what fruit will best suit your needs at any given point in time. Learn to trust your instincts again. Don't follow a recipe book. Don't fall into the trap of believing you need some complex mathematical formula to obtain the correct ratio of carbohydrates to fat and protein. Don't fall into the trap of over complicating your food through complex recipes. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that someone else knows better than you do, what to eat right now. Nobody does. I go through months without eating any bananas. This is because when I try to eat them, I might have a few mouthfuls, and then the taste changes, and they are no longer appealing. But for me to advice you not to eat them would be ludicrous. They are a good food, when they appeal. At the moment, I am going through a phase where I get through maybe 5 or 6 a day, which is more than I've ever eaten of them in my life. Avocados which generally appeal to me, I am not finding so attractive. But desires continuously fluctuate depending on momentary physiological needs.

Don't fall into the trap of classifying certain fruits as sugars, and others as fats. Don't believe you need to count calories. All these are traps, and part of a ploy to scare you into believing you need to pay for mentoring. Don't believe any of that superfood nonsense of expensive pills, potions and powders. There are no such things outside of pure ripe fresh ready to eat fruit.

The truth is simple. Don't fall into the trap of believing you need to drink X amounts of litres of water daily. Force feeding yourself, or force drinking to fit into some preconceived pattern is folly.

At least, these are what I believe to be traps and conclusions reached through false logic. I'm aware that my voice is in the minority, and that there are large movements that promote ways of thinking grossly in opposition to mine.

So I say, eat when hungry, look at your fruit, which type appeals most right now? Eat that. Stop when no longer hungry. If hunger resurfaces once more in 20 minutes, then choose again. Don't restrict yourself to meals. 3 meals a day is probably a good pattern for omnivorous humans, but for fruit eaters, eat when hungry, not when the clock tells you too. Likewise for drinking. If you sincerely eat just fruit, the need for water will diminish and likely vanish altogether unless much physically strenuous work is required.

At the end of the day, it is up to us all individually to decide what is and what is not correct, and although I state my points with conviction and sincerity, you should always be aware that I'm just a bod with an opinion. What's yours?

PS If nectarines are in season (or not), and they appeal, go for it!

8 comments:

Jérôme François Falcon-Guay said...

I admire the clarity and rationality of these nutritional ideas. Needless to say I absolutely agree with the many points you make, they are very empowering.

Fruitful love to you,
Jerome

Masood said...

I agree 100% with anything you said here. I found your articles the most honest and useful in the subject of diet.

kveta said...

dear Mango,

Well written article, and i fully agree with you.

I think that people who have need to control others and people who need to be controlled are the ones who give or seek such ill advise about what when and how much to eat.

Needless to say that the advisers, monitoring others on their eating needs are also Power & Money Hungry.

Love & Fruit,
Kveta

Fruitarian Mango said...

@Jerome & Masood,
you know, I am always amazed that people actually get what I am saying. I am so used to just coming up against opposition, that it always feels refreshing to have people tell me that I actually make sense.. So thanks so much for listening and understanding.

@Kveta.. Well.. you have to agree with me, you know how naughty I can be otherwise.. Kisses.

Actually, if anyone is still curious to know what sort of food we eat, i suggest they head on over to Kvetas blog, she tends to write more about that kind of thing..

peace,
mango.

Chickie said...

thank you for this Mango. I know you were repeating many things you've written about, but I really appreciated the reminder right now when I have felt all over the place in the head.
This post is like the string of my kite that was flailing about, and reeled back in :)

Unknown said...

this is one of your articles that has totally set me free! like a thousand pounds lifted off of me. the 'weight' of food in this society in dallas, texas can be very, very heavy and cumbersome. not to mention the actual weight it can put on you and the vast amount of damage it can do to your body and psyche.
when i was in africa in december, a friend told me how to have 'power over the mango' by cutting it in such a way that it can be eaten simply and easily, instead of 'fighting' with it and making a mess.
your info already gave me power over all foods...this was just a dance i can now do with my fruit. enjoying it, as God intended for me to do.

Unknown said...

I' m completly agree Mango. I would like to know if is normal that since I'm raw vegan this year (80 % fruits and 20 % vegetables) I'm turned much skinny.

THANK YOUS

Fruitarian Mango said...

@Michele, happy to hear it.. the reeling back in thing, that is! Here's hoping that you are now flying comfortably and confidently!

@Marsha,
Dallas, yes.. that's big cattle country, with a steak house on every corner.. I remember visiting the place in the 1980s as a vegan, and finding it almost impossible to get a meal anywhere.. Maybe things have changed since then, as I have no doubt the vegan consciousness has grown some since.. I enjoy making a real mess with my mangoes!

@Saxrostand,
Skinny is a relative thing. Not necessarily something to be avoided. Most people will loose weight going over to a raw vegan diet, but this is generally because they were initially overweight, so the kilos need to come off. I would guess that fruitarians are always slimmer than average, and believe that we need to rejudge what it means to be skinny.. I believe this is more as we were meant to be..