Interview with a Fruitarian - 37 - Yann Fanch

Well.. before I begin with the questions, maybe you could just introduce yourself, tell us who you are..

I like to be called "Yann Fanch", that's a breton name. I was born in Brittany and I love this part of the Earth.

Your age,

My official age became 43 in may 2010. But people usually think that I am 23 years old and ask me "are you a student ?".

Yann Fanch

where you are living/grew up? etc..etc.. - anything you consider relevant to get better insight into who you are..

I grew up in Brittany and live in Rennes. I used to go the beach everyday in summertimes when I was a kid. I used to catch sea shells and lobsters with my father when the tide was out, I realized they were struggling to save their live.

We had small chicken also as pets, and to make me eat my pet contributed several years after this sad event to make me a vegan.

We had lots of fruit trees also, I loved to climb and stay in trees.

OK, we met for the first time in Denmark I believe, at a small vegan gathering back in 1990/1991 right?

Yes.

And then once more, a year later at one of the international vegan festivals? - Was that in the UK or in Spain, or both, I'm no longer certain..

in the uk biggleswade

that was a fun festival! I recall at the time, like myself, you were interested in moving to a raw vegan diet.. Did that happen quickly for you?

no, quickly no, I tried many times to be strictly raw but too hard. I hadn't the tips how to succeed to stay a raw vegan. The main tip is to eat fruitarian : fresh uncooked undried quality fruit always available.

I'm presuming you grew up on a standard french diet,

Until 17 years old yes.

how long had you been vegan before we met, and what made you switch to a vegan diet?

About 1 or 2 years : I became vegan in 1989.

Were you influenced to go raw after hearing Francisco Martin give one of his talks?

Yes, but also raw vegan books showed me it existed and was healthier.

and when did you first hear of the fruitarian diet?

In vegetrian books a long time ago, perhaps in 1990 ?

Was that something you "understood" from the beginning, or something you had to think about a little first?

It was obvious to me, but very difficult to put into practice.

So how long have you been eating purely fruit now?

Since 2002.

No nuts, greens, roots etc?

No greens except a few salad leaves once or twice a year in a restaurant for social reasons, because restaurant raw salads that are nearly fruitarian often contain some lettuce or batavia leaves. I do not like the taste of leaves, I like the fruits on top of them.

My ideal is no nuts but in the winter I eat generally 250 grams of nuts every month.

I find carrots difficult to chew because of too much fibers, and a bit bitter, and fried patatoes give me stomach ache as it is too heavy to digest compared to fruit.

Are you currently living alone, or share living with family or a loved one?

At the weekend I share living with a vegan nearly fruitarian girlfriend and an omnivore child.

Do you have a website/blog or some way people can get in touch with you or follow your progress? Any places you like to hang out online?

www.fructivore.org

 

I like to watch Youtube videos and SMTV.

I like to listen to www.radioverda.com

 

I know you are organising a raw fruitarian festival happening very soon.. Can you tell us a little about that?

I searched in all forests of the world and brought the fruitarians I have found to this festival : www.fruktifest.org

 

Coming from France, I am sure that you must be familiar with the Instictive Eating movement started by Guy Burger? (they eat flesh and live maggots and >stuff) What's your personal opinion of their method of eating?

Speciesist, dangerous excess of protein, also fanatically against fruitarianism. But it does contains interesting ideas, such as the
avoidance of cereals, I should get the book. I know some instinctos.

So what does a normal days food look like for you?

fruit in season : peaches, melon, tomatoes in summertimes, oranges, peas and apples in wintertimes.

Does anyone else in your family understand your choices, or eat similarly?

Yes. My girlfriend only.

Can you tell us a little about your health before and after the changes you've made? What about your weight, - any major changes?

I feel healthier on raw fruitarian food. I master better my sexuality also.

Do you sometimes crave foods other than fruit? If so, how you deal with that?

No.

What kind of foods did you found most difficult to leave behind?

None

Do you feel any need to supplement your diet at all?

with fruitarian sea buckthorn B12 vitamin.

Are you happy with the choice and quality of fruit you are getting in france?

Yes

Ever tried a durian?

Yes

Any plans to travel or relocate to a warmer climate, or are you happy living where you are now?

I'd like to travel to discover other fruits. But I am happy here.

Do you normally tell people how you eat?

Yes

If so, what do you think is the most common question people ask you about your diet?

"Have you not liquid shits ?"

How do you answer their questions?

Calmly

Where and how do you see yourself living and eating in 10 years from now?

A breatharian here.

Do you think you could improve on your diet at all??

No

Do you know any, or many, other fruitarians? Any that would care to be interviewed?

Yes

How many fruitarians do you think there are in France?

50

How do you feel if people tell you that you must be crazy, and that you can't possibly survive eating the way you do??

I calmly convince them.

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

Be patient.

Oprah Magazine Fruitarian Interview..

Some months ago, we were contacted by the Oprah Winfrey people.. they asked if we could be featured in their online Oprah magazine as example fruitarians.

Not knowing fully what they had in mind, both Kveta and I agreed to being interviewed, and over the following week or 2, after initial contact, we were both interviewed online, via email..

They finally got around to publishing their article, in the online oprah magazine, (I believe you need to be a paid member to get access to it) a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be more of a brief introduction to "extreme eaters", and despite giving our time freely to them, they ended up only publishing one brief sentence taken from Kvetas interview..

So, just for the record, I've decided to publish the interviews in full here.. I'll start with mine, and publish Kvetas in a few days..

---

Oprah Magazine Fruitarian Interview

1. Why did you decide to eat only fruit? Health? Ethical? Political?

It was certainly by no means an overnight decision for me.. In fact, I would say that my choice to eat solely fruit is an ongoing result of many years of debating with myself and others about the whole right and wrongs of food issues on many levels.

Predominantly I'd say it all started for me back when I was 25 (I'll be 49 this year). I'd been living on a pretty much standard diet up until then, and had never really given change to that fair any real thought, but after watching one particular movie, that really had little to nothing to do with food, I suddenly found myself questioning the whole ethics and ecological issues of eating animals. It's difficult to say why that movie had such a profound effect on me, I suppose that despite my unawareness of such, I must have been ready for a change..

I've always been a bit of a philosopher, and once I started paying attention to, and questioning diet more, I soon realised how important the changes I was making were to me.



The thought of taking the life of another being, or paying someone else to do so (which we all unwittingly do whilst still consuming flesh) repulsed me, and I genuinely wondered why it had taken me so long to feel that repulsion.. It dawned on me that by consuming all that flesh, I was effectively turning my body into a grave yard!!

So faced with the series of revelations I was having, it did not take me long to completely forsake (to the best of my ability) all animal products and become vegan too..

Although the catalyzer had predominantly been ethics, and a sense of moral repugnance toward the devouring of flesh of other beings, my awareness of other issues embracing economics, health and environmental concerns had also grown, and reinforced the sense of direction I had taken.

Some few years later, after my thoughts had become more settled and a new dietary pattern had established itself, I think it was 1990ish, I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture on the advantages of not cooking ones food, and although once more, I had not particularly been thinking any change was needed or forthcoming, this lecture had a profound effect on my life, and once more sparked my philosophical thoughts into action..

I became a keen disciple of the whole vegan "raw food" philosophy thing, understanding that just like with every other animal species out there, nature provides us with our food in an already perfect state, and that any thought that we may, somehow, be able to "improve" on nature by subjecting our food to extreme temperatures, was yet another "folly" I had unwittingly been brainwashed into accepting as truth.

In fact, the whole addictiveness of cooked food became sparklingly clear to me, as well as the detrimental side effects that a long term addiction to such foods has on our physiological bodies, resulting in all manner of degenerative diseases starting from the relatively innocent common cold, through to rheumatism, parkinsons and cancer..

It is my belief that pretty much all that ails modern man has it's roots in addiction to detrimental substances, - predominantly food. A fact that society in general tends to chose to stay blissfully unaware of.



Well, several years into eating purely raw vegan food, and it became clear to me that the most appealing of all foods, when eaten in it's raw natural ripe and ready state, was fruit. And consequently my consumption of fruit increased together with this realisation.

I had also been asked on numerous occasions, "well, you may not eat animals, but what about all the screaming carrots?", and although I was well aware that the questioner was more likely trying to provoke than start any truly deep and meaningful conversation, I still thought that there was some validity to the question.. How far should one extend one's moral duties toward others? Is it possible to truly live, without taking the life of another, whether the other be animal or vegetable??

These were all questions I felt I needed to ponder over.. Being perhaps a bit of a hopeless romantic at some levels, I felt somewhat attached to the immortalised beatle words of "all you need is love".. There appears to be a profound truth in those 5 small words, but how to make sense of them in a world that appears so glaringly contradictory to the idea..?

It was at this point that I realised that as far as food goes.. fruit is the exception.. fruit is the one and only food, that one can clearly see is actually given up by the plant that at some level, if you'll forgive the anthropomorphising, actually desires for us to eat it's fruit.. think about it.. anything else comes with some kind of karmic debt, and the fact that plants have no central nervous systems does not disprove that at some level they are in some way sentient (something probably ultimately unprovable and thus I tend toward giving the benefit of the doubt..).. It is to the plants benefit that the fruit appeals to us.. the more attractive and tasty it is, the more chance we will nurture and care for its seed, and disperse the species..



So fruit seemed to fit the bill well for me, with it's compatibility with the philosophy of "do no harm", and it's appealling look and tantalizing variety of tastes.. Also environmentally, the growing of fruit trees involves far less destruction and desertification of soil, producing far more yield per acre than any other crop..

2. What does your daily diet look like? What do you eat lots of? How much of certain fruits? Do you ever juice the fruits?

that would depend entirely on what's in season. Most of the food we eat is locally grown, within a few hundred kilometers of where we're at.. Somethings are year round staples though, like oranges, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, pawpaws, bananas and pineapples we tend to always have at home, but then there are other fruits that come and go throughout the year.. nectarines, peaches, lychees, chocolate pudding fruit, rambutan, durian and heaps more..

Yes, we regularly juice fruits.. we have both a juicer and a blender and tend to start most days with a juice of some kind.. often freshly squeezed orange juice (juiced by hand).. we mostly drink a half litre of juice at a time..



At the moment, a typical day for us, might be breakfast of half a litre of orange juice each (probably juice from 4 or 5 oranges each).. half an hour later, we might feast on akee (they are a fruit originally from jamaica, and currently one of our favourite fruits!! beautifully creamy cheesy sweet .. sadly the season here has more or less ended, and I think we'll be eating the last of them today).. (maybe 10 akee fruit shared between 2 of us).. later we may eat a bowl of grapes each, and later still a cucumber juice (through the blender), most likely half a litre each.. maybe a pineapple juice later still (also through the juicer), and around 5 or 6, we might eat a bowl of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado, as our sort of only real main meal of the day.. later still we may eat another 10 akee between us, or some durian..

like i said, though, the juices can vary greatly from day to day, depending on what we have, but the general quantities remain more or less constant.. Neither of us drink water.

3. Some people ask about things like protein—how do you get adequate amounts?

Basically I have a different answer for different people depending on where I think they are at, and what kind of answer would suit them best.. I can get quite technical if needed, (at one point i used to know the name of every essential amino acid, where it could be found, and what it was good for!), but to be honest though, and I always like to add this to whatever answer I give, I really don't "do" the whole protein, mineral, carbohydrate, vitamin thing anymore.. I gave that all up a long time ago, as I believe that the solution is not difficult or intricate..

- many people will try and scare us into believing that we need to "know" all that stuff in order to eat healthily, but I believe the only knowledge we need to have is the ability to recognise what constitutes a real "food" and what doesn't.. If we can recognise that cooked food is denatured and detrimental to our healths, then forget the rest.. People don't get sick because they lack this or that vitamin (unless of course they are extremely malnourished and on a more or less starvation diet!), they get sick because they eat the wrong kind of foods, live in the wrong kind of environments, and breath the wrong kind of air.. predominantly though, it is the food that is the main reason for our woes.. not the lack of invisible elements in it..

4. What do you feel like, after making the switch?

Great. well.. there was no simple "switch".. as i said it was a gradual process following a gradual series of revelations.. But overall, I see my dietary choices as some of the most life changing, life enhancing, longevity compatible changes i've ever made.. not to mention the physiological cleansing, lack of yearly colds bouts, and peace of mind for no longer being a walking tombstone..



5. Do you know/live with other fruitarians? Do you socialize with others? Has it ever been an issue in social situations?

Well, my partner, Kveta, is also a long term fruitarian, so we share our lives on a daily basis, and eat most meals together.. As for other friends, we've only recently moved to the area we are currently living, so still in many ways getting to know the area, but we certainly have some friends here already.. One of my friends is actually a full on raw zombie flesh eater, and has very different ideas to us about what constitutes a healthy diet.. OK.. don't take the zombie thing to literally, that's just me being graphical.. I guess I feel quite accepting that the world is made up of many people with many conflicting ideas concerning what they feel is right, or not, and although I feel it sad that not everyone can see the sense in reducing the harm we do, I also feel resigned to the fact that it is really not up to me to change the world if it doesn't desire to be changed..

Socially I find the more accepting we are of others ideas, then the more accepting they will be of ours, regardless of how seemingly bizarre or different they may appear..



Through the internet I have met several others on a fruitarian path, some of whom I've also met in person, and occasionally I interview fruitarians I encounter, on my blog. (http://mangodurian.blogspot.com/2008/02/list-of-interviews-with-fruitarians.html)

6. Why did you decide to adopt the name Mango?

I think I was just ready for the change.. something more fitting for a new outlook on life, and I'd grown tired of the name I was given at birth.. Mango seemed more fun, and more lively, and my friends soon grew accustomed to my new name too..

Mango's had been my favourite fruit at one point.. but I must admit that durian and akee and other fruits have far exceeded mangos place in my top 5 fruit chart.. (I've no immediate intention of changing my name again though!!)

7. How has being a fruitarian impacted your identity, and how you think of yourself? How has it changed “Who you are?”

Well.. very much so I believe.. Had I not started down this path all those years ago, I am quite sure that my life would have turned out altogether differently. More likely I would still be working 9 to 5 and affluent enough to afford whatever luxury I desired.. I mean, I would have had that life that I sometimes wonder about, but I guess I'll never know..

Not having saved more wisely at the time (many moons ago, I used to be an IBM systems programmer), is something I occasionally have nagging regrets about.. especially now when we we are so focused on manifesting ourselves a piece of paradise in the tropics..

But ultimately, I shake those thoughts aside, and count my blessings, for I have no real doubts that my life is far richer now than any other path could have made me, and I am thankful and privileged to have had the insights I have had in this life, and be the person I have become.. even if there is still plenty of room for improvement!!

thankyou
Mango the Raw Vegan Fruitarian..

la différence entre les fruits et les noix

French translation of The Difference between fruit and nuts

Traduction française par: Milly, Marie-Cécile, MarkL, Bianca Lucina.. - Voir aussi la discussion ici:

http://frugivore.ning.com/forum/topics/faire-la-difference

Salut tout le monde !

J’ai déjà blogué à ce sujet auparavant, ici: (Désolé, seulement en anglais) Qu’est ce qu’un fruit? mais comme je vois qu’il y a encore de la confusion à ce sujet, j’ai pensé que j’allais essayer de clarifier les choses une nouvelle fois. Je vais sans doute répéter ce que j’ai déjà écrit et dit plusieurs fois, mais, bon, allons-y…

Quelle est la différence entre un fruit et une noix?

Je vois encore des gens qui écrivent que, botaniquement parlant, les fruits et les noix sont la même chose. Mais à mon avis, même s’il est clair qu’ils sont proches physiquement, ils ne sont pas plus similaires qu’une racine et une feuille ! (voir aussi le post en relation : (Désolé, seulement en anglais) Noix dans une alimentation fruitarienne )

Pensez à une nectarine... ce que l’on mange c’est la chair précieuse et sucrée qui entoure le noyau de la plante. Le noyau/graine est clairement séparé de la chair. La chair est la chose qui est pour ainsi dire, offerte sans effet karmique.


Nectarine
Pensez à un melon, ce que l’on mange c’est la délicieuse chair du melon… pas les pépins/graines qui sont généralement laissés de côté lors de la digestion (Oui, je suis au courant que dans certaines cultures, on les fait griller… mais encore fraîches, dans le fruit, elles ne sont pas attirantes à mes yeux).

Pensez à la papaye, nous mangeons la chair sucrée, colorée et juteuse qui donne de la force. les petites graines noires vont au compost…


Fruit papaye en morceaux - Graines de papaye
Observez combien le fruit est plus éclatant, en couleur et en texture, que les graines...
Pensez à une pomme... la chair est savourée, le trognon… jeté..

Je pourrais continuer à l’infini..

Alors qu'est-ce qu'une noix?

Mis à part votre serviteur, on va dire ! (NDT : en anglais familier, « nut » signifie noix mais aussi doux-dingue, cinglé, zinzin, toqué…).


Mango the FruitNut
Mango dingo des fruits
Il est clair que toutes les graines ne sont pas entourées de cette substance précieuse appelée «fruit». Certaines graines / noix / céréales etc... sont dépourvues de l’enveloppe pulpeuse du fruit…

Le monde est ainsi fait… les plantes ne portent pas toutes des fruits… les plantes n’ont pas toutes des graines non plus, d’ailleurs.

La nature est pleine de variété.

Alors quel est le problème avec les noix ?

Eh bien… c’est une question piège… Je n’essaie pas de dire qu’il y a un problème avec les noix. Je ne dis pas non plus qu'il y a un problème avec les graines, pousses, feuilles, racines, tubercules, insectes ou animaux… Même s'il peut y en avoir ( :) )

Simplement, je ne crois pas que ce qui précède soit une nourriture idéale pour les êtres humains.

A propos des noix en particulier... je pense, que contrairement aux fruits, elles ne peuvent pas être commercialisées crues.

Des personnes m’ont écrit en me disant : « mais David Wolf vend des amandes ou des noix de cajou crues etc…»

Ne soyez pas dupe ! Ce n’est tout simplement pas vrai ! Ou nous ne partageons pas la même définition du cru...

Quand je dis cru, je parle d’aliment brut sans aucun traitement… de cru mûr et frais… Quand les autres disent qu’ils vendent des noix crues, alors ce qu’ils vendent en réalité ce sont des noix séchées (au soleil), à peu près aussi crues que leurs baies de goji séchées…

La nourriture séchée n'a pas de stop instinctif. Les aliments séchés ne fournissent pas au corps de signal d’arrêt instinctif (risque de gavage)... Au mieux c’est physiologiquement un aliment de 2eme catégorie…

Quand je parle de manger des fruits, je parle de manger le fruit cru mûr et frais, la partie comestible qui entoure généralement la graine de la plante...

Ainsi, en tant que fruitarien “frais”, je mange des raisins, pas de raisins sec, des prunes, pas des pruneaux, des mangues fraîches, et non des mangues séchées, flétries, déshydratées… et je ne mange pas des noix car:

1. Sur le plan éthique, je voudrais leur donner la chance d’accomplir leur destin potentiel d’arbre
2. Elles sont indisponible crues dans le commerce.
3. je ne les considère pas comme une nourriture physiologiquement idéale (trop lourdes).

Comme expérimentation, j’aimerais que vous alliez dans la nature trouver des noix vraiment fraîches (pas même séchées au soleil!), et que vous vous asseyiez pour les manger. Je pense que vous en aurez vite assez, bien plus tôt que vous ne le seriez avec celles aisément cueillies, séchées/emballées et achetées en Magasin…

Les noix réellement fraîches, sont légèrement humides et tendres/molle… et non séchées et croustillante/croquante...!!

Qu'en est-il des noix de coco?

Eh bien, oui, d'accord, contrairement aux autres fruits à coque, elles sont vraiment plus accessibles. Elles sont disponibles en grande quantités, elles arrivent souvent mûres et fraiches sur les étales des vendeurs… Et d’un point de vue physiologique, cela a de l’importance à mes yeux, cette noix est meilleure pour vous que toutes autres noix disponibles sur le marché.

Cependant ..

Ce ne sont pas encore des fruits …

J'aime voir les noix de coco tomber lorsqu’elles sont prêtes et pousser dans le sable… J’aime regarder les cocotiers grandirent et s’épanouir … Et j'ai personnellement fait le choix d'éviter une fin de vie prématurée à ces arbres que j’aime tant.

Bien sûr, c'est mon choix, et j’offre mon respect le plus profond à ceux qui n’éprouvent pas le même ressenti… Nous avons tous nos propres conclusions sur ces questions existentielles ...

Je comprends quand les gens me disent qu'il ya une abondance de fruits, et que, en mangeant, nous avons également aider à propager leur semence… Oui, si c'est ce que vous pensez d'eux alors profiter en bien! Ma conviction, qui peut-être est fausse, c’est qu’un fruit offre des avantages nutritionnels bien supérieurs aux noix, et donc je suis juste de choisir, de m'en tenir aux fruits.

Je pense qu'une autre chose que nous pourrions observer avec des noix, est de savoir comment elles sont inaccessibles pour nous les humains. Je pense que chaque fruit, quand il est prêt, vous permettra un accès facile à la chair... Essayez de pénétrer dans une noix de coco avec les mains nues, ou de mordre une noix de macadamia avec les dents, et c'est une toute autre histoire …

Qu'en est-il légumineuses, pois, fèves, etc??

Je vois ... Eh bien ... vous pouvez certainement les manger frais et mûrs, c'est pour vous … J'ai fait germer quelques pois et haricots dans notre dernier jardin (à Sydney), et j’en ai mangé quelque fois (voir aussi - juste des fruits ni noix-graines-racines-ou-verts) …

Mais je ne les considère pas comme des fruits… botaniques ou autre. Ce sont des semences, et pour être honnête, même si j'ai fait quelques exceptions dans le passé, je préfère les laisser à la postérité.

Je ne dis pas que vous-même ou quelqu'un d'autre devrait s’en abstenir… Franchement, c’est à vous de vous faire votre propre opinion, c’est à vous de considérez ce qui est bon ou non à manger.

Moi, je choisis d'être fruitarien, parce que je crois que c'est l’alimentation du jardin d'Eden, et parce que je suis un incorrigible romantique qui croit que c'est l'amour qui permet au monde de tourner rond, que «l'amour est tout ce qu'il faut» et ce fruit est le seul aliment qui est entièrement compatible avec cette notion, étant non seulement le plus élevé de tous les aliments (physiquement et spirituellement) … mais aussi le seul aliment qui soit véritablement «donné» par tout être vivant ...

La paix,
Mango.

Interview with a fruitarian - 36 - Jeff Atwell

OK, First, please just briefly introduce yourself.. your name, what year you were born, and where you're living now.. Also tell us about any online profiles, blogs or webpages you might currently have?

My name is Jeff Atwell. I was born in 1978. I’ve been a 100% low-fat raw vegan since mid-2007, and a 100% fruitarian since Dec. 2009. My wife, daughter, and I just moved the first week of July into our first house in Valencia, California. We’ve spent the previous 8 years living in apartments in Pasadena. Valencia & Pasadena are both suburbs of Los Angeles. I think the city of Valencia is named after the orange variety (because there are a lot of oranges grown nearby)… it should be a good place for a fruitarian to settle!

I don’t have my own website or blog. However, I am pretty active on several of the fruit / raw forums. Here are some places where you can get more information about me: iheartfruit.com, fruitariannirvana.ning.com, 30bananasaday.com, and rawnaturalhygiene.ning.com.


Jeff and his daughter, Rose
Thanks Jeff, so you're in Southern California now, is that where you grew up too?

No, I was actually born & raised in Ohio, and my parents and most of the rest of my family are still there now. I moved out to California in 2002 at the age of 24 to go to graduate school.

OK. I read on your profile at the fruitarian ning, that you're a stay at home dad looking after your 1 year old fruit loving daughter, how's that working out for you!?

In short, it has worked pretty well so far. Before the birth of my daughter, I was a graduate student. Officially, now I am still a graduate student, just one who is "on leave".

Is your daughter still being breast fed too? If so, how's that working out with mum being at work?

Yes, still breastfeeding. Mom pumps her milk at work. I’m into natural child raising. So, I really think it would be best for my daughter Rose if my wife stayed at home with her. This way, she could have fresh breast milk on demand. I believe that Rose getting fresh milk directly from the breast would be the best for her physically & emotionally. But, sometimes the practicalities of the real world take precedent.

My wife enjoys her job, and earns more at it than I could working right now. In truth, my wife would prefer to work than stay with Rose all day. And, I do enjoy watching Rose and think me giving Rose refrigerated breastmilk while she’s at work must be the next best thing to fresh. We don’t have any other family close by, and we certainly did not want a stranger to watch Rose while we both worked, and so one of us clearly needed to stay home.

Is your wife into the whole raw vegan fruit thing too?

My wife enjoys fruit, but she grew up in China, and still enjoys typical Chinese food (lots of stir-fry vegetables with a little meat added as a condiment). This has been a source of conflict between my wife & I, since I believe that her diet isn’t optimal for her or our daughter (via the breastmilk). My wife already knows what I think about cooked food, and to keep the peace I’ve found it helpful not to remind her every time she sits down to eat. I try to lead by setting a good example.

Rose is 17 months now, and has had only breastmilk and fruit thus far in her life. I am very glad my wife has let me do this with her.


Jeff and family outside house
So, you've been doing the 100% fruit thing now since the beginning of December 2009, more than half a year now, what's your verdict so far?

Yes, 100% fruit since December 1st, 2009. I am really enjoying it. In the couple years prior to this, my diet consisted of fruit & greens, but getting the greens down was always a struggle for me. After reading about you, Kveta, Anne Osborne, & Fruity Jules, I decided that I had to try it. My primary motive is that fruit is what tastes best to me. However, I also appreciate the ethical aspects of fruitarianism.

Absolutely 100% fruit? All raw fresh, IE, not dried or such?

Right, all raw, all fresh, and about 99% organic. No canned fruit, no frozen fruit, no dried fruit. As an example - mangoes are one of my favorite fruits. But, most of them in the US have been imported, and have been subject to hot water treatment. I no longer eat these. I only eat domestic mangoes in the summer when I can get them, which haven’t been heat treated.

Also, I eat the entire edible portion of the fruit, and don’t juice. I think some valuable nutrients are lost when one juices.

I'm guessing you're supplement free too?

Yes, I don’t take any supplements. I’m not going to worry about the B12 issue unless I start to notice a decline in my health, in which case I might consider taking a B12 test, at least. Many 80/10/10 types call themselves fruitarian, so I guess since Dec. 1 you could call me a “strict fruitarian”: no nuts (including coconuts), no seeds (except unavoidable ones, as in kiwi or strawberry), no greens, no salt, no spices, no peas, no seaweed, etc.

Great, I'm aware that the term fruitarian gets used very loosely these days, and it's refreshing for me to meet someone else who's using the term to describe 100% fruit..

Let's backtrack some, I'm presuming you grew up on a pretty standard diet? When was it you started making changes to it, and what drove you to make those changes?

Yeah, I did grow up on a pretty standard diet. I actually wasn’t too big of a meat eater growing up, but I did drink a lot of milk. I think I’ve always had an interest in nutrition. I recall eating bowls of milk & cereal for breakfast before middle school, and reading the nutrition facts on the label while I was eating. But I was in my 20s before I started to do things out of the ordinary in my diet. In my early 20s, I was really into improving my physical performance, getting stronger, faster, etc., and I started looking for ways to improve by adding supplements and changing my diet. By trial and error, I found that taking supplements didn’t have any beneficial effect, and was quite expensive. With the diet changes, I didn’t notice much effect on my physical strength no matter what I ate. However, I found that I could run much better if I ate less animal products, and less salt. At this point, I started to read a lot of books on the topic (veganism, raw, etc.), and I started to appreciate some of the other benefits to this lifestyle (ethical, environmental), whereas before I never really thought about it. Since then, I’ve gradually cleaned up my diet more & more, first as a cooking vegan, then as a low-fat cooking vegan, then as a low-fat raw vegan, and now finally as a fruitarian.

Any significant weight or health changes over the course of that time?

I am prone to overeating and weight gain. Before I was a low-fat raw vegan, I needed to calorie restrict to keep my weight down. Now, as a fruitarian, I eat as much fruit as I desire, and still don’t need to worry about unwanted weight gain. My health has always been very good, regardless of what I have eaten. Unlike many others, I didn’t come to this lifestyle because of an illness.

I’ve done the Mohican 100-mile Trail Run twice, in 2007 & 2008 (it’s in Ohio, near where my parents live). In the months leading up to the 2007 race, I had mainly a sort of junk food vegetarian diet, and I finished that race in a little over 27 hours, for 53rd place. In the months leading up to the 2008 race, I had a 100% low-fat raw vegan diet (I would say 95% fruitarian…I had a few greens), and I finished the race in 18 hours, 40 minutes, good enough for 2nd overall. I’m not going to pretend that all of this improvement is related to the diet, because it isn’t. In the second year doing the event, I was more familiar with the course, had trained harder, etc. But, I still think that my diet did play a part in this.

I am curious to know what I could do now in a race, but I haven’t done so since my daughter was born at the beginning of 2009. As a stay-at-home dad, training for a race of this distance is extremely difficult. I would like to race again, but I plan to wait until she gets older. Family first. :)

About your graduate student status, you were working on a PhD in theoretical physics right? I'm presuming that that would require a pretty logical mind set, do you think having that type of mind has helped you reach the conclusions you have? And if so, why do you think it is that others with apparent similar mindsets fail to reach those conclusions?

Yes to me, trying out a fruitarian diet seems to be such a logical thing to do. It is good for the environment, good for plants, good for animals, and likely good for us too. Furthermore, it seems all the other large primates live primarily on fruits, and I think this should be a clue as to what is likely good for us.

I have often referred to my 100% fruit diet over the past 7 months as an “experiment”, and that is how I am approaching it. I actually wouldn’t say that I have reached any conclusions yet. Thus far, I am feeling great on 100% fruit, and I am optimistic that I will continue to feel this way, but I cannot be certain.

I suppose that other scientists don’t consider trying an experiment on fruitarianism because they just haven’t thought about it, or they think it would be too hard, or too dangerous, or whatever.

Having come from a pretty conventional background, with both parents in the medical industry, how did they react when you started making those changes? What's their opinion of your current fruitarian diet?

I would say that my parents consider me to be just a little bit… well… different. I’ve got two siblings, and I was the one who was always doing things in an unconventional way. I think they would call my current 100% fruit experiment “extreme”. They fully appreciate that fruit is nutritious, but don’t see any reason to eat it to the exclusion of everything else.

I'm guessing their concerns would revolve around not getting enough protein or minerals or such? Were they the kind of things you perhaps found yourself also questioning in the years leading up to you becoming a
fruitarian?

Yes, my parents and others have asked those questions, and I know how to answer them pretty well. And yes, I used to worry about these things too.

So, are your parents accommodating [I mean, happy for you to sit and eat fruit with them, or does that create a tense situation] if you go and visit them?

Sure, we are on good terms. If I’m coming to visit, and I ask my mom to pick up a case of bananas in advance, she’ll do it. More than anything else, we like to laugh together about my diet.

Ha! That seems like a pretty healthy approach to me! What about your 2 siblings or other members of the family - what's their take on where you're at?

I have a younger brother and a younger sister. I’ve tried, at least a little bit, to convert pretty much everyone in my extended family, and I would say that I’ve had the most success with my siblings. I think both are eating primarily vegetarian diets right now. I don’t see any reason to continue in my attempts to convert family members. They already know what I think. I think it is best to simply set a good example.

Do you ever get cravings for foods other than fruit?

Not recently, no. The hardest food for me to give up was cheese. I think this is because I grew up eating a lot of dairy products. When I first went vegan in 2007, I used to dream about cheesy pizza. At first, I had to use my logical mindset to not give into my cheese cravings. I had to remind myself of all the reasons why cheese is a harmful, addictive substance, and tell myself that this is why I couldn’t trust my intuition at that time on cheese.

Fortunately, over the past few years, there has been a substantial shift in my intuition, so that now I only seem to crave fruits.

You stopped nuts a couple of years back, what was the principle reason for doing that, and how were you feeling after eating them?

I found nuts to be too easy to overeat. After I started, I couldn’t stop eating them, and then afterwards I would feel sick. I used to crave nuts, but similar to the cheese, I got over nuts too, and no longer desire them.

I understand that not every fruit appeals to everyone at any given point in time, I often go months not touching bananas and even finding the smell of them very unappealing, so I Guess I understand why you're not eating avocados at the moment.. What about your little daughter, Rose, has she ever tried one? does she like them? Are there any fruits she doesn't like? Has she tried durian?

Rose actually loves avocados. It is one of her favorite fruits. I let her eat as much avocado as she wants. We have let her try a wide variety of fruits, and she seems to like just about all of them, to varying degrees. No, she hasn’t had durian. I would love to give her some. However, all the durian around here is frozen and not organic. Rose’s diet is 100% organic.


Jeff, Daughter, Fruit
Could you give us a brief rundown of what (and when - time of day) you might eat on a typical day?

I usually only eat once or twice each day. If the meal consists of really juicy fruits, I’ll probably want to eat twice. But if the meal contains a lot of the more filling fruits (dates, persimmon, sapote, sapodilla, bananas, etc.), then I can be satisfied for the whole day on just one meal, particularly if I’m not exercising very much. I prefer to eat infrequent large meals for a couple reasons. I think it is easier on the teeth, and I think it makes it easier to go out and get work done.

I always have a morning meal, and I’ll have an afternoon meal if hungry. I really listen to my body regarding when & how much to eat. Right now, in July, I am eating mostly melons and stone fruit.

How much do you think you spend a week on your fruit?

My wife, daughter, & I usually have a weekly fruit bill in the range of $100-$150. And keep in mind that this is 100% organic, and includes a wide variety. We buy most of our fruit in cases from an organic wholesaler in Los Angeles. Buying it all from the local grocery would be a lot more expensive.

Is it easy to get hold of good quality fruit in California? A wide variety? What kind of things can't you find that you'ld like to be able to?

Yes, the fruit here is pretty good, both in quality and variety. For fruitarians in the US, California & Florida are probably the two best places to be. There are a lot of fruits I haven’t tried yet, and would like to, such as: charentais melon (after reading Anne’s book), ice cream bean, peanut butter fruit, chempedak, & cacao fruit.

Does the new place you've just moved into have a garden? If so, do you think you'll be growing any of your own food there?

We have a nice yard, with plenty of space to plant some fruit trees, raspberry bushes, melons, you name it. I’m looking forward to using my fruit scraps for compost now. I always felt guilty dumping them in a trash can.

I imagine looking after a 1 year and a half old all day must keep you pretty fit and active, do you spend a lot of time outdoors together? What else are you doing to keep fit and healthy now that your not training regularly for marathons?

Yeah, we go outside a lot. I’m a big fan of sunlight and getting vitamin D the natural way. I try to do some strength training and some running each day. I usually do that in the early morning, before my wife & daughter are up.

Do you know any (or many!) other 100% fruitarians, or people headed that way?

Only my daughter, plus people I know on the internet.

Could you hazard a guess of how many 100% fruitarians there might be in the world? Do you think the idea is spreading?

If we’re talking about long-term 100% fruitarians with absolutely no slip-ups for years, then, from what I gather via the web, the number appears quite small, like less than 10. However, I have to believe that there are some tropical jungle peoples without a web presence that live on fruit, and so I’m inclined to say the real number is probably in the thousands.

Yes, I think the idea is spreading. I think your website, and forums like iheartfruit.com and fruitariannirvana.ning.com have helped a lot to spread the word.

Have you done much travelling at all? Any places you can recommend for fellow fruit fanatics?

My wife & I have taken many small trips to national parks in the western US. That's one of our favorite things to do. I don't have much time overseas, but I spent the summer of 2002 doing physics at CERN (the particle accelerator), near Geneva, Switzerland. That was an interesting experience. Also my wife and I went to Hawaii in 2005, visited her family in China in 2006, and took a cruise to Alaska in 2007. Since then, with saving up for the house downpayment and then with my wife being pregnant and then having a baby, we haven't traveled much.

I look forward to taking some fruity vacations in the future. I would love to visit Central & South America and Southeast Asia. I'm sure that I could try many new tropical fruits in these places. I also want to get back to Hawaii, and visit the organic fruit farms there. During our 2005 visit, we stayed on Oahu and did mainly the standard tourist stuff.

Do you have many other interests?

I enjoy being outdoors, and being with family. So activities like hiking & camping really appeal to me. Researching nutrition is also a hobby of mine.

Do you're friends and neighbours know you're on a fruit diet, and if so, what do they make of it?

Well, we just moved to a new area, and I don’t really know anyone here yet. If we get invited to any neighborhood barbecues, I’ll be sure to set a good example with fruit.

Do you think that your diet could be improved further, or is your feeling that it's about as good as it gets?

I feel that my digestion and absorption of nutrients has improved since I removed greens from my diet. I am optimistic that this will continue to improve gradually. But besides that, I think fruitarianism is as far as one can go. I don’t think long-term mono-fruit diets are healthy. Variety is important.

Where and how do you see yourself living and eating in 10 years from now?

We just bought a house, and in 10 years I expect we will still be here. By that time, we should have many mature fruit trees in our yard, and so hopefully a lot of my food can be coming from those.

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

I encourage others to listen to their bodies, and proceed at their own pace. If you are craving greens, then this may indicate that they are providing useful nutrients to you at this time. I don’t think greens contain any essential nutrients which fruits do not, however it is certainly true that greens contain more of certain things than fruits do. If your ability to absorb these nutrients is compromised, then your body may need the greens right now. However, over time, your body’s ability to assimilate these nutrients may improve, and then you may find that your desire for greens will lessen.


Jeff & Rose

The difference between fruit and nuts..

Voir aussi une traduction francais: La difference entre les fruits et les noix

Hi all,

I've blogged about this before, here: What is a fruit?, but as I keep noticing people's confusion on the subject, I thought I'd try and clarify things once more.. No doubt I'll be repeating much of what I've already written and said several times previously, but, well, here goes nothing..

What's the difference between a fruit and a nut?

I keep seeing people writing that botanically speaking, fruit and nuts are the same thing.. but in my opinion, although they are clearly in physical proximity, they are no more similar than a root and a leaf! (please see also, related blog post: Nuts on a fruitarian diet).

Think of a nectarine,, what we eat is the precious sweet nectar flesh that surrounds the stone/seed of the plant.. The seed is clearly separate from the flesh. The flesh is the thing that is, so to say, given karmically free.

Think of a melon, what we eat is the deliciously tasting flesh of the melon.. not the seeds in the centre which generally get left out of the digestive experience.. (yes, I'm aware that some cultures roast them, but fresh out of the fruit they are none too appealing in my eyes)

Think of a pawpaw, we eat the life giving juicy vibrantly colourful sweet flesh of the pawpaw.. the small black seeds get composted..

Chopped Papaya fruit Papaya Seeds

Notice how fruit is much more vibrant, in colour and texture, than seeds are

Think of an apple.. the flesh is savoured, the core... discarded..

I could continue ad infinitum..

So what's a nut?

Apart from yours truly, that is!


Mango the Fruit Nut
Clearly not every seed is surrounded by this so clearly precious substance called fruit.. some seeds/nuts/grains etc are void of the encapsulating fruit flesh..

that's just the way the world is.. not every plant consists of a fruit.. not every plant consists of a seed either, for that matter..

Nature is abundant with variations..

So what's wrong with nuts?

Well... that's a loaded question.. I'm not trying to say anything is wrong with nuts, but then again, I'm not saying anything is wrong with seeds, grains, shoots, leaves, roots, tubers, insects or animals.. Although there might be ( :) )

However, I just don't believe any of the above are ideal foods for humans..

But about nuts specifically.. I think it's well worth acknowledging, that unlike fruit, commercially available raw nuts are just not available!! I've had people write to me and say, but David Wolf is selling raw almonds or cashews etc! don't be fooled.. it's simply not true.. and if it is, then it's because he means something else by the word raw, than i do right now..

when I say raw, I'm talking unprocessed raw.. about raw ripe and fresh.. When others say they are selling raw nuts, then what they are really selling are processed (sun)dried nuts, about as raw as their dried goji berries..

Dried food has no instinctive stop.. At best, it's physiologically a 2nd class food..

When I talk about eating fruit, I'm talking about eating the raw ripe fresh fruit, the edible pulp that generally surrounds the seed of the plant..

So as a fresh fruitarian, I eat grapes, not raisins, plums, not prunes, fresh mango, not dried shriveled dehydrated mango.. And I don't eat nuts because:

1. Ethically, I'd like to give them the chance to fulfill their potential treeful destiny.
2. they are commercially not available raw.
3. I don't consider them to be physiologically ideal foods.. too heavy.

As an experiment, I'd like you to go out in nature, and find some truly fresh (ie, not even sun dried!) nuts, and sit and eat them. I think you will have had enough of them far sooner than you ever would with those readily picked and packed store bought ones..

Truly fresh nuts, are slightly wet and soft.. not dried and crispy/crunchy..!!

What about coconuts?

Well, yes, granted, unlike other nuts, they are definitely readily available, raw ripe and fresh and in abundance for some.. And physiologically, I'd reckon for that reason, that they'd have to be better for you than most any other nut available..

However..

They are still not fruit..

I love to see coconuts fall off when they are ready, and sprout in the sand.. Coconut palms are a beautiful sight.. And I have personally made the choice to try and avoid ending the life of another prematurely..

Of course, that's my choice, and I respect that others may not feel the same way.. We all have to reach our own conclusions about such deep matters..

I understand when people tell me that there are an abundance of nuts, and that by eating them, we also help propagate them.. yes.. if that's how you feel about them then great, enjoy them! My belief, which may be wrong, is that fruit offers superior nutritional benefits, and thus I'm just choosing, to stick to fruit.

I think one other thing we might observe with nuts, is how difficult they are to get in to.. think about it, every fruit, when it's ready, will let you have easy access to the flesh.. Try and get into a coconut with your bare hands, or a macadamia nut with you teeth, and that's a whole different story..

What about Legumes, peas, beans etc??

I see.. Well.. you can certainly get them fresh and ripe to eat, that's for sure.. I grew a few peas and beans in our last garden (in Sydney), and did eat them too (see also - just-fruit-no-nuts-seed-roots-or-greens)..

But I don't consider them fruit.. botanically or otherwise.. They are seed, and to be honest, although I've made occasional exceptions in the past, I'd rather let the seed be.

I'm not saying you yourself or anyone else should or shouldn't indulge.. Frankly you have to make up your own mind what you consider the right things to eat..

Me, I'm choosing to be fruitarian, because I believe it is the garden of Eden diet, and because I'm a hopeless romantic that believes it's love that ultimately makes the world go round, that "love is all you need" and that fruit is the only food that's fully compatible with that notion, being not only the highest of all foods (physically and spiritually).. but also the only food that is truly "given" by any living thing...

Peace,
Mango.