| Encyclopaedia of Fresh Fruit |
 |
|
Fruits are the cleansers of the body. They contain 75% to more than 90% water
and while the protein content is low the carbohydrate content is correspondingly
higher.
Raw fruits contain no starch. It is only when they are cooked that the sugar
carbohydrate in some of them is converted into a starchy carbohydrate. In the
process of digestion these starchy carbohydrates must be reconverted into
primary sugars before they can be used in the body, usually overtaxing those
organs, such as the pancreas, whose function it is to aid in this conversion.
It is the high carbon content of fruits that causes them to be the cleansers of
the body. Figuratively speaking, this carbon serves to incinerate waste matters
in the body but this only takes place when the fruits are fresh and raw, and
also provided that no concentrated sugar or starch is eaten during the same meal
when fruits are eaten. When concentrated starches and sugars are included in a
meal in which fresh, raw fruits (with the exception of bananas, dates, figs and
raisins) are present then the fruits no longer have an alkaline reaction in the
body but tend to create an acid condition, at the same time causing the
carbohydrates to ferment.
APPLES, when eaten on an empty stomach, tend to stimulate the
activities of the lower intestines. They are rich in magnesium, iron and
silicon, while their potassium content is very high. They contain approximately
85% water and are a valuable aid to digestion, both in their natural state and
in the form of fresh juice.
There are a great many varieties of apples, the Delicious being the mildest and
usually the easiest to digest. Apples have a cleansing effect which is
particularly noticeable when impactions are present in the intestines and in
this condition during the cleansing process some varieties are likely to give
some discomfort. When this is the case then it is sometimes found that some
other varieties may be eaten with less or no discomfort.
The juice of fresh apples, when raw is of great help in the case of fevers and
inflammation. Apple cider has a beneficial effect on the system.
Fresh raw apple juice is frequently classed as 'sweet' cider. We have covered
the subject of Vinegar quite fully in the 1978 Revised Enlarged Edition of the
book fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juices, What's Missing in Your Body? By Dr
N.W.Walker. It is strongly recommended that you read and study that chapter
before using Vinegar. This is very important.
Apples may be eaten in their natural state, whole, with any vegetable and
concentrated proteins, as well as with other fruits.
As a top dressing for salads they can be grated or shredded. In like manner they
make a delicious base for any fruit meal.
No sugar of any kind should ever be added to apples. If sweetening is needed,
then honey should be used.
APRICOTS are one of our most delicate fruits. Due to the
perishable quality of their texture, they are difficult to ship. Tree ripened
apricots are one of the finest sources of organic iron for the building up of
red corpuscles of the blood. Silicon is another very valuable element found in
apricots.
The water content of apricots is approximately 85% when ripe. When cooked the
vital quality of this fruit is destroyed. When fresh and ripe they are a
delectable addition to a salad, whether fruit or vegetable. As a dessert they
may be eaten alone or with any other fruits.
AVOCADO, also known as Alligator Pear, contains more than 70%
water. It is one of our most valuable sources of supply of organic fat, which
forms 20% of its composition. It is fairly rich in mineral matter and should not
be eaten until it is ripe, at which time it is mellow and its texture has the
semi-soft consistency of butter. As a matter of fact it can be used raw in the
place of butter.
Avocado is an exceptionally nutritious food and should be used daily whenever
obtainable. On salads it can be halved, sliced diagonally, or in rings and added
either as an integral part of the salad or as a garnish. It can also be whipped
to a creamy consistency and flavored with lemon juice, onion juice, garlic,
etc., and used as a salad dressing on either fruit or vegetable salads.
The fruit is ripe when the flesh will yield gently to a slight pressure of the
fingers.
BANANAS should be eaten only when absolutely ripe, in which
state no green whatever is showing on any part, particularly at the ends. When
ripe, bananas contain more than75% water, while the carbohydrate sugar content
is 22% but this is not completely formed until they are ripe. They are rich in
potassium; also in sodium and magnesium.
Either cold or excessive heat will prevent their maturing satisfactorily.
When bananas are ripe they are particularly sensitive to low temperatures.
Placing them in a cold refrigerator will turn them black and may spoil their
flavor. To prevent deterioration they should be kept at a low temperature of a
little more than 50 degrees F.
In selecting bananas, those which are full and plump will be found generally to
have more flavor and delicacy, although some varieties of an inferior quality
taste flat even though they may be plump.
Bananas are a carbohydrate fruit, but as the large sugar carbohydrate is of a
natural quality, and the percentage of water is high, they are readily digested,
when ripe, and are compatible when mixed with other fruits.
BERRIES, including blackberries, gooseberries, huckleberries,
raspberries and strawberries as well as all other varieties of edible berries,
are valuable nutritional foods with great cleansing properties. They all contain
a high percentage of water ranging approximately from 80% to nearly 90%.
All berries are rich in potassium and other mineral elements and when ripe,
contain valuable natural sugars which are an aid in cleansing the system.
When sweetening is required, honey should be used on berries. They should never
be sweetened with sugar of any kind, because they will cause fermentation in the
system, resulting in an acid reaction. This is also the case when berries are
added to cereals, cakes, pies and other starchy foods. A similar acid reaction
then takes place in the body.
The juice of berries is particularly beneficial to the system when taken raw.
That value however is considerably lost when the juices have been canned or in
any way preserved, in which state their life principle has been destroyed, and
the elements have become inorganic.
Cranberries, unlike other berries, are considerably more acid and are therefore
covered in a subsequent paragraph under CRANBERRIES.
CHERRIES are nearly 80% water and are rich in natural fruit
sugars as well as mineral elements.
The dark cherries are of more value to the system than the light colored ones,
containing, as they do, a greater quantity of magnesium and iron, and much
silicon. They are valuable as blood cleansers; they stimulate the secretion of
digestive juices and of the urine. They are effective cleansers of the liver and
kidneys.
When in season a whole meal can be made of nothing but good ripe cherries, to
the extent of one or two pounds per meal.
CRANBERRIES contain nearly 90% water. Their sulphur content is
exceedingly high. They also contain large quantities of certain acids,
particularly oxalic and tannic acids. Their reaction on the body is consequently
distinctly acid and this is considerably aggravated when they are cooked,
particularly with the addition of sugar.
Under certain conditions, raw cranberries are beneficial, as for example, in
kidney and liver disturbances, and sometimes in excessive looseness of the
bowels.
Due to their excessive acidity however they are a fruit best used with the
utmost discretion if not eliminated entirely from the diet.
CURRANTS The most common varieties are red, white and black
currants. They contain approximately 80% water and are rich in potassium. Their
carbohydrate content is about 11% in the red, 13% in the white and nearly 19% in
the black. The red have a much higher proportion of the acid elements. They are
however all beneficial in stimulating the secretion of various glands. The fresh
raw juice of currants is valuable especially to the kidneys and in inflammatory
conditions of the body. They are also an aid in alleviating mucous conditions of
the intestinal tract.
When currants are cooked, and particularly when sugar is added, their beneficial
value is lost. When used as a jelly or a jam in connection with concentrated
carbohydrates, or starches, they are very acid forming.
DATES are one of the fruits richest in natural carbohydrates.
The water content of dates is comparatively low, while the carbohydrate content,
in the form of natural sugars, is about 70%. They are rich in potassium and
chlorine and their general alkaline content is high.
Dates are one of the most valuable substitutes for candy. Adults, no less than
children, should be encouraged to eat these in the place of candies, which are
excessively acid-forming.
Care should be taken to avoid eating dates which have been treated with
sulphuric acid to preserve them. Fortunately this method is gradually falling
into disuse.
Dates are very useful to use in the place of bread and other starches. They are
beneficial, and not acid-forming.
Their carbohydrate is composed of natural sugars and they are compatible with
other fruits.
Date Sugar is a product of the natural crystallization of the carbohydrates in
dates. It is a very good substitute for cane or other sugars and a good quality
can be readily obtained at the most health food stores. It can be used freely as
an adjunct to vegetable and fruit salads. It is also delicious on fruit with
cream for breakfast.
FIGS Fresh figs, both of the white and the dark variety, are
exceedingly beneficial, being in fact one of the best natural laxatives. They
contain nearly 80% water and have a very high potassium, calcium and magnesium
content.
When in season fresh figs should be eaten in abundance, particularly by
children.
GRAPES contain on average about 80% water. They are very rich
in potassium and iron and have a predominance of alkaline elements.
Fresh ripe grapes in season are among our most wholesome fruits, being one of
the greatest aids in the elimination of uric acid from the system. They are also
valuable because they stimulate the secretion of digestive juices.
The extensive use of grapes as an eliminative diet has become a popular and
successful method towards re-establishing the alkaline-acid chemical balance of
the body. Grapes of every variety have proved valuable for this purpose.
A meal composed entirely of grapes, say about one or two pounds, according to
the taste or capacity of the individual, is generally very satisfying and
sustaining. It is frequently found that eating about one-half pound of ripe
grapes every two hours throughout the day for three or four days, omitting all
other foods, has a beneficial, cleansing effect on the whole system.
GRAPEFRUIT has proved to be one of the most valuable fruits as
an aid in the removal or dissolving of inorganic calcium which may have formed
deposits in the cartilage of the joints, as in Arthritis, as a result of an
excessive consumption of devitalized white flour products. Fresh grapefruit
contains organic salicylic acid which aids in dissolving such inorganic calcium
in the body.
It is also rich in other fruit acids and sugars. It contains nearly 87% water
and is rich in potassium and other alkaline elements.
Sugar should never be added to grapefruit because the acids cause a fermentation
of the sugar in the system and the fruit will then tend to have an acid, instead
of an alkaline reaction in the body.
When grapefruit or its juice has been canned or in any way preserved, the value
of the organic elements is lost and the acids are converted into inorganic acids
of little value to the body.
LEMONS are very rich in inorganic citric acid, and while acid
to the taste, they have a powerful alkaline reaction on the body, provided that
no sugar is added. They contain nearly 90% water.
Lemon juice is a wonderful natural antiseptic for cuts, etc. It may sting a
little at first, but not really painfully.
The juice of lemons without the addition of sugar is one of the most valuable
aids we have. For example, I have known many to take the juice of two lemons in
4 ounces of hot water every hour or two for one or two days, omitting all other
foods during that time and so break down and eliminate an aggravated cold. In
like manner lemon juice has been used successfully as an aid in a great many
other conditions of bodily discomfort or chemical unbalance.
The use of bicarbonate of soda in lemonade generates gas.
LIMES are the product of a cross between lemons and oranges and
while sweeter than the former they partake of the properties and qualities of
them both. As a matter of fact when still green they are sometimes used in place
of lemons while the ripe ones are occasionally used instead of oranges. It is
best to use them only when ripe.
MELONS, including all the varieties, are extremely beneficial,
particularly when forming the entire meal. When eating melons it is best not to
eat any other food during the same meal, but to eat all melon one desires.
The water content of melons range from 90% to 93% according to the variety. They
have a small proportion of cellulose fiber, which is readily digested if no
other food is present to interfere with their digestion. They are rich in
potassium and the percentage of alkaline elements is in proportion of three to
one of the acid elements.
They are particularly desirable for kidney disorders on account of their
valuable diuretic action. In some cases the addition of a little lemon juice is
beneficial but neither sugar nor salt should be added to them.
These paragraphs apply in a general way to cantaloupes, casabas, honeydew,
muskmelon, Persians, watermelons, etc.
NECTARINES, when ripe, contain nearly 83% water. Their
composition is very similar to that of the peach, being rich in potassium with a
fair percentage of calcium and sodium. They have however a higher carbohydrate
content than peaches. They are good cleansers and have a delectable flavor. When
ripe the stone is freely removable.
OLIVES are particularly rich in fat. They contain more than 50%
fat against nearly 40% water. They are exceptionally rich in potassium which
represents more than 80% of all the combined water-free minerals and salts.
Ripe olives are a healthy food furnishing the body with a valuable lubricant.
ORANGES contain nearly 87% water and are rich in potassium,
calcium and magnesium. They also contain silicon. The organic citric acids and
other fruit acids salts combine to make this one our most valuable fruits.
They are rich in Vitamins A, B and C.
There are very few fruits whose alkaline effect on an over-acid condition of the
body is so rapid. It is frequently one of the most valuable fruits to use during
a fast, when a diet of oranges and orange juice alone, in abundant quantities
daily, to the exclusion of all other foods, for three to six days, has proved
extremely beneficial.
From babyhood to senility, no fruit has been known to have more generally far
reaching effects than oranges and their juice. So long as they are available
they should be used daily, either during or between meals.
Oranges should be used within fifteen minutes from the time they are peeled
because they oxidize so rapidly.
Under no circumstances should sugar in any shape or form be added as a
sweetening. If any sweetening is desired honey should be used.
PAPAYAS are of particular value because of their protein
digestive elements. They are therefore valuable to stimulate the appetite and
the secretion of the digestive juices. They are a tropical fruit, rich in sodium
and magnesium as well as phosphorus and sulphur, and their water content is in
excess of 87%.
PEACHES contain more than 88% water and are rich in potassium,
calcium and sodium. They are easily digested, have a strong alkaline reaction on
the body, and stimulate the secretion of the digestive juices.
They have both laxative and diuretic qualities and are an aid in cleansing the
system in kidney and bladder trouble.
When peaches are cooked or canned their vital elements are lost. When sugar is
added the reaction in the body is acid. Sugar should not be used with peaches.
If sweetening is needed, the use of honey is recommended.
PEARS contain nearly 85% water and are very rich in alkaline
elements. They have a strong diuretic action and are valuable as general
cleansers of the system.
When cooked, canned or processed their greatest value is lost, the organic
elements being thereby converted into inorganic matter.
PERSIMMONS contain more than 66% water with a rich carbohydrate
content. They should not be eaten until fully ripened because only then have the
sugars been completely formed. They are rich in potassium and magnesium with a
percentage of phosphorus which is more pronounced before the fruit is ripe. They
are noted for their laxative qualities.
PINEAPPLES contain nearly 90% water and are rich in potassium,
calcium and sodium. Due to the fairly large amount of sulphur and chlorine which
is also present, they are valuable cleansers.
Pineapples contain a fair amount of acids, notably citric, malic and tartaric,
which in their organic form are an aid to digestion and exert a diuretic action.
Although the organic elements lose their vital qualities in the process of
preserving or canning, nevertheless certain temporary benefits are derived from
the use of these, provided that no sugar whatever has been added to them.
As a top dressing for salads, sliced or crushed pineapple, preferably raw, is a
palatable addition, and beneficial, provided that it has not been sweetened with
sugar.
PLUMS contain more than 78% water and are rich in potassium,
calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. They contain several fruit acids some of
which have a tendency to irritate the kidneys. They have, however, a strong
laxative action. Plums are best eaten raw and ripe in which state they are sweet
and juicy and the stone is readily removed.
This applies to all varieties of plums, including greengages, damsons, beech
plums, etc.
POMEGRANATE contains nearly 77% water and is exceptionally rich
in sodium which represents nearly 50% of all the combined mineral elements and
salts. It contains some Vitamin A and is rich in Vitamins B and C.
The skin and partitions of the pomegranate have a very high tannic acid content
and other bitter ingredients and have a constipating effect. The edible parts
however have a cleansing and cooling effect on the system generally and are
somewhat laxative.
The juice of pomegranates, either straight or with the addition of fresh raw
carrot juice or with apple juice, makes a very healthy and pleasing beverage.
QUINCES are only fit to eat when tree-ripened in warm climates,
at which times the natural fruit sugars are matured. When used green, in an
unripened state, and with the addition of sugar, they are very acid-forming in
the system.
RHUBARB is one of the most detrimental foods due to the
exceedingly high oxalic acid content. The addition of sugar when cooking it
aggravates its acid-forming qualities. It seems to me to be an utterly
unnecessary addition to a diet, because of its pernicious effect. (Read the
chapter on Oxalic Acid in the book Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, What's
Missing in Your Body?).
TOMATOES are a fruit of the acid variety, having a strong
alkaline reaction on the system provided that no concentrated sugary or starchy
carbohydrate is present while eating them or during the period of their
digestion. The addition of sugar, bread or crackers, etc., causes fermentation
and much acidity in the digestive system.
Tomatoes contain 94% water and are exceedingly rich in potassium, magnesium,
sodium and calcium. They are also high in chlorine and phosphorus with a small
percentage of silicon.
In their natural state, fresh, ripe and raw, they are extremely beneficial,
having a very rapid alkaline reaction on the system. They can be eaten whole,
sliced or quartered in salads and their fresh raw juice is particularly
cleansing and vitalizing.
The addition of spices and of preservatives such as Benzoate of Soda, etc.,
completely destroys the beneficial effect of this fruit, causing instead
irritations of the intestines, kidneys, etc.
One of the frequent causes of ulcerations in the intestinal tract among the
Latin races has been attributed to the excessive use of tomatoes in combination
with concentrated starch products, such as breads, macaroni and spaghetti of all
kinds, rice, etc., and it is interesting to know that these ulcerated conditions
have been relieved when these incompatible combinations were eliminated from the
diet.
Tomatoes which have been cooked, canned or processed in any manner, have lost
their principal organic value.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: The information on this page is
not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease,
illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or
alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance
of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise.
Persons needing medical care should consult a doctor or physician before making
any health decision.
Kevin James Rogers
Director
Nivek Nywnorb Sregor & Co Pty Ltd
trading as:
Retsel Australia & GrainMaster Australian Whisper Mill Distributors
P.O. Box 712,
Dandenong, Vic 3175
Australia
Telephone (03) 9795 2725 or mobile (0414) 95 2725
Fax (03) 9713 2622
International phone (61 3) 9795 2725 or mobile (61 414) 95 2725
International fax (61 3) 9713 2622
E-mail kevinjamesrogers@bigpond.com
Web sites: http://www.retsel.com.au -
http://www.grainmaster.com.au