Fruit, the complex story
Fruit is only available in the wild during the final part of the growth season when it ripens. All animals understand the code used by the plants. Green usually means it’s not ready and a pretty color signals the time is now to eat it. Why does this happen? The mother plant has evolved toxins that are inside the immature fruit to give the fruit the time it needs to fully ripen. A ripe fruit is ready to reproduce and continue the plant life. Any animal ignorant of this that eats the unripe fruit will typically become very sick and learn to stay away. These toxins are eliminated once the fruit is ripe and ready to be eaten. It’s nature’s genius in action.
Dr. Dan, so fruit is natural and healthy to eat? Sort of. Our ancestors discovered that fruit, in addition to tasting delicious, also fattened them up to survive the lean season that followed the bounty every year. This likely selected for those of us who desired fruit and is responsible for the modern day “sweet tooth” that all of us have. The fructose in the fruit is still toxic and there is such as thing as too much fruit, but this isn’t really the main problem. Nature made sure we never had too much fruit. It was only available once a year and honey (also fructose) was mostly painful.
Enter modern day global agribusiness. We now have year-round fruits of all types from all over the globe. It’s often picked not-quite-ripe and then various methods are used to artificially “ripen” the fruit. Chemicals like calcium carbide and ethylene gas are used on fruit to change the color to look ripe. And that’s the key, it looks ripe but is not ripened. Unripe fruit is usually firmer and survives shipping better. Artificial ripening creates uniform color making the fruit look better. But watch out, the final stages of detoxification were not done by the plant so these fruits may look good they can still have plant toxins. They also have chemical residues. Even worse, our bodies are not designed to eat fruit year round. After we fatten up for Winter, we are supposed to lean out by Spring/Summer. This is our natural yearly cycle and is not trivial.
Next up are the sneaky fruits that disguise themselves as vegetables. Most folks know a tomato is really a fruit, but how about cucumber, bell peppers, eggplant? Anything with seeds is a fruit. The skin and seeds of the fruits are especially inflammatory with a few notable exceptions such as pomegranate seeds. If you insist on eating tomatoes, blanch and peel the skin, scoop out the seeds. Same goes for chili peppers. When starting the elimination period it is best to avoid fruit completely and then slowly try them out one at a time after your intestinal wall is healed with a healthy microbiome population.
Fruit can be a healthy addition to your food plan if you stick to the rules. First, avocado is the one fruit that is great to eat daily all year round. It is high in good fats, fiber and low in sugar. Enjoy. Next, green bananas, green mango and green papaya are also good sources of fiber and low in sugar. Once ripe they are sugar overload. Then we have plant-ripened fruits in season. The “in season” part is the most important. These fruits are ideal if locally grown, organic, and definitely allowed to ripen on the plant. It’s still best to limit to one serving a day during the season as all sweetened things, including fruit, are designed to fatten you up! When the season is over and the local fruit is no longer available, just stop. Don’t be tempted to keep going at the grocery store. That product that looks like and is labeled as fruit is not the same. If you are in a weight losing mode, then skip the fruit altogether as it is not needed for good nutrition. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are good vegetable sources of vitamin C. Fruit makes us fat.