Fruit and your Health

Grandma said where there is life there is fruit. Never let the fruit trees die. Grandma planted fruit trees on her land. She nurtured them and kept them growing. According to her fruit was the life and we needed fruit to flourish in our lives.

Grandma would tell stories about back home in Scotland; the great wise people; and the natural cures for over-feeding as she called it and rheumatism. One I remember well was the “grape cure”. I still think of over-feeding as someone who is extremely heavy and needs to go on a diet. When people indulge in over-feeding for extended periods the body can not handle these increases in food. You carbohydrate oxidations will go up as carbohydrate intake is increased. This can not happen without insulin. Increased carbohydrate oxidation means increased insulin, and at this level an increase of glucose oxidations.

 Fat oxidation decrease with increased calories. Now you say what controls lipolysis? Insulin control lipolysis.  The more insulin increases, the less lipolysis are produced. This means less lipolysis means less fat oxidation. Fat is stored more effectively and it locked in to storage. You can not oxides stored fat.

 In over-feeding body fluids increase. Water retention means sodium retention which means this: water retention without sodium retention = hyponatraemia = death. Sodium retention is the hallmark of elevated insulin acting on the kidneys.

 Over-feeding results in weight gain, a phenomenon of the division of  ingested calories to storage as adipose tissue. Metabolic fuel requirement must be met at the cellular level, above that calories can go to storage as fat. Weight loss means the body gaining access to stored fat calories. Hunger controls eating behavior when there is no artificial requirement to over eat.  Hunger will adjust food intake until there is an adequate supply of metabolic fuel for the whole body.

 If a large chunk of calories consumed go to storage, even without overeating you will still maintain hunger until your body achieves enough available calories needed to run your metabolism. Whether these come from food or body fat depends on the blood insulin levels. High insulin levels will lock energy in to fat. This in return makes you eat more food to obtain metabolic fuel. Weight loss is impossible to obtain because when energy locked in to body fat is not being used.

 The “grape-cure” was what it sounds like. People start by eating one pound of grapes a day, in which the quantity is gradually increased until they can consume six pounds. As the quantity of grapes is increased; ordinary food is decreased, until at last you are living on nothing but grapes. This helped to control the increased level of insulin and release release the body fat to produce energy.

 Back in the early 1800’s fruit was used to cure cancer, tumors, gout, eczema, inflammatory complaints, and wounds that refused to heal. One problem with the “grape-cure” was people do not follow it slowly. They try the treatment without giving it a fair trial. Like all changes in diet can lead to disturbances that discourage you to continue.

According to my Grandmother her Great Grandmother from Scotland brought with her the knowledge of many natural cures and remedies pertaining to fruits. She learned from the Indians that wintered on their land other natural fruits, nuts, and plants to use in healing the body.

 Grandma went on to explain gout and the use of oranges, lemons, strawberries, grapes, apples, and pears can keep gout away. Natural fruits contain salts of potash which is the chief agent in purifying the blood from rheumatic and gout poisons. Each day you would see my Grandma drink a glass of lemon juice three times a day. She says it lubricates the joints and keeps her blood running fresh. She says when fruit is fresh and plentiful in the summer months to consume fruit three times a day. Even if you experience diarrhea you should not stop eating your fruit three times a day. In winter months when fruit is not available drink three glass of fresh lemon juice three times a day. I always saw my Grandma in the summer months when lemons were on the tree to not waste them she would squeeze them and freeze them for winter months. Grandma always had lemon juice and drank it three times a day.

 When we complained of stomach aches, indigestion, constipation, and headaches Grandma would makes us drink fresh lemon juice three times a day. In her eyes sluggish action of bowels and liver can not be cured with artificial fruits salts and drugs. Salts and acids found in organic forms of fruit are quite different in their effects than the ones produced in laboratories. Grandma knew that chemist could manufacture fruit juice but they could not manufacture the actual fruit. Fruit is a vital food and supplies the body with natural salts and acids in an organic form.

 Fruit and vegetables are good for your teeth. Some dentist believe when people stop eating meats and turn to a complete diet of fruits and vegetable this will destroy the enamel on their teeth. By all means this is not true what so ever. Fruits and vegetables contain acids strong in antiseptic and actually destroy the germs that cause tooth decay. Fruits do not attack the enamel of your teeth. Nothing cleans your teeth better than eating a large juicy apple.

 What do people consider fruit and when should it be eaten. Some consider fruit as a sweetmeat and only eaten for pleasure and rather sparingly. Grandma always served fruit before every meal on the farm. Fruits are not for occasional consumption and should be eaten three times a day before each meal. Fruits are not sweetmeats but rather a complete food. All vegetable foods in their natural state contain the elements necessary to form a complete food.

 The human body requires twelve to sixteen ounces of dry food free from water daily. To achieve this daily it is recommended that you eat a quarter of a pound of shelled nuts and three quarters of a pound of any dried fruit. To maintain your health two to three pounds of any fresh fruit in season needs to be eaten daily. In summer when fresh fruit is abundant increase your fresh fruit intake by decreasing your dry fruits.

 To cleanse your body of poisons a vegetable diet combined with distilled water causes all diseases and impurities to be expelled outwards and downwards. Some tea acts like a poison in our body if not prepared correctly. Same with coffee if not pale roasted when prepared. The nervous system becomes more sensitive when first starting a vegetarian and fruitarian diet. Some people experience increased nervousness and irritability when first changing their diet. Your body has become more alert and reacts quicker to poisons stored. The body has a tendency to store poisons and impurities. The fresh vegetables and fruit are cleansing your body of all stored impurities and poisons.

 Fruit should always be eaten at the beginning of each meal. When your diet consists of cooked and uncooked food, the uncooked foods should be eaten first. If your meal consists of two courses a sweet and a savory dish, sufferers from indigestion should eat the sweet course first.

 Growing up fresh fruits and vegetable was part of our daily diet. Each morning we had fresh fruit on the table to eat before breakfast. During the day my Mother and Grandmother stored in the house a verity of fresh fruits for us. We were encouraged to eat a carrot, apple, grapes, watermelon, peaches, apricots, and any other fruit in season before ever eating candy and cakes. For a healthier life change your diet some and include fresh fruit three times a day. If fruit is out of season drink one glass of pure lemon juice three times a day. This is not only good for your blood, insulin level, teeth, and cleaning your body of stored poisons. 

 After years of following the advice of my Grandmother’s I can see now why they lived so long. They understood what fresh vegetables and fruit can do for their body and health. That was why they were never sick and complained all the time of body aches and pains. Follow these simple rules here for a healthier life. In consuming these fruits and vegetable each day my Grandmothers’ never suffered from tooth aches and each one died with a full mouth of teeth.