Fruit Nutritional Facts And Fruit Therapy Benefits

There’s a popular saying that goes, “You are what you eat.” This is so true in our modern lifestyles, where we’re forced to eat unhealthy, processed foods laced with sugar, preservatives, unhealthy fats and oils. It’s no wonder, then, that we have become more prone to lifestyle related diseases like obesity, stress, digestive problems, and many others. In fact, many naturopaths believe that all diseases can be cured through a healthy diet. Fruit therapy is just one of them: an opportunity for the body’s digestive and assimilative processes to take a break and the body to detoxify itself. Further, fresh fruits have many beneficial qualities, which fruit therapy can address.

Enzymatic Therapy With Healthy Fruits

Fruit therapy is practiced in many cultures, but south Asian naturopaths often claim credit for its origin. It can take many different forms: from a fruit-diet to supplementing your diet with raw fruit juices. One of the diets includes eating cooked and raw food in a 75 to 25 ratio. Before you embark on a fruit therapy diet, be sure to consult a trained naturopath, as these diets can often be difficult to sustain. It’s also important to slowly ease yourself into a fruit-only diet, as the body is accustomed to eating cooked foods.

Different fruits have different curative properties, and can be used to provide relief from your ailments. Fruits are full of pure water, healthy sugars, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fibres.

For instance, Papaya, orange, lemon and pomegranates help decrease high blood pressure. Papaya can be consumed every morning, while oranges and lemons can be had as freshly squeezed juices. Similarly, apples, carrots, watermelons and lime are very good in preventing skin diseases.

Lemon, which is rich in vitamin C, is also useful for those who suffer from asthma and can help bring down a fever. Carrot and pomegranate can also help fight asthma. Carrot is one of the main fruits in controlling jaundice and diarrhoea. While not a fruit, bitter gourd, even in its juice form, is very effective in controlling diabetes.

A fruit-only diet will help your body rid itself of the toxins it has collected, and help your body revitalise. You can observe this diet once a week, or once a month, or for longer periods of time, like a week or a month. Before you embark on such a diet, though, be sure to consult a doctor and naturopath to see if it’s right for you.

When undergoing fruit therapy, remember that all fruits should be fresh, and not over-ripe. All juices must be freshly squeezed. Fruit juices, especially those with citrus in them, tend to oxidize very fast. Also, if you’re buying your fruits from a market, remember to soak them in lukewarm water for a while, or wash with a scent free soap, as the skins of many fruits these days are laced with harmful pesticides.

Submitted on January 16, 2014