Frutarian: The Vegan Life for Advanced Users

Being vegan is nothing special anymore, especially in big cities. If you want to go one step further, you become a fruitarian. In this article, we will explain what this is all about.

The diet of the fruitarians

As the name suggests, fruitarians are people who eat only fruit.

• How strictly the diet is followed depends heavily on the personal beliefs of the person.
• For example, some only eat the fruit that would naturally fall off a plant, so they wouldn’t damage it.
  Others take the word “fruit” in a botanical sense to include beans.
• Another group of fruitarians eat only raw, high-sugar fruits and even exclude foods that are strictly vegetables, such as tomatoes and avocados.
• The reason for fruitarianism is often ideological or religious. For example, followers of Jainism want to avoid harming other living beings as much as possible. Since harvesting rice, for example, would irrevocably kill the plant, avoid eating such foods.
• Some Fruitarians wish to return to a pre-agricultural time when humans collected their food.

Fruitarians often expect health benefits from this diet.

Fruitarianism is an extreme form of veganism. Therefore, neither meat nor fish or other animal products is consumed. However, a vegan consumes grains, nuts, seeds, soy products, and other plant-based foods in addition to fruits.

That’s how healthy fruitarianism is

Although many fruitarians eat this way because they believe they are doing something good for their bodies, the science here thinks differently.

• For example, the majority of national nutrition institutes warn against eating like this in the long term as an adult. Children, adolescents, and pregnant women or those who are ill should refrain from doing so altogether.
• Although a fruity diet is extremely high in vitamins and fiber, in the long run, it would lead to serious deficiency symptoms.
• For example, fruitarians generally consume far too little calcium and zinc, since these are hardly found in fruit. This could be offset if the chosen form of fruitarianism also includes nuts and seeds.
• Also, it’s impossible to get your daily iron and protein requirements from fruit alone without consuming copious amounts of fruit. This would in turn trigger weight gain as you would need to consume large amounts of calories.
• Important fatty acids are also not found in fruit, nor is the essential vitamin B12.
• As a fruitarian, you would consume large amounts of fructose. This can lead to disturbed blood sugar and pancreatic levels and even trigger diabetes.
• Especially in countries in the northern hemisphere, the selection of fruits is very small, especially in winter.
  Therefore, while it may work or seem good for your body for a short period of time, don’t stick to a fruit-only diet for the long term.
• If you decide to do this, however, it is essential that you regularly test your blood values, monitor your weight, and consult your doctor.