Fruitarian for a week challenge
Created April 10, 2012 at 12:35 PM
My father and I, are interested in eating just raw fruit and greens for a week, in the summer here when stone fruit, berries, bananas, figs are in season. Just for kicks/for the sake of it. Usually we eat meat, veg, fruit, cooconut and olive oil, while he also eats wheat and some dairy.
What effects do you think a week of fruit can/will have? Are these likely to be permanent or temporary? Any effect to gut flora? Anything else? (I know there are more potential effects but can't think of them now...) We are not trying to lose weight or anything, both quite lean around the 70-75kg mark, although he has some 'stubborn fat' around the middle.
Any ideas?
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8 Answers
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I spent two months as a fructarian about 4ish years ago. It was way better for me than the 7 years before that when I was a "doin' it right"-vegetarian (I'm actually am allergic to grains, and ruined myself on veg*n diet).
I think you can be a strict, technical-fructarian and not eat "greens", yet get a lot of colloquial "vegetables". And, they are usually high in fats. Remember: avocados are fruits. So are olives -- i.e. dress everything in olive oil! Tomatoes are fruits, too.
Apricots, figs, raisins, currants, and prunes tend to have the most protein by % of all fruits.
Good luck with this. Just stop after a while. :-)
Aye - no reason for a down vote.
all squash (zucchini, butternut, etc) are fruits too
I'd love a comment from the person that downvoted this. Pretty sure I didn't say anything offensive, and related my experience of being a fructarian.
I'd imagine you would lose weight, as it would be hard to consume as many calories as you would in your usual diet.
I'd also expect you to be a lot more hungry than you are at the moment, once you adapt to solely burning carbs for fuel.
I doubt the effects will be permanent, thought it might take a bit of time to stop craving carbs once you add back in fat and protein.
hmm good point re the carb carvings afterward, that is a potential drawback.
For 1 week? I'd be surprised if you lost any muscle, if you do it will be measured in grams. If you are worried don't do any resistance training during that time. Take it easy.
I suspect you'll loose some fat, I also suspect you'll be having some Bono like bowel-movements. I can't see you'll be hungry a lot. I went on a 30 day binge of fruit and yams while still eating meat and eggs. I lost a lot of weight and was very satiated. Towards the end of the experiment I went a bit bonkers. I thought this might be sustainable and tried 30 days of a high fruit Peatatarian diet. That was 30 days of hell.
I suspect 80/10/10 is right and a high-fruit diet with much fat will screw you up big-time.
I know some people (including me) have reactions to fructose/FODMAP foods. So for me, it would be delicious but painful.
All that sugar, even if it is natural, may have an impact on you that you hadn't hoped for--but for a week, you can just see how it goes and take it from there.
If I could tolerate it, I would enjoy it-summer fruits are the best, aren't they?
I don't think a week will have any long term consequences but staying on a fruitarian diet for any substantial length of time can have horrific effects... here is another thread about this on Paleo Hacks that details several very negative experiences on this type of diet.
http://paleohacks.com/questions/7562/your-thoughts-on-the-30-bananas-a-day-site#axzz1rYlg6Bjy
Anecdotal: my 6'4" husband occasionally does "fruit fasts" when his allergies are really bad or he feels like he's been making poor food choices. He favors plums and bananas and will eat them exclusively for a day or two, and it makes him feel cleared out.
You wont do any permanent damage. You will experience wild swings in blood sugar and a bit of an insulin roller coaster from increased sugar.
As Suz said, be prepared to be very hungry.
**Updated for accuracy
Yes, you are right. My mistake. Fructose causes less of an immediate insulin secretion than glucose, but it increases ghrelin which causes hunger. Michael, you're absolutely right that fructose contributes instead to long-term insulin resistance. Sorry for the misinformation.
I thought fructose induces insulin resisntace over time, but doesn't raise insulin, instead going straight to the liver?
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Josh_M
(11121)
on April 11, 2012
at 03:05 PM
Aye - no reason for a down vote.
Jenny_9
(11577)
on April 10, 2012
at 11:50 PM
Just a tip: be ready to be close to the bathroom, especially at first. When I was staying with my mom's foster parents in Hawaii I went crazy and only ate fresh fruit while we were there, as did my mother. Between the two of us we went through LOTS of toilet paper. Be prepared.
legup
(1002)
on April 10, 2012
at 07:05 PM
all squash (zucchini, butternut, etc) are fruits too
mzrdnan
(1489)
on April 10, 2012
at 03:18 PM
i could honestly live off fruit and nuts...wish they loved me as much as I loved them. you're so lucky to be so fit to just enjoy bananas and figs and berries for a week :D YUMMERS!
greymouser
(19150)
on April 10, 2012
at 03:05 PM
I'd love a comment from the person that downvoted this. Pretty sure I didn't say anything offensive, and related my experience of being a fructarian.
Sam_7
(1304)
on April 10, 2012
at 02:20 PM
Yes, you are right. My mistake. Fructose causes less of an immediate insulin secretion than glucose, but it increases ghrelin which causes hunger. Michael, you're absolutely right that fructose contributes instead to long-term insulin resistance. Sorry for the misinformation.
Michael_17
(2934)
on April 10, 2012
at 01:27 PM
hmm good point re the carb carvings afterward, that is a potential drawback.
Michael_17
(2934)
on April 10, 2012
at 01:25 PM
Yeah Matt, just thought it would be interesting. I am currently eating one meal a day (at night), with a piece a fruit or two during the early evening. Will probably keep it up for a week r so (it's been a week). Just seeing what works, what doesn't, having fun really...
Michael_17
(2934)
on April 10, 2012
at 01:22 PM
I thought fructose induces insulin resisntace over time, but doesn't raise insulin, instead going straight to the liver?
Carl_Stawicki
(13635)
on April 10, 2012
at 01:11 PM
Personally, I would get a gout flareup with that much fruit.
Matt_11
(41747)
on April 10, 2012
at 12:52 PM
Paleo minus meat is still paleo. Nice for a change of pace perhaps?