Fruit Therapy:- The Why, When & How

I find it quite embarrassing to meet people over lunch or dinner during the period when I am on fruit diet. First I will have to explain why I can’t take any cooked food, not even a single idli and it is a lengthy explanation. Usually there are several questions on the method and the reasons, its efficacy and a host of other stuff. While questions can be easily answered, it becomes difficult not to feel embarrassed when the hosts or the guests want to enjoy the sumptuous meal spread on the table whereas all I consume is a fruit or a glass of fruit juice. And then there are those who want to know why, when and How? This article is for those enthusiasts.

Why:

We all tend to accumulate toxins in our body. Through the polluted air we breathe, the food we eat laced with deadly pesticides, the stressful work, irregular food habits, junk food, smoking and alcohol etc.. Over a period of time the accumulated toxins start affecting us, physically as well as mentally. So there is a need to detoxify the body from time to time. Having fruits as the sole diet helps remove the toxins.

I have been following this method for the last one decade, once in a year at least. I have perfected the system over the years to suit my 8 to 8 office hours. I usually follow the regimen for 40 days though I haven’t been able to stick to the duration for the last 3 years except for this year.

Fruits are cleansers:

Fruits are natural cleansers. Each and every variety of fruit has a beneficial effect in normalizing all the body functions. Raw juices of fruits and vegetables are extremely rich in vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes and natural sugars. They supply needed elements for the body's own healing activity and cell regeneration, thereby speeding the detoxification process. The juices extracted from raw fruits and vegetables do not require lengthy process of digestion and almost all their vital nutrients are assimilated directly in the bloodstream.

When & How:

Once a week method:
Depending on your convenience choose a day in a week. As soon as you wake up, drink at least one liter of water. If you find it difficult to drink at one go, you can space it two to three times but all in a span of a couple of minutes. Water adds to the cleaning process and it is essential that the day begins with lot of water to ensure bowels get cleaned. After drinking water, pace up and down the room leisurely for about ten minutes and then start the morning ablutions. The water will greatly aid in free bowel movement. From then on eat one variety of fruit every two hours. There is no limit on the quantity of fruits you eat at a time. But don’t mix fruits as you will not get signals from the stomach on when to stop. Drink generous quantities of water in between the fruit diet. Continue eating fruits / fruit juices till your bed time. Your body gets detoxified every week.
Do not add salt / sugar to any of the fruits/ juices.
Please consult your doctor before you start the fruit diet if you are suffering from ailment(s).
One week every month / quarter method:
The method is the same as once a week method. The only difference is a couple of days prior to the start of the fruit diet week, ensure your daily diet consists of 50% of fruits so as to acclimatize your system to fruit diet. Similarly don’t stop fruits abruptly and start cooked food right away at the end of the week. On the 8th day have 50% cooked food ( avoid spicy foods and meat ) and on 9th day make the cooked food two-thirds of your diet. If you are an office goer, sprouts in the morning will help you a lot. You will not feel the hunger pangs immediately as you start work in the office. Six to eight tea spoonfuls of green gram, 10 number ground nuts, 10 chena / Rajma soaked in water for 12 hours and in a wet hand kerchief hung in the shade for another 12 hours will make the seeds sprout. That will take care of the protein requirement of the body.
Do not add salt / sugar to any of the sprouts/ fruits/ juices.
Please consult your doctor before you start the fruit diet if you are suffering from ailment(s).
40 days once a year:
The method is same as the above- one week a month regimen. For those who want to lose weight along with detoxification of the body, this 40 day regimen will yield excellent results. The only word of caution is not to amend the diet program given here to suit individual tastes like avoiding sprouts or not taking veg juices such as carror + beetroot mixed juices.
My daily intake:
5 am: One liter of water.
6.00 am: one cup of water mixed with ½ lemon juice and a spoon of honey. Those who want to lose weight should add lemon juice and honey to warm water.
6.30 am: One glass ( 200 ml) of carrot and beetroot mixed juice.
7.00 am: one liter of water
8.00 am: Sprouts
From 11.00 am till bed time, I take fruits / fruit juices once every two hours.
Usually 30 minutes after taking fruits, you will feel hunger pangs. Actually they are not hunger pangs but thirst pangs. The body demands more water for cleansing purpose and people generally mistake these thirst pangs as hunger and eat fruits every 30 minutes. Finally it becomes so inconvenient to have fruits every 30 minutes, most people quickly abandon the regimen. To address these pangs, I drink a big glass of water every 30 minutes.
I prefer locally cultivated seasonal fruits that are not sprayed pesticides like Guava, chikoo, pineapple, papaya, water melon, musk melon, pomegranate, tender coconut water along with the tender coconut cream, etc. I avoid grapes, apples and other exotic imported fruit. Over the years, I have also observed that dark pigmented fruits like Chikoo, papaya, Water melon, musk melon, orange , pomegranate and carrot, beetroot are more beneficial in cleansing than custard apple, apple, banana, cucumber etc.. However, there is no bar in consuming apples , grapes or bananas.
On 41st day, I add a little cooked food to the diet like Idli / light oil-less snack. Salt and chilly powder has to be bare minimum. On the 42nd day, I take bread-jam / idli / upma as breakfast. On 43rd day along with breakfast curd rice for lunch and on 44th day regular meals. I do not take meat immediately after. Usually I wait for a week to add meat to my diet.

Dos:
1. At least two days before you start the regimen, acclimatize your system to fruits by ensuring fruits component in your diet steadily increases.
2. Water plays an equally important part. Drink a minimum of one litre first thing in the morning for free bowel movement and cleaning and lots of water very frequently till bed time.
3. Choose locally grown seasonal fruits over exotic imported fruits.
4. Eat as many fruits as you can and several times a day
5. when you eat, eat large quantities of fruits till you really feel full

6. If you are following the fruit therapy for long duration, sprouts and carrot + beetroot juice is a must to balance protein and vitamin requirements.
7. After the fruit diet duration is completed, add cooked food in small quantities increasing it every day.

Don’ts:
1. smoke or consume alcoholic beverages
2. consume any soft drinks in lieu of water
3. eat whenever you feel hungry without giving 2 hours gap.
4. eat grapes / apples in large quantities which have high pesticide residues
5. add salt / sugar in juices / fruits / vegetables

6. amend the regimen to suit your tastes like avoiding sprouts or eating regular food along with fruits

7. abruptly stop fruits and start eating cooked food.

You can feel the difference in you and others will notice the difference in you.