Use Fruits to Heal & Break Sugar Addiction!
By Dr. Chris Clay, Certified Holistic Nutrition
When speaking with clients, or teaching students, many of them are shocked because I generally recommend eating 5-7 fruits per day. I’ve heard them say things like: “Five to Seven fruits? I can’t eat that many!”
Truth be told, eating 5-7 fruits is one of the easiest, and best things we can do to heal our bodies. I typically eat a couple of fruits in the morning; afternoon; and evenings. Sometimes, I eat them in lieu of breakfast; or between meals; or three or four fruits in my smoothie; or as my dinner dessert. Looking at it that way, you can see how easy and flexible it is to get that amount of fruit daily.
Others are concerned about the amount of sugar in five to seven fruits daily. The sugar in fruits are a combination of varying ratios of fructose, glucose, and to a lesser amount, sucrose. Fructose in raw fruits, breaks down in your liver and doesn’t provoke an insulin response. Glucose starts to break down in the stomach and requires the release of insulin into the bloodstream to be metabolized completely. However, because fruit also contains lots of fiber, which slows down your body’s digestion of glucose; you don’t get insulin spikes. The fruit fiber gives your body more time to use up glucose as fuel before storing it—as fat.
In addition, raw fruits’ sugar is bound with many, many other vital minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants, which naturally travel together within the body, coming into the cells, and working synergistically. Antioxidants mean life. Antioxidants are anti-cancer. Fruits contain 300 times more antioxidants than vegetables. Our body’s cells, organs, and all systems thrive on these blend of fruit nutrients and function their best when fed daily on them. That’s why fruits are so vital for health and wellness.
Are fruits really too sweet? When you really savor the taste of fruit, such as the tartness of a grape; the acidity of an orange; or the juiciness of an apple; you realize it’s not really that sweet.
Many people believe that if they spend money on expensive supplements, with fancy names and colorful packaging, that they are doing the best they can for their health. While there is nothing wrong with the right kinds of supplements, it is my belief that fruits are the foundation of the diet. At least, they should be. In fact, if I could only have one food, I would choose fruits.
Historically, we know what happened to sailors on long voyages who didn’t take fruit on board ships with them. They got scurvy, squalor, and wasting diseases. That’s why they started the practice of taking lemons with them. Their stories teach us that without fruit, we are in big trouble; because the vitamin C from fruits cleanses and detoxifies us. Deep reserves of Vitamin C are necessary to stop cancers, and chronic illnesses. Fruits are the highest source of anti-oxidants–which help slow and reverse the aging effect. Lack of fruit means fast oxidation, and a speeding up of the dying process. Every fruit is pro-longevity. Every fruit increases fertility. Every fruit builds and supports a child’s brain development.
Adequate fruit intake stops our brains from rotting and shriveling up. Adequate fruit intake helps prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The majority of our brains are composed of glycogen storage, which is a thick, gooey carbohydrate that conducts electricity. Natural glucose, from fruit (and sweet potatoes) helps to maintain healthy levels of glycogen storage. Adequate fruit intake also keeps our hips and knees from rotting and stops bodily breakdown at all levels. Adequate Fruit helps cleanse the liver and bring back liver health.
So, where are we today? Americans’ simply do not eat enough fruits. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), just 12% of Americans eat the CDC’s minimum daily amount of just 2 cups of fruit daily.
So, why don’t we eat enough fruit? In many communities–particularly those in lower income areas, residents do not have ready access to fresh produce. In addition, large food manufacturers heavily market and advertise their unhealthy, addictive, sugary products on television and radio; accompanied by cool songs; heart-warming scenes; and famous actors, athletes, and comedians. To complete the psychological addiction trap, sugary processed foods are readily available everywhere we go, and in everything we view. It is an accepted and expected part of our society. Even our dear grandmothers and aunties won’t let us leave their home without eating some peach cobbler, homemade pound cake; or apple pie, loaded with—you guessed it—processed sugar! Without a concerted effort to be free of this dietary bondage, everyone is at risk for sugar addiction.
Many experts believe refined sugar is as addictive as a drug. When we eat processed sugar, our blood levels spike, and dopamine is released into the brain. This dopamine release tells the brain that whatever it just experienced is worth getting more of. As a result, the person changes his/her behavior in ways that will help them attain more of the rewarding item or experience—creating addition. At the same time the sugar-laden blood sugar levels spike, the pancreas releases mass insulin. This high insulin dump, causes immediate fat storage; and a steep drop in blood sugar levels. Then the body craves the lost sugar “high,” and the cycle starts all over again. Perhaps this is why the average adult eats over 150 pounds of processed sugar per year!
I believe that our very taste buds can become perverted for the taste of process sugar—making it difficult to casually start eating fruits in lieu of the unhealthy sweets. When we don’t eat fruits, we are driven to eat other kinds of sweets, including processed sugar, and processed foods, because our bodies crave natural glucose.
So what can we do to break the processed sugar addiction?
- Eliminate Processed Foods in our home;
- Drink plenty of water;
- Take healthy snacks when you run errands;
- Exercise regularly;
- Eat 5-7 fruits daily; and,
- Eat dark, leafy greens regularly.
Some of my favorite fruits are: Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Berries, Wild Blueberries, Avocados, Lemons, Figs, Dates, Pears, Tomatoes, Mangos, Pineapples, Cherries, Watermelons, Cucumbers, and Papayas. One of the best ways to eat fruits is to combine two fruits with a raw green vegetable, such as: 1) apples, dates & celery; or 2) bananas, oranges and romaine lettuce; or 3) spinach, cherries, and mangos. The natural mineral salts are a great balancer of the fruit sugars. Best not to combine fruits with proteins–especially melons, which should be eaten alone, preferably on an empty stomach.
