Many of us have come to believe that eating healthier means eating lots of fruits and vegetables. While fruits and vegetables are much better for you than refined foods like cookies and chips, my experiences and research have led me to believe that too much fruit can be harmful to your health.
A lot of the fruit that is grown today is much higher in sugar than they would be in a natural environment. Have you ever tasted a wild blueberry? How about a wild apple? On their own, they are delicious, but you may be surprised to discover that they aren't nearly as sweet as modern day varieties. Over thousands of years, humans have been able to make fruits larger and sweeter than their wild predecessors through hybridization.
But sugar from fruit is natural, so you should be able to eat as much as you want, right? This question is best asked of fruitarians - people who eat nothing but raw fruits. It is not uncommon for a strict fruitarian to eat five bananas and five dates for breakfast, one large canteloupe for lunch, and five large peaches for dinner.
Some fruitarians take a more balanced approach and eat lots of less sweet, seed-bearing fruits like tomatoes and zuchinni. They also eat plenty of greens like romaine lettuce.
Regardless of which approach is taken, I have not met a single strict fruitarian of more than two years who didn't have significant health challenges. The most common challenges are dental decay, osteoporosis, wasting of muscle tissue, inability to maintain a healthy weight, chronic fatigue, skin problems, thinning hair, weakening nails, and excessive irritability.
