It has been over five years at this point since I abandoned the standard junk food American diet and transitioned into a new lifestyle based on the consumption of nutritious whole foods. In this time, I have experimented with countless different diet approaches and have studied the impact that they have had on my skin and overall health. Like many other people who have lived this lifestyle of seeking optimal health, I eventually crossed paths with the vegan diet and subsets of the diet such as fruitarianism. This post will serve as a report of my take on the fruitarian diet and what purpose it may serve in terms of natural healing?
Can a fruitarian diet heal psoriasis? Although there is no denying that a fruitarian approach has provided many people with skin healing results, it may not be the best long term solution in regards to fulfilling all of our nutritional needs as humans. Using a fruitarian diet as a healing tool can certainly prove to be an effective practice, just make sure that you have a plan in place for how you are going to eventually transition into a more sustainable dietary approach.
What is a fruitarian diet?
If you are not familiar with a fruitarian diet, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is a diet that consists of eating only or mostly fruit. Some people who identify as fruitarian may get a small portion of their calories from other foods such as nuts, seeds, vegetables, or other plant based foods. But for the most part, the diet is largely based on the consumption of raw fresh fruit.
Although there are a number of raw vegans who attempt to adhere to a long term fruit based lifestyle, the fruitarian diet is largely viewed as a sort of detoxification diet that can be used to naturally treat a number of gut related issues. There is very little scientific research surrounding the diet but their is a good amount of anecdotal evidence that corroborates its efficacy as a short term healing diet.
Why it works for some people
There are a few reasons why people may achieve healing success while following a fruitarian style diet. The first reason I want to touch on is the fact that it is especially restrictive in nature and prohibits the consumption of all of the foods that are typically associated with poor gut health.
Although the foods that you add into your diet are ultimately every bit as important as the foods that you eliminate, taking a restrictive dietary approach that focuses on the consumption of one specific food group and cuts out everything else is a great way to 1. Simplify digestive labor and 2. Ensure that you are not eating any foods that may disturb the healing process.
The next reason that the fruitarian diet can be a useful healing tool for many people is that fruit is generally a very nutritious food source. It is not enough just to eliminate a bunch of bad foods from your diet. In order to heal, you must also ensure that the food that you are consuming is going to nourish your body and induce the healing process. Fruits are a fairly nutrient dense food source that are presented in an easily assimilable package. They are not only packed with micronutrients and dietary fiber but are also a good source of carbohydrates to fuel your body.
The last reason I have for this section is that fruit is extremely easy to digest, which will take a lot of stress off of your digestive system and allow your body some extra time to “clean house” and engage its detoxifying mechanisms. Although this is the last reason I have listed, it may be the most important. Considering that fruit is so easy to digest, eating a diet that consists of strictly fruit will have a sort of fasting effect on your body.
If you are familiar with the topic of natural healing, you are probably aware of the positive impacts that fasting has proven to have on the human body. In my opinion, a fruitarian diet is basically just a sort of fast that can be used to cleanse and detoxify the body. This then brings in the question of whether or not such a restrictive diet is a sustainable solution.
Is it sustainable?
If you’re asking for my opinion, I would say absolutely not. Like I’ve said, I believe that a fruitarian diet can be a great short term solution for people who are trying to heal their gut. But the fact of the matter is, a diet such as this one simply does not contain enough nutritional value to fuel a human being for an extended period of ti me.
Although I would not argue against the nutritional value of fruit, it definitely does not contain all of the nutrients that we need in order to thrive. By eating a diet that heavily relies on fruit, you will be missing out on several nutrients such as essential fats, fat soluble vitamins, and you will definitely have a hard time getting enough protein. While you can certainly find a long line of vegans willing to argue against the nutritional deficiencies that may result from a vegan or fruitarian diet, I challenge you to find a person in the real world who has been fruitarian for 20+ years and is still thriving.
At the end of the day, people really just need to listen to their own body and do and eat whatever makes them feel good. If you think you can make a fruitarian diet work long term, then go ahead and give it your best shot. I am only speaking from my own experience with my own diet and working with others in an attempt to optimize their diet. I don’t wish to discourage anyone from trying a fruitarian style diet. I would just strongly recommend that you pay close attention to your body and have the awareness to recognize when it is time to stop and start reintroducing other nutritious whole foods in order to round out your diet.
Considering the fact that I don’t find a fruit based diet to be an especially sustainable solution, I tend to recommend that most people consider following more of a fat based healing diet based on animal and vegetable consumption. With that said, every person is different and there are some people who may greatly benefit from a short term fruitarian approach. No mater what healing approach you are considering, my free natural skin healing protocol has a plan for you and can serve as a great point of reference as you learn to build and execute your perfect natural healing plan. Click here for the free download.
My experience
As I mentioned to start this post, I have spent years experimenting with several different diet approaches and studying the effect that they have had on my skin and my overall health. I have used both a plant based diet and a fat (animal) based healing diet as natural healing tools and have had great success on both plans. The difference is, the fat based plan that focuses on animal product consumption has proven to be sustainable for me while the vegan approach did not.
I actually healed the last psoriasis breakout I ever had with a plant based fruit focused diet. My approach was this: I started out with a short water fast, then a short juice fast, then a couple weeks strictly fruitarian, and then I began slowly introducing other foods ultimately building what I thought would be a sustainable plant based diet. I felt great for the first 6 months or so on a plant based diet. My skin was clear, my energy was high, and I just felt good.
As time went on, these positive effects began to fade and I quickly stared to feel weak, tired, and malnourished. I then continued on my plant based diet for a couple more months desperately trying to regain my well-being. Eventually I came to realize that the sustainable health that I yearned for was not going to be found within the confines of a plant based diet.
I then started to incorporate some meat and fish and transitioned into more of a high fat low carb way of eating. It didn’t take long for me to regain my strength and energy and start to feel well again. I have been eating this way for some time now and I feel that my health is in the best place it has ever been. I feel that I am eating the diet that I am meant to be eating. One that contains all of the nutritional I value necessary for fueling the human body.
To conclude this post, let me just reiterate just how important it is to understand the difference between a healing diet and a sustainable nourishing diet. Although deep cleansing restrictive diets such as fruitarianism can work great for some people in the short term, be sure to honestly asses your own health and recognize when it may be time to move on and transition into something that you can turn into a lifestyle.
