LET THE FIRST THING BE FRUIT.

Let the first thing be fruit…. Food combining principle #1

The word Fruit is derived from the Latin word Frui which means “to enjoy or delight in”. Which is so fitting, as even the richness of colour and scent that fruit provides to us, before even tasting it brings so much joy to our senses. When we consume fruit, it offers an abundance of nutritional properties to us; water, fibre, vitamin c, minerals enzymes and phytochemical’s, making it an incredible beauty food, healing to our gut and skin. In many cultures Fruit is even considered a highly spiritual and sacred food due to its richness, with many methodologies and religions offering fruit up to their gods as a symbol of their love and devotion to their practice.

However, Fruit remains one of the most misunderstood foods in our society to date. We tend to shy away from it due to our fear of its potential sugar content and how it might affect the shaping of our body. But the key to eating fruit and attaining all its beauty boosting properties and allowing it to shape our bodies in the best possible ways lays in the way and order, in which we eat it.

The secret to Fruits goodness lays in the order in which you eat it..

To eat fruit and attain all its goodness it needs to be eaten alone, at the start of your day on an empty stomach. I know this may not sound like groundbreaking information and it is one of the simplest steps of food combining, yet this information that remains overlooked in the health industry. I can assure you by making this lifestyle adjustment you will notice a profound difference to both how your body looks and feels quickly.

Fruit is the only food in the human diet that does not digest in the stomach. It quickly passes through the stomach and actually digests in the intestines, where it delivers all of its nutrients to us. It is so important not to disrupt this process in order for us to absorb all the nutrients on offer to us.

When we eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach, not with or following any other food, we are allowing fruit to pass through our digestive tract at its quick, effortless pace and to break down correctly in our intestines. The journey of fruit through the stomach becomes compromised if we eat it when there is already food sitting in our stomach, or if we eat fruit alongside other food- think oats topped with fruit, or fruit salad for dessert late at night. When this happens, fruit is being forced to stay in the stomach longer than it needs to be, causing it to ferment and putrefy. This ignites a ton of problems in our digestive tract that are both painful and energy zapping; this is why people so often complain of bloating and digestive issues after eating fruit, because all the rich nutrients of fruit are lost due to it being consumed with other foods.

This theory of consuming fruit alone in morning aligns with widely researched theories of our early ancestors. It has been found that fruit was a heavy staple in their diets. It is believed to be what they mostly consumed during the day due to its easy attainability, before venturing off to forage for their heavier dinner later in the afternoon. 

 Fruits role in the elimination cycle and weight loss.

From the hours of 04.00am – 12 midday our bodies are in their natural elimination cycle. Anything which is not serving the body needs to be removed. This is why, when we wake up in the morning, we find we need to visit the bathroom, we might also experience some body odour, or a coating on our tongue. This is our body naturally excreting toxins through different outlets. Enhancing this elimination cycle is a sure way to detoxifying and shedding any excess weight.

So, let’s say at the moment your routine revolves around waking up and eating breakfast at 7a.m; that breakfast may consist of toast, overnight oats, or maybe some eggs before you rush off to work or the gym. In doing this, you are eating right in the peak of your elimination cycle. Eating these heavier kinds of foods fires up the digestive tract which brings your elimination cycle to a complete stop. This is not a state of being I would recommend stopping when you are re-shaping your body!

To really utilize your elimination cycle, boost your energy levels as well as your digestion, I encourage you to try only consuming fruit up until Midday and see how your body responds. Because Fruit digests through the intestines, it requires virtually no energy from your body, so, it does not disrupt the elimination cycle, it actually cleanses the digestive tract, enhancing your digestion for the rest of the day and helps move any unwanted matter through the body. When I made this lifestyle switch after the first 2 days I had felt my energy levels significantly boost, my digestion was working with ease and my stomach felt leaner, as I was not experiencing bloating. Let me know how you go!

*Fruit is a water-soluble food, meaning while it should be eaten alone, it can pair with other water-soluble foods like leafy greens, as well as coconut and other superfoods, in order to create smoothies and breakfast bowls.