About the Fruit Diet

The fruit diet is basically a type of fast-cleanse diet where you eat nothing but fruit and perhaps nuts. It is also a 14-day weight loss plan inspired by the book "The Fruit Diet" by Jay Robb where you are encouraged to eat all the fruit you want and should lose 14 pounds in 14 days. The fruit diet has its roots in fasting diets and veganism and is now being used for crash diets.

Misconceptions

You would think that an all fruit diet would be healthy, but long-term use of such a plan could lead to serious health problems due to vitamin deficiency.

Risk Factors

Health problems that could occur from long term use of the fruit diet include Vitamin B12 deficiency, abdominal/intestinal disorders, chronic alcoholism, Crohn's disease, pernicious anemia, diabetic or hypoglycemic symptoms, and an eating disorder called orthorexia nervosa.

Benefits

The fruit diet allows a safer way to conduct a religious fast as it does not shut down the digestive system and cause as bad a rebound period after the fast is over. At the same time it does deny the body from the pleasures of eating normally and helps the person maintain a clear mind so that they can pray.

For the purpose of dieting, the fruit fast would have to work to some degree or it would not be so popular.

Surprisingly, a fruit diet is lower in calories than juice fasting, hence resulting in a deeper detoxification

The fruit diet is also believed to clear the body of toxins without doing a complete fast.

Effects

Besides short term weight loss and a slightly easier way of fasting, the fruit diet has mostly negative effects. In doing the fruit fast, you will experience extreme hunger. Your body will also react by foul breath, a coated tongue and physical weakness. This is said to be due to the body releasing toxins.

History of

The fruit diet is a reincarnation of Fruitarianism, a form of veganism that limits the diet to ripe fruits from trees and plants. This diet was more out of principle than for physical reasons. Fruitarians only ate foods that could be harvested without destroying plants.

Invented

You can't exactly call this diet plan an invention, but author and fitness expert Jay Robb wrote the book the FRUIT FLUSH 3-Day Detox, The FRUIT FLUSH Extreme 7-Day Detox, The Fat Burning Diet Made Easy, 25 Fitness Secrets, Be Still--Be Slim, Be Still, and The Shake Down Diet. He has also written The Fruit Diet, which is about a 14 day fruit diet where he promises you will Lose up to 14 pounds in 14 days by eating all the fruit you want. The diet is accompanied by a workout program, and an online support though a website that also sells protein shakes.