vegan in suburbia

The American Diabetes Association says, “Therefore, the use of added fructose as a sweetening agent is not recommended; however, there is no reason to recommend that people with diabetes avoid naturally occurring fructose in fruits, vegetables, and other

Fat, Not Fruit, Causes Problems

The raw-food movement is renowned for its use of great quantities of nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, flax and olive oil, coconuts, and other high-fat foods. On a high-fat diet, whether cooked or raw, people experience nutritional defi- ciencies, plummeting energy, hormone imbalances, intense cravings, and mood swings  everything goes haywire, not the least of which is blood sugar.

Sugar’s  Journey Through the Body

To be used as fuel for our cells, the sugars we eat travel a three-stage journey through our
• Stage  Sugars start out in the digestive tract when we eat them.
• Stage  They pass through the intestinal wall, into the bloodstream.
• Stage 3: They then move smoothly and easily out of the bloodstream
and into our cells. This occurs rapidly, often in minutes.

When we eat a high-fat diet, the sugar gets trapped in stage 2, and the body works overtime, sometimes to the point of exhaustion and disease, in an effort to move the sugar out of the  Meanwhile, the sugar backs up in the blood, creating sustained, elevated blood sugar that wreaks havoc on the body in the form of Candida, fatigue, diabetes, etc.

Unfortunately, our ability to digest nuts and raw, dehydrated, or  rather poor. Ranging from about to 90% fat, nuts and seeds are best eaten infrequently and in very small amounts. Even then, their breakdown into fatty acids, amino acids, and glucose requires a drawn-out process that takes hours. Fats may lie in the small intestine for several hours before the gallbladder secretes bile with which to emulsify (break down and liquefy) them.

In contrast, high-fat fruits like avocados,  akees, breadfruit, and olives are rich in easily digestible fats (when ripe). These fruits range in fat content from 30% of calories (durian) to 77% (avocado). Coconut meat, also high in fat (ranging perhaps 20 to 80%, depending on maturity), is easily digested in the jelly-like state but almost impossible to digest when matured and hardened.

Leafy greens and other vegetables, when eaten raw and fresh, contain a small amount of fatty acids in an easily usable state. However, some (primarily the cruciferous vegetables) contain unwanted toxic sulfur compounds. We derive our best predigested fats adequate to meet our fatty- acid needs from fruits and tender leaves.