Speaking of the value of fruit, Dr Tibbles, in his “Food and Hygiene,” p. 174, says:
“The value and importance of fresh fruit, especially to dwellers in towns, cannot be too freely written about.... The organic salts in fruit arouse the appetite, and aid digestion, by increasing the flow of saliva, and, indirectly, of the gastric juice; they are stimulants and sialagogues. As the fruit reaches the intestines, the acids increase the activity of the chyme, and stimulate the secretions of the liver and the pancreas, the intestinal glands and muscles; their influence upon the blood is marked: they render it less alkaline, but never acid. By combining with a portion of the alkaline salts of the serum, the phosphoric acid increases the phosphates in the red blood cells; they are anti-scorbutic and of value in anæmia, general debility, and convalescence from acute illness. Fruits containing oxalates, as tomatoes, gooseberries and strawberries, are useful in amenorrhœa and for persons subject to bronchitis and asthma; such as contain salicylic acid—as strawberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries, and oranges—are a valuable addition to the dietary of rheumatic persons. The final stage in the digestion of fruit is the conversion of fruit acids and salts into alkaline salts, chiefly carbonates; they are therefore useful in scurvy, rheumatism, gout, and other diseases of the uric acid diathesis; they increase the secretion of the urine and its alkalinity—indeed they are one of the most certain agents to render it alkaline, to stimulate the kidneys, and indirectly the skin, and thereby increase the total excretion of salts and other materials. Briefly, fresh fruit is cooling, refreshing, and tends to correct constipation.”
Only recently, at the Congress of Surgery, Paris, 1909, Dr Victor Pauchet, surgeon of the American Hospital, stated—when indicating what in his opinion were the ideal bodily conditions for the successful performance of an operation—that it was necessary for the subject to have the colon and rectum empty; the bowels free from gas; the liver and kidneys washed with pure water in proper quantities, etc., and then went on to say:
“ ... It is necessary to give foods, which, besides being devoid of toxins, should at the same time be a bad culture-medium for intestinal germs. These conditions are fulfilled by a vegetable or especially a fruit régime. Fruit juice is a purer water than that of the best spring. Glucose is the best assimilated food. It is the sustaining, diuretic and nontoxic food. Fruits should be taken fresh, ripe and of good quality. If unavailable, cooked dry fruits with a little sugar.”[37]
The general advantages of fruit as food—instead of the usual cooked diet—have been so far enumerated, and are so numerous, that it would seem almost unnecessary to dwell upon the advantages of each fruit in turn. The whole system being so much superior, this detailed defence would seem unnecessary. Nevertheless, in order to show the great superiority of this diet, it may be well to enumerate some of the beneficial effects of each fruit in turn, and point out, briefly, some of their many excellent qualities. Let us see what these are.
Apples have been called the “king of fruits.” They contain an abundance of potash, soda and magnesia, also phosphorus, and for this reason have been considered especially valuable for nerve and brain food. The natural acid of the apple is excellent for the teeth and gums; also for the stomach and intestines. It seems to possess a great antiseptic and germicidal quality. They do not increase the acidity in the stomach, but, on the contrary, decrease it. They possess fine tonic properties, and are a valuable food, at the same time. Apples are naturally laxative, and the proportions of their composition are more clearly adjusted to the human constitution than any other single fruit. It is almost possible to live upon apples alone, and an exclusive apple dietary might be tried for some time during every summer, at least. In the form of cider they supply us with almost the only wholesome article of drink, besides water, that can be found.
The banana is a very heavy food, and must be eaten with discretion. It has been called the “bread of the tropics,” and this fact must be borne in mind when they are being consumed in large quantities. One must be sure that the banana is sound and thoroughly ripe when eaten—so soft, almost, as to be taken with a spoon. The skin should be almost black, and this should be peeled back, and the outside of the fruit scraped with a knife, cleaning it of the soft, pulpy covering about a sixteenth of an inch thick all round the fruit, which is highly indigestible. Bananas do not agree with many persons, and when this is found to be the case they should be avoided; but when they have been treated in the manner indicated, it will be found that many persons can eat them, when formerly this was impossible. Bananas should be very thoroughly masticated, and possibly mashed up with a fork before they are eaten. They combine well with but few foods, and generally should be eaten alone. Under such conditions, bananas will be found a highly nourishing and valuable food.
Pears, quinces, plums, damsons, peaches, apricots, cherries and grapes, all contain a fairly high percentage of carbohydrates, and a high percentage of valuable food-salts. As is well known, it is possible to live upon grapes alone for several weeks at a time, as has been abundantly proved at the various resorts where the “grape cure” is taken. At such places, several pounds of grapes are eaten daily, and in phthisis and other wasting diseases this cure has been attended with some remarkable results. Sweet grapes are exceedingly valuable as a food: they contain a large percentage of water in the purest form; they also contain glucose, or grape-sugar, in a condition in which it is readily assimilated into the circulation. Instead of eating great quantities of starch, therefore, which requires much effort for proper conversion into this same grape juice within the body, why not eat the grapes themselves—thereby obtaining this material in its original and purest form? In chronic bronchitis, heart disease, gastric and intestinal atony, and frequently in Bright’s disease, grapes are very beneficial.