Third. While all these elements are supplied, we do not ingest into the system at the same time injurious toxic substances as we do in the case of meats; or enormous quantities of fibrous, indigestible elements, as we do in the case of vegetables; or innutritious and constipating substances, as we do in all starchy foods. In addition to this, condiments and spices are not called for, and in fact cannot well be eaten with such foods. The oils and fats furnished by this diet are also pure, and are free from all the objections that can be raised to these same substances when derived from the animal kingdom.
As a further argument, it will be found that less food in quantity is eaten and called for upon this diet, and that the system is in less danger of becoming surfeited, blocked and choked with an excess of food-matter. Fruits are also easily digestible, and act as a stimulant upon the various internal organs, and as a mild aperient. They also contain the minimum amount of earthy matter, which various authors have contended is the chief cause of obstruction, induration, ossification, premature old age and natural death.
It will thus be seen that there are many advantages, and no disadvantages, to this diet. Since it contains all the elements which the system requires in a purer and better form, and can be assimilated with less energy; and since, moreover, it does not engender any of the diseased states or conditions which result from an ordinary diet, it will be seen that this system presents many advantages over any other so far presented—or, in fact, any other that can be formulated. In addition to this, and one very strong argument in favour of the fruitarian diet, is the fact that a certain vital energy—too subtle to be analysed by the chemist, and which will only be recognised by science when it becomes less materialistic—is imparted, upon a raw fruitarian diet, which is invariably lost whenever food of any kind is cooked. Dr Graham, in his “Science of Human Life,” was probably the first to call attention to this fact. He said:
“It may be laid down as a general law that all processes of cooking, or artificial preparation of foods by fire, are, in themselves, considered with reference to the very highest and best condition of human nature, in some degree detrimental to the physiological and psychological interests of man.”
He insists, further, that if man lived upon uncooked foods, he would have to use his teeth, and would therefore preserve them; he would masticate his food more thoroughly, and by thorough insalivation fit it for the stomach; he would swallow it slowly, instead of bolting it down in a crude condition; he would take it at a proper temperature, and not weaken the stomach with hot food; he would eat the food as nature prepares it, not served in the form of a highly concentrated aliment; he would partake of the simple, individual food substances, and would not suffer from all manner of injurious combinations; and finally, he would be less likely to suffer from over-eating than he would if he lived upon soft, cooked foods. There can be no question that the thorough mastication of nuts, which is rendered necessary by their nature, is one of the best means possible of preserving and strengthening both the teeth and the gums.
Dr Gustave Schlickeysen, in his “Fruit and Bread,” has adduced very strong arguments in favour of an uncooked fruitarian diet. Writing of the advantages of such a diet, he says:
“Of all the artificial forms of treatment to which foods are subjected, that of cooking is the most universal and therefore demands our special attention. If we rightly consider the influence of this process upon all the natural properties of a plant, we must perceive that it is, in almost every case, injurious, and that it must be dispensed with, so far as our present habits of life will admit of, with a view of its final and complete disuse. The natural fluids of the plant are in great part lost in cooking, and with them the natural aroma so agreeable to the senses and so stimulating to the appetite. The water supplied artificially does not possess the same properties as that which has been lost, and all the less so since it has been boiled. The cellular tissue of the plant loses also its vitality, and ripe, uncooked fruits and grains with their unbroken cellular tissue, their stimulating properties, their great content of water, sugar and acids, and their electrical vitality are calculated to supply to the human body a rosy freshness; to the skin a beautiful transparence, and to the whole muscular system the highest vigour and elasticity. Uncooked fruits especially excite the mind to its highest activity. After eating them we experience an inclination to vigorous exercise, and also an increase of capacity for study and all mental work—while cooked food causes a feeling of satiety and sluggishness. Not only do plants lose their vital, but to some extent also their nutritive properties when cooked. The vegetable acids and oils, the latter being of especial value in the development of the bony structure of the body, are, by cooking, dissipated; while the albuminoids are coagulated, and thereby less easily digested, so that the nutritive value of the food is reduced to a minimum. Another injury that results from cooked food is that caused by artificial heat. All heat excites, through expansion, an increased activity, but this activity is not normal in the case of food eaten hot.
“Again, the sensory nerves of the lips and the nerves of taste are weakened by hot food to such an extent that they no longer serve as an infallible test of its quality, and hence articles that seem in the mouth to be palatable and good may be very injurious to the system, both on account of their natural properties and their artificial heat. In a similar manner the sense of smell is blunted; and not less injuriously does hot food act upon the teeth, the enamel of which is destroyed, rendering them unfit for their work of mastication, in consequence of which the food passes unprepared into the stomach. The eyes are also injured by the action of hot food upon the nerves connected with them. That condition of weak and watery eyes, so apparent in the habitual drunkard, exist in a certain degree in all whose systems are enervated by hot and stimulating food. But the greatest harm from hot food is caused in the stomach itself, the coats of which are irritated, reddened, and unnaturally contracted by the heat, so that they lose their vigorous activity and capacity for the complete performance of their natural functions. The blood, excited by the heat, flows in excess to the stomach, and thence feverishly through the body. One result of this is the flushed condition of the head after eating. Hot food also causes an excess in eating, so that it is rather by a sense of fullness and oppression than by a natural satisfaction of the appetite that one is prompted to cease eating. An evidence of the weakening of the stomach by hot food is seen when one eats an apple after the usual hot meal. Fruit thus taken lies like a stone upon the stomach, the enfeebled nerves being injuriously affected by its presence; whereas in their normal condition, they are stimulated to a most agreeable activity by it.
“From the abuse of the organs of digestion result a number of diseases. A life-long weakness of the gastric nerves, with cramps and inflammation of the stomach, are its common fruits. To this cause also is attributable the almost universal prevalence of colds, which are the direct result of unnatural temperatures of the body. The blood, artificially heated, causes an excessive perspiration, since it produces increased but injurious activity of the skin; and upon the least change of temperature the perspiration is condensed upon the body, and causes colds and stiffness, and this is all the more certainly so when the blood is impure and the tissues overloaded. From the same prolific cause results the uneasiness and languor experienced after eating hot food. The evil effect cannot be overcome by the usual after-dinner nap. This cannot replace the elements lost from our food, nor give the enlivening impulse experienced after partaking of ripe fruits in their natural state.