Frutarian Diet 101: Do It Carefully, Wisely

Gold’s Gym Indonesia wants to dedicate this month of April for women, considering the Kartini Day is in celebrated April. We want to talk all about women, from all aspects. One of which is the tendency of women to follow the latest diet trends. To get an ideal body shape, many women fell into the modern diet trap, including the frutarian diet, which only advise us to consume fruits and grains only. This extreme diet proves to do more harm than good for our body, including mess up our menstrual cycle. 

To be able to play his character well as Steve Jobs in the film Jobs, Ashton Kutcher tried the frutarian diet that the late Steve Jobs used to do. Jobs started his frutarian diet inspired by the book Diet for a Small Planet dan Mucusless Diet Healing System. Not long before the video taping starts, Ashton who only consumed apples, lemons, or carrots was forced to be hospitalized for two days due to severe physical pain and pancreas problem he was suffering from. Horrifying!

According to nutritionist, Moesijanti Soekarti, B. Sc., MCN, due to the many disadvantages of frutarian diet, women are strongly advised to avoid this diet. Soekarti also adds that many people misinterpret this diet as a strict diet which only allows them to eat fresh fruits at all times, whereas other than fruits, according to Chef and nutritionist, Edwin Lau, frutarians can still consume dried fuits, nuts, and grains. Some people even consume vegetables and chocolate too.

So how can frutarian diet mess up your menstrual cycle?

Irregular Menstrual Cycle 

Fruits are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and fibers that give excellent benefits for our body, especially when consumed during menstruation period. The antioxidants in fruits can reduce menstrual cramps. However, we still need to balance our nutrition needs from other sources because during menstruation period we also need protein, iron, and complex energy which are non-existent or can only be found very little in fruits.

Soekarti suggested frutarian diet to overweight people or those with a certain medical condition which requires them to consume more antioxidant than normal people do, while people with kidney problem or heart condition should never even think about trying this diet.

Some people believe that frutarian diet can “catch” toxins in your body, thus help the body detoxification process. Lau then added, “Being a frutarian forces the body to detoxify eventhough our body naturally detoxifies all the toxins through urination and excretion process. If you continue this diet, you will risk your kidney because the color pigment in fruits and veggies also have negative effect for our body if consumed excessively. It is possible for you to get poisoning.”

According to Lau, frutarian diet can only be done for 1-2 months, maximum 3 months. But…after reading all the negative impacts, do you still want to try it?

So what are the consequences of doing a long-term frutarian diet? “For young women, this diet can cause menstrual disorder, anemia, and lower the ability to concentrate. For pregnant women, it can decrease the quality and quantity of the milk during breastfeeding phase. While for older women, it can lower the muscle mass, fat, and the quality of life in general,” said Soekarti.

Keep it Healthy!  

To do frutarian diet for a certain period of time, you need to arm yourself with knowledge about nutrition in fruits. This diet is also considered expensive considering the price of fruits in the market is generally more expensive than the price of vegetables. That does not count the nutritional devaluation during peeling and any cooking process. Soekarti advises us to do a diet that is balanced in nutrition, with a proper guide from a nutritionist. Which translates as 3-5 serving sizes of fruits with carbohydrate, protein, and fat from various sources of food. Stop dieting when you have reached your ideal body weight.

Lau advises us to apply a healthy lifestyle and live by Balanced-between eating, exercising, and resting, Nutritious-always consume nutritious sources of food, Various-consume enough serving of a variety of food, Hygienic-always pick food that is hygienically processed, or better yet cook your own meal, and lastly Committed-start having a commitment towards living a long-term healthy lifestyle.

Whatever your fitness target is, make sure you do not just try a diet you just read on the internet. Consult with your nutritionist and always balance your with exercising.

Source: www.fimela.com edited by Gold’s Gym Indonesia