www8.nationalacademies.org —  African Fruits Could Help Alleviate Hunger and Bolster Rural Development, Environmental Stability in Africa   WASHINGTON -- Africa's own fruits are a largely untapped resource that could combat malnutrition and boost environmental stability and rural development in Africa, says a new report from the National Research Council.  African science institutes, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals could all use modern horticultural knowledge and scientific research to bring these "lost crops" -- such as baobab, marula, and butterfruit -- to their full potential, said the panel that issued the report.    Today, tropical fruit production in Africa is dominated by species introduced from Asia and the Americas, such as bananas, pineapples, and papayas.  Because these and other crops arrived on the continent centuries ago already improved through horticultural selection and breeding, they increasingly displaced the traditional species that had fed Africans for thousands of years.  The imported species also received the support of colonial powers who wanted familiar crops that were profitable to grow, and indigenous fruits continued their downward spiral of dwindling cultivation and knowledge.    With renewed scientific and institutional support, however, Africa's native fruits could make a much greater contribution to nutrition and economic development, the new report says.  Fruit trees and shrubs also offer long-term benefits by improving the stability of the environment.   The report highlights 24 fruits that hold special promise; some are already being cultivated in parts of Africa, while others are harvested from the wild.  Examples are:   Aizen.  Giving more people access to this wild fruit -- which grows in extreme climates with few other food resources -- could reduce malnutrition and mortality, the report says.  The fruits are a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, and some minerals, while the seeds are high in protein and zinc.  This large, resilient Saharan shrub shows promise as a way to protect erodible slopes, stabilize dunes, and create windbreaks.    Balanites.  This small desert tree tolerates heat and aridity so well it thrives deep in the Sahara.  It produces heavy yields of datelike fruits, as well as kernels that are one-half oil and one-third protein -- similar to the makeup of soybeans and sesame seeds.  These fruits and kernels already feed families in arid zones where few other food crops exist, but their full potential is scarcely tapped.  The seeds supply a food-grade vegetable oil also used in local cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.  The trees stabilize the natural environment, helping dry areas resist desertification.   Baobab.  The fruits of the baobab tree contain a sticky pulp that can be dried into a nutritious powder high in protein, vitamins, and minerals.  The powder is stirred into warm water or milk to create a healthy drink, and also beaten and dried into thin pancakes for use months or even years later, aiding food security.  During the rainy season, villagers often store water in the tree's trunk for later use.  The sale of baobab fruits aids rural commerce, and the trees themselves -- which also yield a popular leafy vegetable -- are almost indestructible.   Butterfruit.  This small tree produces fruit that is mainly used as a vegetable.  High in calories and one of the best protein sources in the fruit world, butterfruit is especially promising for reducing child malnutrition.  Even now, these fruits help many communities survive seasonal food shortages in the harshest hot, humid lowlands.  Butterfruit also serves as a cash crop, pouring into cities and rural markets in large quantities.  And the trees, which yield mahoganylike wood, may have potential for plantation forestry.     Ebony.  The ebonies of Africa yield some of the world's finest timber and also bear abundant, bright red fruits that are succulent and sweet. These can be dried for use when seasonal foods become scarce. The seeds of some ebonies are also edible, and the leaves are used as animal feed.  Though the trees are known and valued on a local level, hardly anything scientific is known about managing them as food crops.   Marula.  This tree is a nutritional powerhouse, producing both fruits high in vitamin C and nuts similar to the macademia, high in protein and minerals.  The fruits are popular in markets and even exported, while the kernels contribute to nutrition and food security.  In addition, oils extracted from the nuts are also exported for high-priced skin care products.  Harvesting the fruits and shelling the nuts provide work for thousands of rural women who have hardly any other source of income.     Tamarind.  These fruits are a strong source of B vitamins and calcium, and can be stored for months without refrigeration.  In addition, tamarind's sweet-sour pulp can be preserved in the form of sun-dried cakes -- a simple procedure that perhaps millions throughout Africa could exploit for food security, the report says.  Already widespread, the trees have great promise for restoring damaged lands to health and productivity, and likely for sequestering carbon, since they are treasured and seldom cut down.

putteringinthegarden.com — A Blog About Gardening in a San Francisco Bay Area Yard About the Author I’m Steve, the author of Puttering in the Garden.  When I was about 10 years old, my parents turned an old sandbox in the backyard into a vegetable garden.  For years after that, taking care of that garden was my favorite summertime activity.  I also looked forward to harvesting apricots, peaches, plums, apples, pears, and cherries from our small backyard fruit orchard every year.  Gardening has been my favorite hobby ever since. After years of living in apartments and being limited to growing plants in pots, I moved into my own house in 2002.  Since then, I have been enjoying spending my weekends transforming the yard into my idea of an ideal garden.  I’m a lawyer, and I find that gardening is a great way to relax and relieve stress. I consider myself a gardening enthusiast, although I do not have any formal education in horticulture. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area in USDA zone 9, Sunset zone 15.

eng.anarchopedia.org — Fruitarians (or fructarians) are a subgroup of vegans who eat only the fruit of plants. This includes not only what one typically thinks of as a "fruit" in the culinary sense such as apples and oranges, but also other foods that are botanically the fruits of flowering plants (that is, the seed-containing reproductive parts), including berries, nuts, seeds, capsicums, tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, and so on. There are different variations of fruitarianism. Some fruitarians will eat only what falls (or would fall) naturally from a plant—fruits, seeds, nuts. Others may eat all biological fruits. Grains are usually accepted, as they are conventionally harvested by cutting down the plant. Most fruitarians are also raw foodists. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, was during the 1970s: "I was actually a fruitarian at that point in time. I ate only fruit. Now I'm a garbage can like everyone else. And we were about three months late in filing a fictitious business name so I threatened to call the company Apple Computer unless someone suggested a more interesting name by five o'clock that day. Hoping to stimulate creativity. And it stuck. And that's why we're called Apple."

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runningraw.com — What is the difference between Raw Food and Living Food? Although the definitions of raw vary, it is commonly held that for a food to be raw it must have not been heated over 118 degrees F. My personal belief is that foods begin to break down and lose nutritive value when subjected to temperatures over 100 degrees F. A living food may or may not be a raw food (it may have been cooked at one point), but it has been re-enlivened or populated with living cultures. Examples would be kombucha tea, miso, tempeh, kim chee and krauts, etc. What is a detox? Detox, short for detoxification, is the elimination of toxic substances from the body. What can I expect during my detox? The detox is a highly individual process. Everyone experiences it differently. For some there are no detox symptoms at all. My detox lasted 4 months. I was light-headed, nauseous, weak, tired, headaches, fever-like symptoms. It was not fun, but I came through the other side with a new body. Where do I get my protein? This is probably the most common question i get, and the answer is that I'm not really that concerned with protein intake. Yes, I do consume some protein in the few hemp seeds and nuts that I eat. The dark leafy greens and broccoli that I consume daily also contain protein, but all in all, I really don't consume that much protein. The human body breaks protein down into amino acids, so I cut out the middle man and eat foods that are rich in amino acids - ALL uncooked fruits and vegetables. How do I get enough calories? Actually, I consume much fewer calories than the average American... I'll be doing a caloric breakdown of a single day shortly... my guess is that my consumption falls short of 2000 calories. Raw food is a much more efficient fuel, whereas many of the calories consumed on a SAD diet are burned trying to break down the very food that's providing the energy, and to clean up the damage brought about by an unhealthy diet. Running Raw Diet How long have I been eating raw? I took the plunge into fantastic health on November 3rd of 2004. What do I eat on a daily basis? I don't really have a strict plan or routine when it comes to my daily consumption. I eat what feels good. On most mornings i'll start with a piece of fresh fruit or two (apple, bananas, orange, grapefruit, kiwi, peach, strawberries, etc...), then I'll have a Larabar sometime mid morning. Before my workouts I usually consume a banana and some young coconut water. After my workouts I'll have another piece or two of fresh fruit - within 15 minutes of completing my workout!!! Then when i get home I'll make a smoothie with fruit and greens (kale, lettuce, collard), a few dates and some dulse (for electrolytes). Mid evening I'll chomp on another Larabar, and then I'll make a massive salad at around 7pm... it's got tons of different greens, broccoli, red peppers, radishes, avocado, celery, snap peas, mushrooms and whatever else i can find to throw in there... every day is different... but this is somewhat normal for me, and gives me all the energy I need and more. Did I go vegetarian or vegan before going raw? I was vegan for 6 years before I went raw. The last six months before I went raw I was eating a macrobiotic vegan diet. What is my pre-race regimen? As for a pre-race dinner... I eat no later than 6pm the night of a race... and that meal is almost entirely fruit - bananas, apples, mangoes, kiwis, strawberries... just no melon (they don't play well with other fruit). I might also have a little romaine lettuce. Make sure you are very hydrated the day before the race. The morning of the race, I wake up 3 hours before my start time and have a large all fruit breakfast. Half an hour later I go for a 3 to 5 minute run to get my metabolism going (all the top runners do this). Then I relax and make sure I'm getting lots of fluids... I'll drink at least 32 ounces of water or coconut water before the race... I stop drinking 30 minutes before the start. What supplements do I take? Actually, I don't take any. The point of the Running Raw Project is to prove that one can accomplish incredible feats of physical health and performance using inexpensive, easy to find, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. What superfoods do I take? My belief is that a raw lifestyle should be as sustainable and economically feasible as possible. Therefore, I keep to the foods that are commonplace in any supermarket anywhere in the country, and cost very little to purchase. The miracle of the raw diet is not in the foods you are consuming, it's in the foods you are NOT consuming. Your body is the miracle, you don't need expensive "superfoods" to have a super body. The Running Raw Project How did the project begin? The Running Raw Project came into existence on December 25th of 2005. I was at a Christmas party at my friend's house in Venice, CA. The topic of my recent entrance into the world of running had come up. As I described the changes that were happening to my body and the abnormal feats of endurance that I was capable of, someone said - "you should film this". That hadn't occured to me before. Had anyone ever done that? Was anyone documenting the physical changes that occur when one goes raw? Were people testing this diet and it's relation to physical performance? I looked around online and found not one reference to a Raw diet and athletic performance. This blew my mind. What I was experiencing was off the charts, was I the only one experiencing these physical improvements on this diet? I had to find out. Thus the journey began. What is the status of the documentary film? As of September of 2008, the documentary is on hold. Other aspects of the project have taken precedence. My hopes are that a new team will be assembled and a new and better film will be produced. Raw Food and Performance Coming Soon. Recipes My personal favorite organic smoothie recipe: 2 ripe bananas 6 large dates 3 large leaves of kale 2 tablespoons Nutiva hemp seeds 1 tablespoon flax seeds 1 tablespoon dulse flakes 1 dash cinnamon 2 cups filtered water Training What does my training regimen look like? It all depends on the type of event I'm training for and the time of year. Currently I'm running about 91 miles a week. Which is accomplished by two runs of 5 to 13 miles a day. I also incorporate leg strength and core strength routines 3 times a week. On Tuesdays I do two to four mountain ascents at just below race pace. Typically, the mountains run have between 900 to 1,500 foot vertical gain. Thursdays are reserved for speedwork on the track. The length and intensity of the intervals depends on the event that I'm training for. I compete in a race every weekend which serves as a tempo run. Each race is preceded by a 3 mile warmup and a minimum of a 3 mile warmdown. Did I start training right away when I went raw? I was raw for a year before I started to train. I don't think it's a good idea to be on a training regimen when you are starting a raw diet. The detox can be pretty intense, and the exercise can further the stress on your immune system. What is my resting heart rate? Resting heart rate is measured the moment you first wake up in the morning, or after a period of 20 minutes of no activity. Currently, my RHR is 38. Was I athletic before I went raw? I was a competitive Cross Country skier and track athlete in high school. I competed my freshman and part of my sophomore years in college, then "retired" at age 20. (Back To Top) Weight Loss Eating a raw or living foods diet is one of the most effective ways to safely lose weight and keep it off. It is not uncommon for people to lose 25 lbs or more their first month of going raw.

pioneerthinking.com — Fruit is the most beautiful food on the planet. The variety of fruits on Earth is so massive it boggles the mind. Often people ask me if I feel limited eating a raw-food/fruitarian diet. I always respond by telling them 99.9% of all food on Earth is raw plant food! Fruit is our most natural food. It is the food we are attracted to most in its raw natural state. We define a fruit as a food which contains the seed(s) within it for regeneration and propagation of the plant. A raw-food/fruitarian diet makes you beautiful and pure inside and out. It leads to the clearest use of your mind -- it greatly enhances your mental abilities. In my book: Nature’s First Law: The Raw-Food Diet I wrote: "Every fruit has its secret." Once you are completely cleaned out of cooked-food residue and toxicity, you become attuned to special powers available in certain fruits! The durian fruit has an extreme smoothness and cleanness to it in the way it is metabolized in your body. It makes everything run smoothly and clearly and warms up the body in colder weather. Dates too, may warm you up in cold weather. Dates are a great food for endurance and long walks. Apples are a "clean-out food," they clear everything out as they go through. Mangos transport you into the ecstatic state of summer fun. Bananas make you feel like a wild primate!   How To Eat Fruit And How Much? Ideally, it is best to eat just one type of fruit at a time (mono-diet) and to wait 45 minutes until the next type of food goes in. You might want to eat 5 apples in the morning and nothing else or choose to eat cucumbers only for lunch! When you are eating a mono-diet, your body will give you a clear signal when to stop eating. Your appetite will turn off or you will suddenly feel you have eaten too much. Typically the fruit will actually change taste on you and won’t taste as good! At that point listen to your body and stop eating! If you combine foods, the signal as to when to stop eating is not as clear, and you must discipline yourself. If you overeat raw food or fruit or even cooked food remember the reasons why most people overeat: suppressed emotional issues and a lack of deep breathing. If you overeat, go outside and take 10-15 deep breaths! Or breathe deeply at night instead of eating -- if you have problems in that area.  

en.wikipedia.org — In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds. The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state, such as apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, juniper berries and bananas. Seed-associated structures that do not fit these informal criteria are usually called by other names, such as vegetables, pods, nut, ears and cones. In biology (botany), a "fruit" is a part of a flowering plant that derives from specific tissues of the flower, mainly one or more ovaries. Taken strictly, this definition excludes many structures that are "fruits" in the common sense of the term, such as those produced by non-flowering plants (like juniper berries, which are the seed-containing female cones of conifers), and fleshy fruit-like growths that develop from other plant tissues close to the fruit (accessory fruit, or more rarely false fruit or pseudocarp), such as cashew fruits. Often the botanical fruit is only part of the common fruit, or is merely adjacent to it. On the other hand, the botanical sense includes many structures that are not commonly called "fruits", such as bean pods, corn kernels, wheat grains, tomatoes, and many more. However, there are several variants of the biological definition of fruit that emphasize different aspects of the enormous variety that is found among plant fruits. Fruits (in either sense of the word) are the means by which many plants disseminate seeds. Most edible fruits, in particular, were evolved by plants in order to exploit animals as a means for seed dispersal, and many animals (including humans to some extent) have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Fruits account for a substantial fraction of world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings.