Written by Dr. Nat Kringoudis TCM.

“We’ve spoken about fruit before and about why it isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be.  As you may have read in our new e-book, for those with weak digestive systems, fruit and other cold raw foods can be a disaster. When digestion has been compromised by medications, the pill, stress or poor diet, we open our bodies up to havoc and the foods that we eat under these circumstances can either see us on the road to recovery or illness.  So the age old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” may need a little overhaul – or a little tweaking at the least.

As digestion occurs at 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit), the body goes to work on each and every mouthful consumed.  Typically in the modern world, not only is fruit enjoyed raw, it is often enjoyed at very cold temperatures – as we reach to the crisper in our fridge for an apple or bunch of grapes.  But our bodies just aren’t designed to digest very cold foods and equally, if the gut is weak, raw foods are also super difficult to digest for the same reason. The deficient gut just can’t do its job well.  For those with compromised gut function, the task of your digestive system bringing the temperature of your food to 37 degrees is extremely exhausting, let alone digesting it!  This eventually means that the body doesn’t assimilate the nutrients from your food because it is just too weak to do so and who suffers in the long run?  YOU.  Because if your body can’t draw on the vitamins and minerals in your food, it can’t make nutrients to fuel your body.  It’s a vicious cycle.

One of the key symptoms your digestive system is in disarray is weight gain. As your body is having trouble pulling nutrients from your food, it tells you to eat more – because it has a certain requirement it aims to consume in order to nourish and tick boxes in the vitamin and mineral department.  And of course, you may eat more equally because you can’t digest adequately because you feel hungry.  This is why the TinyTeatox works so very well – it’s all about optimizing digestion, getting the system back on track and maximising gut function.  This is also why people report more energy, less bloating, improved bowel function and overall sense of wellness – because the gut is the pivot of your health and when it is working well, it can direct nutrients to all the corners of your body and you feel it from top to toe.

What’s more, fruit is also very high in sugar, which for most is a disaster in large amounts.  A small serve of low fructose fruit like berries before a workout can be ok for an energy burst but getting stuck into a 2kg plate of fruit salad more than likely won’t have a great long term benefit.  Sugar converts to fat in your body.  Keeping this in mind is the secret to weight loss too.

There are a few tips for those of you who are avid fruit eaters:

+ always eat fruit at room temperature and stick one piece per day, preferably in the morning when your body can burn it off

+ stew fruits to make them easily digested – you can eat a little more than 1 serve a day when consuming cooked fruit.

+ opt for low fructose fruit (think berries, bananas, citrus and kiwi fruit)

+ aim to eat fruit on an empty stomach – it can ferment in the gut which can add to bloating and poor digestion”.

With love,

Your Tea