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Fruits
and (sprouted) grains - a comparison
Some raw fooders choose to not eat sprouted grains; instead
they suggest fruit instead. Some of the arguments made include the following:
- fruit is closer to the sun than grain = more solar energy
- one can eat fruit in its natural state, while grains in their
natural state are not appealing
- fruit supposedly involves less violence in its production
However, the issue is not as simple as it may appear at first
glance. The first complication is that grains (and all other seeds) are fruits according
to the botanical definition. So in comparing grains to fruit one is comparing grains to
the common definition of fruit, i.e. the product of tree, vine, or shrub.
The second major complication is that as purchased in many
countries, both fruits and grains have been processed to varying degrees. This requires
one to do comparisons in theory and in practice. As the real world practice is more
familiar to readers, it is best to start with that case. Comparison of grains and fruits
on a number of issues is given below. Note that references are made to the energy or food
energy of fruit and grain. This refers to the item's life force energy, not its calorie
value. Life force energy is degraded by refrigeration, age, heat, and other factors.
Preparation
Most fruit can be eaten raw and is easily prepared; most
fruit is in the wash and serve category. A few fruits are generally eaten cooked - olives
(very bitter when raw, need curing), breadfruit, breadnut, etc. Raw grains are effectively
inedible unless soaked or, better, sprouted. Once sprouted they are in the wash and serve
category also.
Production - Method
Pesticides and other chemicals are commonly used on fruits
and grains. If grown organically there is usually less exposure to chemicals. However the
definition of organic is no *synthetic* chemicals used - many toxic, so-called
"natural" chemicals can legally be used on organic produce.
Production - Land
Tropical fruits are often grown on land that used to be
rainforest. That is an issue to some; others consider land clearing for food production to
be 100% legitimate and ethical. The same issue applies to land cleared for grain, though
most grain is grown in temperate countries, and the people who are upset about tropical
rainforests rarely complain about loss of temperate zone land.
Harvest
Most grain is harvested when fully mature and
"ripe"; harvest too early can increase the risk of storage problems (spoilage
due to mold). Many types of fruits are harvested when mature but not ripe to allow time
for shipping and sale. The result is often that one purchases immature fruit that is
acid-forming instead of alkaline-forming in digestion (a real problem with nectarines).
Some types of fruit are picked mature and must ripen off the tree, e.g., many types of
avocadoes don't ripen properly on the tree.
Storage
Grains are seeds, a natural storage form. Commercial grains
may be fumigated with poisons to prevent insect infestation; organic grains are generally
not fumigated. Grains can be stored for long periods with little or no nutrient/ food
energy loss.
Some fruits are held for weeks or even months in
cold-storage, with significant losses in nutrients, food energy, and flavor. The typical
example of this is Washington state apples, which this writer considers inedible and a
non-food. Other fruits that may be cold-stored include peaches and nectarines (late in
their seasons), avocadoes, kiwis.
Processing for Market
Grains may be hulled and then packaged for market. Fruits may
be colored, waxed for sale. Additionally some fruits may be gassed with ethylene to
control ripening. This is not so common with organic fruit. Additionally, most fruit is
refrigerated at some point in the path to the consumer. Refrigeration can sharply reduce
the food energy of the fruit.
Shipping - Fumigation
Fumigation of fruits is common, especially if from tropical
countries (to prevent import of fruit flies and other insect pests). Some fruit is
subjected to heat treatment (papayas, mangoes) while other fruits are treated with cold
(refrigerated at near freezing for several days) instead. Both heat treatment and cold
treatment will reduce the nutrient and energy level of the fruit; heat treatment (150+
degrees F) may destroy some enzymes. Imported grain may be fumigated; however the U.S. and
Canada are major grain producers and imports to North America are limited.
Shipping - Distance/Efficiency
Because grain, when sprouted, increases in volume and weight
by a factor of 2 or more, and there are no peels or wasted parts, grain is very efficient
in regards to shipping.
Those who live in temperate zones and demand fresh fruit in
the winter end up eating fruit shipped from (distant) warm areas; also due to spoilage and
peels, inedible seeds, etc., shipping fruit is not as efficient as grain. Drying fruit is
an option, but drying also reduces food energy, and dried fruit when eaten in excess can
cause flatulence and acid indigestion. Freezing is another option, but eating too much
frozen food can depress your digestive fire, and frozen food is much lower in life force
energy than fresh.
Practical Case: Summary
In the real world, the comparison of fruit versus sprouted
grains boils down to fruit, which tastes better but which was probably picked at a
non-optimal time and shipped long distances (during which it loses food energy, the life
force of the fruit) against grains which don't taste as good, but which a) have not lost
food energy or life force in shipping and storage, and b) because one sprouts them, the
sprouts are actually *increasing* in nutrient value and food/life force energy. Most fruit
begins to decrease in nutrient and energy value from the moment it is picked, while grains
if sprouted actually *increase*!
Theoretical Case: A Very Different Situation Indeed
In a theoretically ideal situation, you produce your own
fruits and grains. Then one can pick and eat the fruits at the optimal time, and there is
no shipping, refrigeration, or other processing to reduce the food energy. Similarly, if
one grows grain one can avoid toxic chemicals and so on. Here the two seem to be quite
comparable, almost even. Of course sprouts are still a food that is increasing in value
and fruits decreasing; however this is mostly an academic difference when you can get high
quality fruit picked at the optimal time (as energy losses are minimal then). In this case
one would eat fruit when in season, and sprouted grain at other times.
Answering the Original Arguments
- fruit is closer to the sun than grain = more solar energy
True, but when one eats fruit one is usually
eating what is effectively a seed package, and it has limited life force. In eating
sprouted grains one is eating, in juvenile form, *multiple* life forces, which suggests
one may be eating more energy when eating sprouts.
- one can eat fruit in its natural state, while grains in their
natural state are not appealing
True, but grains are easily sprouted which
makes their flavor more appealing. It also makes them easy to digest. Those who eat nuts
and seeds in their "natural state" = unsoaked, would greatly benefit from
soaking and/or sprouting them when possible!
- fruit supposedly involves less violence in its production
- Very questionable. In practice fruit is generally shipped long
distances and refrigerated, a process that requires much fossil fuel energy which causes
pollution. Grain is very probably more energy efficient, with the result of less
pollution. Picking fruit does not kill the tree; however grains are generally harvested
when the plants are at the very end of their life cycle - the plants are usually already
dead or dying. Of course eating sprouted grain can be seen as violence against the
sprouts, however it is impossible to live without killing (simply breathing will kill
bacteria). Accordingly, which is more violent - 1 kilogram of wheat organically grown and
sprouted, or a case of pineapples, weighing 12 kg. and shipped halfway around the world,
also fumigated, sprayed, and refrigerated? (1 kg. of dry wheat = 3 kg sprouted = say, 10
meals or so; 12 kg pineapple = 8 kg after topping, peeling, coring = 10 large meals (as
pineaple is juicy and very tasty, one will eat more of it).
Closing Remarks
The above is a quick summary of topics for discussion in
comparing sprouted grains and fruits. Each item could be a separate discussion by itself;
only a brief summary has been given. The lists above are also incomplete; I've probably
left off some important topics. Additions to the lists and comments are welcome. Consider
the above as a first draft or a work-in-progress...
P.S. I suggest eating both sprouts and fruits - they are
complementary.
Tom Billings
teb@living-foods.com |
