Īlthough fruit provides a source of carbohydrates, they have very little protein, and because protein cannot be stored in the body as fat and carbohydrates can, fruitarians need to be careful that they consume enough protein each day. The Health Promotion Program at Columbia University reports that a fruitarian diet can cause deficiencies in calcium, protein, iron, zinc, vitamin D, most B vitamins (especially B 12), and essential fatty acids. Maintaining this diet over a long period can result in dangerous deficiencies, a risk that many fruitarians try to ward off through nutritional testing and vitamin injections. Nutritional effectsįruitarianism is even more restrictive than veganism or raw veganism. A fruitarian diet is wholly unsuitable for children (including teens), nursing mothers and their babies. NutritionĪccording to nutritionists, adults must be careful not to follow a fruit-only diet for too long. For others, the appeal of a fruitarian diet comes from the challenge that the restrictive nature of this diet provides. Another common motivation is the desire to eliminate perceived toxicity from within the body. For some fruitarians, the motivation comes from a fixation on a utopian past, their hope being to return to a past that pre-dates an agrarian society to when humans were simply gatherers. Some fruitarians wish, like Jains, to avoid killing anything, including plants, and refer to ahimsa fruitarianism. Other fruitarians' diets include raw fruits, dried fruits, nuts, honey and olive oil, nuts, beans or chocolate. Some fruitarians use the botanical definitions of fruits and consume pulses, such as beans, peas, or other legumes. Others believe they should eat only plants that spread seeds when the plant is eaten. Some do not eat grains, believing it is unnatural to do so, and some fruitarians feel that it is improper for humans to eat seeds as they contain future plants, or nuts and seeds, or any food besides juicy fruit. According to author Adam Gollner, some fruitarians eat only fallen fruit. These foods consist primarily of culinary fruits, nuts, and seeds. Some fruitarians will eat only what falls (or would fall) naturally from a plant: that is, plant foods that can be harvested without killing or harming the plant.