but at what point does it get ludricrous regarding the minutiae of whether this does that to the body or what have you? Treating our bodies as some walking scientific experiment, I mean.

For instance, I get that some people have very sensitive systems. I think they are the ones most motivated to go 100% raw because they feel so lousy. And so for them, there may be a real need to observe the body's reactions to certain foods. My issue is when it is over-generalized to the entire population. YOU can't tolerate certain foods or food combos and so no one should eat these things.

I love bananas. No way will I give up bananas. And I prefer them slightly underripe. I know about the speckles. I had one like that today--it's not my favorite stage of the banana. That's just me. I have no negative reactions to purely yellow bananas. They shouldn't have any green, of course, but pure yellow has a better flavor and texture, IMO.

I just want to eat to live, enjoy what I am eating, but leave it at that. Spending too much time obsessing about what I eat is not something I choose to do.

*Edit: The Sproutarian Man: Please don't consider this a post directly specifically to you. I have read many anti-bananas posts and sprouting is something I have started getting back into (maybe thanks to you!). The gist of this is towards the general conversation I see on the main forum discussing little effects of foods on the body.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2013 04:11PM by banana who.

It all depends on the person, their upbringing, the current health state.
Bananas do not do it for me. I need fresh food, food that is growing, or was growing not long ago. One banana or two that is fine but to me they get me full not nourished.

RawPracticalist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It all depends on the person, their upbringing,
> the current health state.
> Bananas do not do it for me. I need fresh food,
> food that is growing, or was growing not long ago.
> One banana or two that is fine but to me they get
> me full not nourished.


Well, you need a variety of food. But I like the flavor and I feel more full when I have a fruit meal if I include one or two with my other foods.

The point is that I am wondering how many people who regularly visit this site actually enjoy food! Or is everything for its medicinal value? It seems a bit severe at the end of the day. Of course care about nutrition and how foods affect your system but also be open to receiving pleasure from food. I am sure God did not intend for sustenance to be complicated, not enjoyable or guilt-inducing...

Great point you are making. My guess is that most who come to this site had some health issues in the past, they searched for conventional solutions for years without success and they are trying the natural approach. At least it was the case for me. I suffered for years from stomach and digestive issues. So the extra effort of growing sprouts or wheatgrass is not an issue for me. To many bananas may get me constipated. I prefer and have observed high water content fruits such as tomatoes work best for me.
Some did not have these issues and are in pretty good health to start with, they may not need the extra effort.
For example wheatgrass juice is not that easy to drink but in doing it for 15 seconds of no fun, I am making an investment in feeling healthy and better for the next 3 or 5 days. The investment is worth the effort



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2013 07:48PM by RawPracticalist.

It's funny to hear people say that about bananas; I have found them to have a laxative effect!

For most bananas are very convenient as food. easy to preserve, no need to be washed. so they make a great food.
To me their nutritional benefits do not measure up to the benefits I get from eating sunflower greens that are growing indoor. I may eat my greens and then one banana but that all I can do.
The banana is loosing nutrients every day that I do not eat it, the sprouts are gaining..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2013 08:05PM by RawPracticalist.

"I salivate at the sight of a glass of green juice... but I guess that's just me."

I agree, the body has the ability to adopt to its food source. The same with me.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> but at what point does it get ludricrous regarding
> the minutiae of whether this does that to the body
> or what have you? Treating our bodies as some
> walking scientific experiment, I mean.
>
> For instance, I get that some people have very
> sensitive systems. I think they are the ones most
> motivated to go 100% raw because they feel so
> lousy. And so for them, there may be a real need
> to observe the body's reactions to certain foods.
> My issue is when it is over-generalized to the
> entire population. YOU can't tolerate certain
> foods or food combos and so no one should eat
> these things.
>
> I love bananas. No way will I give up bananas. And
> I prefer them slightly underripe. I know about the
> speckles. I had one like that today--it's not my
> favorite stage of the banana. That's just me. I
> have no negative reactions to purely yellow
> bananas. They shouldn't have any green, of course,
> but pure yellow has a better flavor and texture,
> IMO.
>
> I just want to eat to live, enjoy what I am
> eating, but leave it at that. Spending too much
> time obsessing about what I eat is not something I
> choose to do.
>
> *Edit: The Sproutarian Man: Please don't consider
> this a post directly specifically to you. I have
> read many anti-bananas posts and sprouting is
> something I have started getting back into (maybe
> thanks to you!). The gist of this is towards the
> general conversation I see on the main forum
> discussing little effects of foods on the body.


I completely understand your point, most people just want to eat better and don't care for the details of foods. l am fine with that and don't care what people do. All l do is share information just in case some people are interested. Most people probably don't care on this forum about the finer details, but some people out there may google something and the details l post may be of interest to them.

My aim is to give details on foods on the internet and be different from other raw fooders in that l can back up what l say. When you post the science , it give more credibility to your viewpoint. I am not saying science is everything, but it makes a good starting point.

My aim is also to get one thinking about diet and give them options if their raw diet fails, and give them details as to why a sprout based diet is perhaps a safer choice for most people. As l say on my site...try at least 50% sprouts and see what happens. Try lots of sprouted greens, seeds sprouts for lunch and finish the day on fruit if need be, but bring the food portions down and eat fresh. Eating the seed sprouts will bring the food sized portions down.

My aim is also to get people thinking more about digestion, omega 3's, eating fresh and nutrition...and to be very careful of what raw food leaders are promoting out there.

But my highest goal is to get people thinking about high levels of anti nutrients in the raw food vegan diet. I would actually rather people cook some of their food than to eat 100% raw without processing their food.

I am also a big believer in avoiding eating so much on the raw diet. Gluttony is not a great way to health.

People will do what they like, but l hope people do think about these issues, because they can make or break you, especially if you are all raw and vegan. I would rather see the average person go 80% raw and add some dairy because 100% raw vegan is so risky.

Eating the legume and grain sprouts is still a dicey area. One thing l can say with 100% confidence is that these two foods groups do NEED fermentation, no iffs or buts about it....sprouting these foods without fermwentation is simply unsuitable for mankind to eat. These foods are so nutritious, and if we eat alittle bit of these each day and process them properly then we should be o.k, but eating these foods will also require a weekly fast. At least these foods (sprouted fermented grains/legumes) are fresh and many of the anti nutrients will be gone. to observe the body's reactions to certain foods.

I am quite laid back about diet in real life. I just sprout and ferment my food and don't really think about food, nor do l try telling others how to eat. I let them do their thing and l do my thing. I don't get bothered about anti nutrients either, l just eat my food and not think about it because l have taken all the saftey measures, BUT...l go on and on about anti nutrients online because l must be responsible on the internet and tell the whole story by telling the good and bad of raw foods. I came acorss this information for a good reason so l have the responsibility to share it...l would rather do other things, but thye higher powers selected me to share this stuff - they told me almost 20 years ago that l was selected, and l said `NO!'. Now it's different...no more kicking and screaming, i've gotta do it.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2013 09:58PM by The Sproutarian Man.

RawPracticalist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For most bananas are very convenient as food. easy
> to preserve, no need to be washed. so they make a
> great food.
> To me their nutritional benefits do not measure up
> to the benefits I get from eating sunflower greens
> that are growing indoor. I may eat my greens and
> then one banana but that all I can do.
> The banana is loosing nutrients every day that I
> do not eat it, the sprouts are gaining..

Do you/can you sprout greens from hulled sunflower seeds?

TSM: I just cannot fathom eating 50% sprouts! LOL! But that is me, where I am at. I guess you could say that I haven't practiced it or else maybe I would see it as totally normal, delicious and filling.

They should grow. [sproutpeople.org]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2013 02:28AM by CommonSenseRaw.

Bananas are a very important staple in my family's diet. We grow them - organic of course. Ours are luscious, wonderful, apple bananas. The variety has a somewhat different taste - more appley I guess. You would like them, banana who.

Bananas and some other tropical fruits (mangostein, jackfruit, rollinia deliciosia, mamey sapote, ice cream bean, etc.) have a less juicy consistency than the Mainland fruits, but other tropical fruits are juicy. All are amazingly awesome, imo.

Bananas are one of the few fruits in the world that are harvested year round. The plant is a "monocot", which is a type of grass. Not exactly wheat grass, but grass just the same.

Bananas and other fruits are an excellent carbohydrate source. They provide glucose, which is the sole fuel for the brain, unless we happen to be fasting. At that point, ketones will fuel the brain (to spare protein) until our bodies shut down and we die.

Glucose is always the only fuel for our red blood cells, which don't contain mitochondria, and therefore cannot use fats or ketones for fuel. When we're starving, protein is broken down to make glucose to feed our red blood cells.

Sprouts are good too. I think my favorite sprouts are black lentil sprouts. Very good in salads and nori rolls. I eat many seeds unsprouted - sesame, sunflower, chia especially - and for me they feel better this way. I guess maybe we're all just a little different, and that's OK. Makes life interesting.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2013 05:22AM by suncloud.

If you grow your own banana, end of discussion, there is nothing to match that.

CommonSenseRaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They should grow.
> [sproutpeople.org]


Thanks but they had a separate link for the greens. I know that you can germinate the hulled seeds and I have done so. But I am thinking of trying to grow greens and I always thought you needed them in shell and it looks like you do.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bananas are a very important staple in my family's
> diet. We grow them - organic of course. Ours are
> luscious, wonderful, apple bananas. The variety
> has a somewhat different taste - more appley I
> guess. You would like them, banana who.
>
> Bananas and some other tropical fruits
> (mangostein, jackfruit, rollinia deliciosia, mamey
> sapote, ice cream bean, etc.) have a less juicy
> consistency than the Mainland fruits, but other
> tropical fruits are juicy. All are amazingly
> awesome, imo.
>






> Bananas are one of the few fruits in the world
> that are harvested year round. The plant is a
> "monocot", which is a type of grass. Not exactly
> wheat grass, but grass just the same.
>
> Bananas and other fruits are an excellent
> carbohydrate source. They provide glucose, which
> is the sole fuel for the brain, unless we happen
> to be fasting. At that point, ketones will fuel
> the brain (to spare protein) until our bodies shut
> down and we die.
>
> Glucose is always the only fuel for our red blood
> cells, which don't contain mitochondria, and
> therefore cannot use fats or ketones for fuel.
> When we're starving, protein is broken down to
> make glucose to feed our red blood cells.
>
> Sprouts are good too. I think my favorite sprouts
> are black lentil sprouts. Very good in salads and
> nori rolls. I eat many seeds unsprouted - sesame,
> sunflower, chia especially - and for me they feel
> better this way. I guess maybe we're all just a
> little different, and that's OK. Makes life
> interesting.

I would love to know where you live but I understand if you want to stay incognito. I am thinking Ecuador, which seems to be the place most bananas come from that we get in the USA. My mom is from the Caribbean and I have memories of all the fruit just growing like crazy, chewing fresh sugar cane stalks...

I like lentil sprouts, too! Thanks for reminding me to make some. They are very tasty and not starchy like other beans I tried to sprout.

Hi banana,

Ecuador and the Caribbean must be wonderful. I live on the Big Island of Hawaii - not quite so exotic, but nice just the same.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi banana,
>
> Ecuador and the Caribbean must be wonderful. I
> live on the Big Island of Hawaii - not quite so
> exotic, but nice just the same.


I am curious if you were born there or moved there. I see people posting videos from it and it looks amazing. I live in the Midwest where there is such a range of temps and while I know how wonderful 80 degrees is, does it ever start to get old? Maybe if you were born there, it would be normal but I am speaking of those who come from other climates. I was reading about people who went to California from the Midwest, tired of the cold and then moved back because they couldn't stand not having a change of seasons.

Hi banana who.

I came here from Texas on July 4, 1984 because I'd always loved fruit and a warm climate. I wasn't sure where in Hawaii I would live; but on my first morning, I walked along Banyon Drive in Hilo and knew this was the place.

Does the climate get old? The climate here is so diverse. We even have snow on the volcano during winter. But no, I don't mind being warm all the time.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2013 06:51PM by suncloud.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi banana who.
>
> I came here from Texas on July 4, 1984 because I'd
> always loved fruit and a warm climate. I wasn't
> sure where in Hawaii I would live; but on my first
> morning, I walked along Banyon Drive in Hilo and
> knew this was the place.
>
> Does the climate get old? The climate here is so
> diverse. We even have snow on the volcano during
> winter. But no, I don't mind being warm all the
> time.

Wow...that is so cool. Do avocados grow in HI or do you have to get them from the mainland?

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TSM: I just cannot fathom eating 50% sprouts! LOL!

I understand. If you had have told me 20 years ago that l would be living on sprouts as 99% of my diet l would have said `no thanks, i'd rather be dead than eat like that'.


> But that is me, where I am at. I guess you could
> say that I haven't practiced it or else maybe I
> would see it as totally normal, delicious and
> filling.

Now l think nothing of living on the sprouts, it is what l have been doing for a long time and l can't imagine living on anything else. I've never had any interest in vegetables at all, it was sprouts right from the start.

I've tried doing higher fruit levels, but that leaves me very unsatisfied in every way and l never function well. I tried high fruit for a week and l nearly lost my mind - gave me cravings, hunger, mood swings and not the power l am used to.

Fruit is o.k as a snack, but l would much rather be having the stronger flavours of the sea weeds, weeds, sprouts and green drinks. That is what l call `real raw'...embracing the strong flavours that raw has to offer. If you are trying to flavour things up (SAD people do that) you are not in the game imo....various natural hygiene folks report almost vomiting when they try a sprout diet, but that's because they safe guard their taste buds like many SAD folks because their mind is still in that world imo.

I don't believe in flavourings, recipe books etc. l just believe you do it hardcore and get used to it....don't baby the taste buds...change the taste buds to accept the strong foods. Don't avoid the stronger foods, live on them.

Eating sprouts can radically change the taste buds within days. After a few months you begin to accept these foods. After a year or longer you love these foods.

I love nothing better than a weed and grass juice with some rejuvalic thrown in. Fantastic.

Hi banana who,

Avocados are harvested here somewhere on the island year round, because the climate is so diverse.

There are unlimited varieties, because the fruit does not grow true to seed. You only know what you're getting if the tree is grafted. In Hawaii, discarded seeds will often grow into trees along the roadway, with absolutely delicious avocados on them. Many people have trees in their yards of no known variety.

On the other hand, some trees from discarded seeds never make fruits at all. Farmers will usually graft just to make sure of what they're getting. Those varieties include Murashige (my favorite), Sharwill, Ota, Linda, Malama Ki, Kahalu'u, Yamagata, San Miguel, and Green Gold.

The Linda avocados are impressive, being about the size of an average cantaloupe.

And you should enjoy what you eat. Ultimately you know what is right for you. I like the spotted bananas in smoothies for sure!

Suncloud: Wow! Now are they watery like the ones from FL or do they have a richer flavor? I am wondering why we don't see them in the stores? I mean, they sell HI papaya and pineapples so I would think they could ship them here.

Banana who,

Such good questions!

Hawaii has the Mediterranean fruit fly. I'm not up to date on the rules now, but several years ago, Hawaii bananas could be shipped to Canada, but not the Mainland US where the fruit fly could breed. Later, bananas could be shipped to Guam, if green.

This document will provide more up-to-date information if you're interested:

[www.aphis.usda.gov]

Hawaii bananas are definitely not watery.

Banana who,

Oh, I see you were asking about the avocados, not the bananas when you asked if they were watery.

Some are, some aren't. The flavors all vary too.