Fruit Benefit Athletic Performance

Michael Arnstein – The Fruitarian

Fruit-based diets can make athletes lighter, leading to improved speed and agility. They could also make athletes stronger and more powerful, by adding quick fuel to their muscles through the consumption of fruit. That is because fruit carbohydrates are easier to assimilate than cooked foods and animal products.

Fruit based diets are also the most hydrating diets available. This is an essential point considering that 75% of the U.S. population is chronically dehydrated. (1). Athletes should be especially interested on this, knowing that they lose 6–10% of body weight through sweat during challenging athletic events. This makes a huge difference, considering the correlation between performance and hydration.

Dehydration brings additional complications for athletes. These include a reduction in blood volume, decreased skin blood flow, decreased sweat rate, decreased heat dissipation, increased core temperature, and an increased rate of muscle glycogen use. (2)

For non-athletes dehydration is still a serious issue. Mild symptoms of dehydration include dizziness and light-headedness. Moderate symptoms include poor skin elasticity, low blood pressure, and a fast, but weak, pulse. Sever symptoms include fainting, convulsions, heart failure, kidney problems, and death. (3)

Athletes will also enjoy a fruit-based diet’s ability to keep their body on the alkaline range. This helps avoid acidosis, toxicity, and buildup of free radicals. Along with this, fruit-based meals are quick and simple. They reduce prepping, cooking, and cleaning time, giving athletes more time to train and rest.

We must keep investigating the possibility that fruit-based diets are better for athletic performance. They simply haven’t been tested enough. My hope is that we will soon see research showing how fruit-based diets are superior to other diets for improving strength, agility, power, endurance, flexibility, and recovery time.

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