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Cure Constipation With Ripened Fruit

Dr. Karlo Mauro, N.D.

Last article (bold), we talked about how eating unripe fruit is a cause of constipation, but it's also tasteless and unnatural to eat. Today, I'm going to show you how to ensure you always have enough ripe fruit available to eat each day.

Bananas can actually help ripen other fruit. Remember how I said bananas release plenty of ethylene (the gas that triggers enzymes to start ripening the fruit)? Well, you can take some other fruit, like hard pears, pineapples or grapes and put them in a paper bag with a banana peel. The banana's excess ethylene will trigger the ripening genes in the other fruit in the bag.

You should use a paper bag -- not a plastic bag. Paper allows air to pass through. Enzymes require oxygen as a fuel.

If, like most North Americans, you buy your groceries once a week, you'll want to apply this ripening acceleration process on only some of your fruit. Other unripe fruit should just be left out at room temperature. Other fruit, could be put into an air conditioned room or a cold cellar. If it's the winter, just leave them on your window sill.

This way you'll stagger when the fruit becomes ripe. Some will become ripe more quickly, some will take the usual amount of time... and some will take an extra long while.

If that sounds too complicated... then just let the fruit ripen on its own. But when it becomes ripe, place it in the refrigerator.

Do not, however, place unripe fruit in the refrigerator. Your fridge is too cold and will stop fruit from ripening properly at all. You'll end up having peaches that taste like rubber.

Keep, in mind also, that the same goes for tomatoes. Tomatoes are botanically a fruit. They contain seeds and grow from a flower. You should only store them in the fridge when they are ripe.

So when you get your fruit home from the grocery store, check it out...

1. If it's ripe, put it in the fridge.
2. If it's unripe, put it in the fruit bowl on the counter.
3. If you want some of the fruit to ripen quicker, put it in a bag with a banana.

If you ever find that you still do not have any ripe fruit in the house, keep some dried fruit on hand. Remember to do a quick soak in boiling water, as described in Constipation Relief Strategy #4. You can also whizz it up in a smoothie, to be extra sure it won't dry up your stools.

I hope the above guidance helps you with your gastrointestinal tract. It awes me to realize that some people haven't really enjoyed ripe fruit. In our modern culture of cookies and donuts, people don't even know how to eat fruit. They get a basket of peaches from the farmers market, soft enough to drive a nail through (but not your teeth) and bite into them right away.

No wonder people get hooked on sugary snacks (which is another cause of constipation). So try eating some RIPE fruit instead. It tastes great, and you'll feel better in more ways than one.

Oh yeah. With some fruits -- like peaches, apples, pears and bananas -- you can stew them or bake them to make them edible. As described in Constipation Relief Strategy #4, eating apples will cause constipation in many people unless they're cooked. Just cut them up, place them in a pot with some water. Bring to a boil and simmer. Of course, you're better off eating mostly raw fruit or raw fruit juice. Still, homemade applesauce is a far, far healthier sweet treat than a chocolate bar.

Yours in Natural Health,

Dr. Karlo Mauro, N.D.

Dr. Karlo Mauro, BSc, BA, MSEd, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Constipation Relief Strategies For Women

 

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