Dr. Smita Mehta, MD

Isn’t fruit delicious?!

It’s so interesting to me that the teeth of human beings are identical to the teeth of fruit-eating animals (and that human teeth are so very different from the teeth of meat-eating or grass-eating animals).

The sweet taste of fruit tends to make us feel that fruit must be all carbohydrate. However, fruit gets its color, acidity, and aroma from peptides and amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins!

When we eat fruit, the body easily absorbs these building blocks and can quickly create protein out of them.

When we eat actual protein, however, the body has to break down the protein molecules into peptides and amino acids first, which takes time. If the protein happens to be animal protein, there is an additional by-product called uric acid, which the human body is unable to degrade.

When uric acid starts rising, so does the blood pressure. Uric acid is also what causes gout.

Want more fun facts about the humans and fruit?

The length of the digestive tract (from mouth to anus) as a ratio to the crown-rump length is the same for humans as it is for fruit-eating animals (but not meat-eating or grass-eating animals). The partition of the human digestive tract into its various sections is the exactly the same pattern as it is for fruit-eating animals, too!

Meat-eating animals instinctively reach out for meat in the raw state, but humans prefer it cooked to some degree.

Grass-eating animals instinctively reach for grass.

Humans instinctively prefer the attractiveness of colorful and fragrant fruit…

Fruit has several other molecules that are hugely helpful to humans. I’ll post more about it soon. Now, please go enjoy your favorite piece of fruit, and so will I!