Fruit and especially vegetables are essential for us and comprise a large percentage of our diet. We personally try to get in as many veggies as possible! No veggies are off limits for us, unless we’ve witnessed a reaction that is. We personally try not to go overboard with fruit as we have historically struggled with yeast/candida. However, we are fortunate to be able to tolerate fruit a bit more these days. While I could go on for several pages about the importance of a high vegetable diet, I will just touch on a few here. First, when you have neurological inflammation, the glutamate receptors become hyperactive. Nutritional deficiencies put you at more risk for excitotoxicity from these hyperactive glutamate receptors while proper nutrition can re-establish immune balance and protect against glutamate damage. Fiber is necessary to help cellular detoxification and repopulating the gut with the proper microbes and beneficial metabolites. A high fiber/vegetable diet is also imperative for vitamin K (among other vitamins, minerals, etc.), which is largely produced in the gut as a byproduct of this fiber fermentation. Vitamin K is necessary for oxalate degradation and calcium regulation. Without vitamin K, calcium is unable to reach the teeth and bones and will become unregulated and work in tandem with glutamate in neuron firing and cell death. See upcoming post on the importance of a high fiber and largely plant based diet.
Organic is always the preferred choice! Here are just* two examples of why we should choose organic over conventional fruit and veggies.
Auxigrow, which contains several sources of free glutamate (including MSG itself) has historically been sprayed on conventional fruits and vegetables to increase yield and help prevent mildew. MSG/free glutamate is not required to be listed on these foods, as they are used in the growth of the crop instead of an added ingredient. (more info here: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/msgsprayed.html).
Glyphosate (RoundUp) used in GMO crops is a registered antibiotic which further damages the gut by killing essential gut bacteria. This essential gut bacteria is necessary for the production of enzymes and the ability to absorb essential nutrients minerals. Glyphosate also disrupts the body’s ability to metabolize glutamate and makes glutamate more neurotoxic due to the lack of manganese. See this post for more information and be on the lookout for the use of a newer herbicide, glufosinate. Glufosinate is growing in popularity and works similarly to glyphosate but is the glutamate analog instead of glycine. My guess is it will work similarly to glyphosate, but will mimic glutamate instead.