r thought my teeth would decay quicker in future on account of
an increased consumption of vegetable acids. But from that day, now
nearly six years ago, to the present time, I have never been near a
dentist. My teeth seem to have taken a new lease of life. It is a fact
that the acids in fruit and vegetables so far from injuring the teeth
benefit them. Many of these acids are strongly antiseptic and actually
destroy the germs that cause the teeth to decay. On the other hand, they
do _not_ attack the enamel of the teeth, while inorganic acids do.
Nothing cleanses the teeth so effectually as to thoroughly chew a large
and juicy apple.

_Fruit is a Food._

Until quite recently the majority of English-speaking people have been
accustomed to look upon fruit not as a food, but rather as a sweetmeat,
to be eaten merely for pleasure, and therefore very sparingly. It has
consequently been banished from its rightful place at the beginning of
meals. But fruit is not a "goody," it is a food, and, moreover, a
complete food. All vegetable foods (in their natural state) contain all
the elements necessary to form a complete food. At a pinch human life
might be supported on any one of them. I say "at a pinch" because if
the nuts cereals and pulses were ruled out of the dietary it would, for
most people, be deficient in fat and proteid (the flesh and
muscle-forming element). Nevertheless, fruit alone _will_ sustain life
if taken in large quantities with small output of energy on the part of
the person living upon it, as witness the "grape cure."[2] The
percentage of proteid in grapes is particularly high for fruit.

Those people who desire to make a fruitarian dietary their daily
_regime_ cannot do better than take the advice of O. Hashnu Hara, an
American writer. He says: "Every adult requires from twelve to sixteen
ounces of dry food, _free from water_, daily. To supply this a quarter
of a pound of _shelled_ nuts and three-quarters of a pound of any dried
fruit must be used. In addition to this, from two to three pounds of
any _fresh fruit_ in season goes to complete the day's allowance. These
quantities should be weighed out ... and will sustain a full-grown man
in perfect health and vitality. The quantity of ripe fresh fruit may be
slightly increased in summer, with a corresponding decrease in the dried
fruit."

FOOTNOTE:

[2] Recent years have witnessed a modification of the original cure.
Other food is now included, but I ha