FW: [BrixTalk] Brix and digestion

here is some interesting information on how food quality can affect
health....

Subject: Re: [BrixTalk] Brix and digestion

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 02:27:17 -0000, hlhap2000 <[email protected]>
wrote:

> We know that higher brix produce tastes better

I suspect some of the people on this list have read that many times, but
haven't yet proved it to themselves.  It's really an eyeopener to taste the
difference between, say, an 11 brix peach and a 15 brixer.  A lot of
"questions" disappear about then.  The inner organism says, "Quit all that
damn intellectualizing and get me MORE of that 15 stuff!"  Would you
believe my mouth just started watering when I got to thinking about the 19
brix peaches being discussed here the other day?


> but does it digest better?  If so, how?

Who knows?  I ran a personal experiment in Florida a few years back when I
found some 19 brix oranges.  I can drink a small glass of ordinary store-
bought 11 brix orange juice without too much discomfort.  However, a second
glass can produce stomach distress and I shudder to think of having to
drink a 3rd glass at one sitting.  However, no such symptoms came with the
19 juice.  I drank close to a gallon one morning and decided I really do
love life.  I gave a 16 ounce glass of the good stuff to a friend and he
reported back later, "What the hell was that you gave me!  I felt like I
was floating on a cloud all day."

Maybe the scientists will get around to testing brix digestability one day.
 I'm not going to wait on them.



> I wonder if some of the debate and mixed data over whether certain fruits
> produce an acidifying or alkalizing effect on the body has to do with the
> brix of the produce tested.

There's no debate in my mind.  Low brix fruit has too much organic acid and
it takes a lot of work for the organism to blow off that unwanted acid
(yes, it goes out in the breath).  For instance, the citrus industry well-
recognizes the brix/acid balance and delays harvest until the acid drops
enough that 3 citrus fruits won't kill the average human.  Obviously, I'm
joking here but I do think of low brix citrus as toxic.  If you're an
average consumer, you'll find higher brix fruit is far more a joy than a
strain on your organism.

The acidifying/alkalizing effect you're talking about has to do with the
minereral content of the food.  It's really little different from
acidifying or alkalizing ordinary garden soil.  Fruits and veggies have a
preponderance of alkaline earth (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium)
whereas animal products, along with grains, are heavy in acid forming
material (sulfur, phosphorous, nitrogen).  When you think of it that way
it's no big deal to understand that "acid" fruit ends up alkalizing the
body.  Balance is the real goal.

Hope that helps,
Rex Harrill





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