My fruit-only diet makes me look 28 says gran, 46
WITh her blonde hair, bright eyes and line-free complexion, she could pass for a woman in her twenties.
But Belinda White is in fact a 46 year-old grandmother. And she puts her youthful appearance down to a somewhat unusual diet: eating virtually nothing but fruit.
Apart from the occasional lettuce leaf or handful of cashew nuts, the yoga teacher gets through up to 20 pieces a day.
Breakfast is half a watermelon, lunch is two fruit smoothies and dinner includes avocados, toma- toes, and peppers.
Miss White, a mother of three, claims the controversial diet has boosted her energy, ‘dissolved’ her cellulite and improved her hair, skin and nails, making her look years younger.
She also credits her ‘fruitarian’ diet with curing her fibromyalgia, a rheumatic condition that causes musculoskeletal pain, and reducing the pain she previously suffered due to osteoarthritis.
‘I feel better in every way,’ she said. ‘I feel like I have turned the clock back. It’s incredible. I look like I’m 28 but I’m 46.
‘Since doing this, I take no medication and I’m teaching yoga four times a week. My physical body has gone like it was when I was in my twenties.
‘My cellulite has dissolved and my pain from osteoarthritis has been reduced by 90 per cent.’
Miss White also claims she is never hungry since embarking on what she calls a ‘sustainable, perfect diet’. She is so convinced of the health benefits that she even forced her partner to become a vegan – and considered splitting up with him if he didn’t change his diet.
Frutarianism has become more popular in recent years with the rise of so-called ‘clean eating’, where followers shun any sort of processed food. But critics warn that such a restrictive diet can be dangerous as it is too high in sugar, which can cause tooth cavities and overwork the pancreas.
Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2011 aged 56, was said to have experimented with fruitarianism.
Dietician Lisa De Fazio said: ‘It’s critical to include nuts, seeds and vegetables with every meal to provide the fat and protein you need.
‘Fruitarians often have low levels of vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, which can lead to anaemia, fatigue and a weak immune system.’
‘Fruits are loaded with natural sugars and eating large portions of fruit puts you at risk of gaining weight.’
‘My cellulite has dissolved’