Fruitarians eat exclusively fruit and nuts or sometimes a little of vegetables and cereals in addition to them. Careful studies of persons living upon such food has not often been made, therefore the work of M. E. Jaffa1 is of especial interest. The following summary of the elements of nutrition which each person, described by Jaffa, ate is instructive:

1 Bulletin No. 107 and Bulletin No. 132, U. S. Dept. Agriculture.

The first six of these people lived on apples, dates, figs, peaches, apricots, bananas, grapes, oranges, pears, plums, raisins, olives, almonds, pignolia, pine nuts, brazil nuts, walnuts, sometimes tomatoes, celery and honey.

They were all vigorous and healthy. The youngest never had had any other diet after infancy. She was undersized but this may have been from inheritance. During the time that she was studied (a period of ten days) she gained a pound and her brother made a similar gain in a period of twenty-two days while he was under observation. It was found that the coefficient of digestibility (that is completeness of digestion and absorption of food) was quite comparable to that of a person on a mixed diet; even 80 per cent, of the crude fiber was digested. The ninth study and the fourth is of the same person a year later. At this time he took milk and eggs as well as fruit and nuts. One or two of the others ate cereals to a limited extent. The twelfth in this list was not accustomed to a fruitarian diet but tried it for the time of the experiment. All of the people studied were in good health.

The small amount of protein and small number of calories which the diet of these fruitarians contained as compared with the average of most people is very striking. However they approach closely to what Chittenden has shown is all that is needed to maintain health and strength.

Vegetarians eat not only fruit and nuts but vegetables, cereals, breads and usually milk, butter, cheese and eggs. From these foods a well balanced and generous ration can be prepared. In proportion as individual vegetarians more strictly adhere to a vegetable diet and reject eggs and milk products does their diet approach that of the fruitarians in value. It is interesting to compare the statistics1 on page 60 of a vegetable diet with those of a fruitarian diet and a mixed one previously given.

These vegetarians average a larger number of calories but about the same relative amount of protein as fruitarians. The latter is far below what is used by the average man in a mixed diet but corresponds closely to what Chittenden recommends as an ideal standard.

1 Bulletin No. 132, U. S. Department of Agriculture.