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rashellnicole 's review for:
The Fruit Cure: The Story of Extreme Wellness Turned Sour
by Jacqueline Alnes
medium-paced
This book was an absolute whirlwind! Going into it, my assumption was that it was a critique of the wellness industry through the author’s (Alnes) perspective. When I read the prologue and realized it was connected to the 30 Bananas a Day (30BAD) community and its founders (Freelee and Harley), I knew this would hit me personally. As someone who attempted the 30BAD/raw vegan lifestyle in undergrad…I knew this book would hit a lot of personal points for me. Before digging deeper, it’s important to give a massive TW for self-harm, eating disorders, talk of fat-shaming along with others. Check out StoryGraph’s full list of content warnings before proceeding!
Alnes was a D1 runner during her freshman year of college, but her athletic career was cut short after a series of neurological phenomena that medical professionals couldn’t diagnose or treat. These events in her early college career led to her struggles with mental health, mistrust of medical professionals, and her long struggle with disordered eating. Eventually, this is where the 30BAD diet comes into play. She stumbled upon the community in its nascent days, and followed the founders as they preached a fruititarian lifestyle for all. They led followers to believe that eating a diet consisting primarily of raw fruits would cure any ailment and let people live their happiest, most energetic lives. Suffice it to say, that certainly hasn’t been the case for many people who fell into the 30BAD pit trap.
The book intertwines Alnes’ story and foray into this community with research about other individuals’ experiences and accounts as well as a deep-dive on the history and “creation” of the 30BAD and fruititarian diet, with a specific focus on the controversy surrounding the founders, Freelee and Harley. While I really loved the mixture of stories and perspectives, I think it ultimately would’ve been better as two separate stories: Alnes’ personal memoir and reflection of her experiences, and a research-heavy dissection of the frutitarian diet/30BAD community. I still really enjoyed this and it put a lot of events into perspective for me that I didn’t realize were happening at that point in time.
Alnes was a D1 runner during her freshman year of college, but her athletic career was cut short after a series of neurological phenomena that medical professionals couldn’t diagnose or treat. These events in her early college career led to her struggles with mental health, mistrust of medical professionals, and her long struggle with disordered eating. Eventually, this is where the 30BAD diet comes into play. She stumbled upon the community in its nascent days, and followed the founders as they preached a fruititarian lifestyle for all. They led followers to believe that eating a diet consisting primarily of raw fruits would cure any ailment and let people live their happiest, most energetic lives. Suffice it to say, that certainly hasn’t been the case for many people who fell into the 30BAD pit trap.
The book intertwines Alnes’ story and foray into this community with research about other individuals’ experiences and accounts as well as a deep-dive on the history and “creation” of the 30BAD and fruititarian diet, with a specific focus on the controversy surrounding the founders, Freelee and Harley. While I really loved the mixture of stories and perspectives, I think it ultimately would’ve been better as two separate stories: Alnes’ personal memoir and reflection of her experiences, and a research-heavy dissection of the frutitarian diet/30BAD community. I still really enjoyed this and it put a lot of events into perspective for me that I didn’t realize were happening at that point in time.