Gac Fruit & A Reconnection with Supplements

by jenna - July 25, 2018

What is the magical gac fruit? And why I am taking supplements again after some time off...

Drugs

I grew up in a house that was full of supplements, I mean a whole kitchen draw rammed with the latest this and that and as I got older I developed the mindset that they are unnecessary, as we get enough vitamins and minerals from what we eat, providing we eat the rainbow and complement this with some protein and certain medium-chain triglyceride fats, aka the paleo diet.

Recently, I switched from taking a prescribed preventative drug, which had side effects, such as hair fall and is just a fairly untested drug for long-term use, from the doctor to a herbal one, olive leaf, for the suppression of cold sores, as I used to get them loads. Since switching to taking olive leaf supplements, I haven't had a single one, it's amazing! Therefore my faith in supplements has been restored. I also take biotin for hair growth.

Nature has a cure to balance any illness and thanks to the wonders of the scientific method and the information available to us online, we are becoming more and more able to become self-sufficient and take responsibility for our health by doing our own research and without such a need for prescribed pharmaceutical drugs.

We can be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals as the ground has been depleted and the soil isn't so rich as it was hundreds of years ago. This study found 43 vegetables to be less nutritious than they were in the 1950s.

Where would you be able to naturally source olive leaf and eat it? You couldn't.

We are lucky to live in a world which captures the wonders of nature and condenses it into in handy little poppables!

Since embarking on my studies into Positive Psychology, I now feel that we need to approach health from a rounded view, taking responsibility via exercising and feeding the body, of course, but also following the things which give us positive emotions and taking care of our minds via meditation/ developing spiritual practises which give us meaning and supporting causes we believe are important. Hence the birth of Raw Rhubarb's sister site, Living Intentionally.

What is Gac fruit?

I first encountered gak fruit on a trip to Thailand back in 2012 and absolutely loved the taste. It's basically a baby jackfruit (you know the big, stinky ones) and mostly grows in South East Asia, although you may be able to source some in decent Oriental supermarkets if you look hard. They have a really mild taste and the experience is more about the textures. The skin is inedible so don't try that sh*t but the innards are soft and mushy, a bit like the flesh of a lychee.

What's so magical about the gac fruit?

"When ripe, the fruit is bright orange or red, with a thick spiky rind and inside, a light orange spongy lining surrounding 15-20 bright red seed pods. It is the lining around the seed pods, the aril, that contains the rich Gac oil, prized for its nutrient content, which includes lycopene, beta-carotene and vitamins C and E. The Gac oil has the magical ability to help absorb all these important nutrients."

We all know by now that orange foods contain beta-carotene (the clue is in the word carotene - carrot, ok?) Which our bodies convert to vitamin A. Carrots = see in the dark vision and a healthy immune system. It's an overall anti-inflammatory antioxidant that helps prevention of a multitude of diseases both mentally and physically. Lycopene, found in tomatoes, is great for skin and anti-aging as well as being great for men's health; the prostate.

Gac fruit contains more beta-carotene and lycopene than oranges, tomatoes and carrots. It's wonderful and it's also paleo and it's very low in sugar, suitable for keto too.

Due to the story behind the Gac fruit supplements capsules by the British company, Only, I was overjoyed to try these. Loving the simplicity and the pure ingredients list, I'm excited to start taking some and my mum's on them too!