By April Chong

Vegetarian Society stalwart Low Yeow Nguan is not just a vegetarian, he is a fruitarian. His daily diet for the last nine years has been just fruit and nuts.

Mr Low, 48, an avid sportsman who swims, jogs or goes to the gym three to four times a week, sticks to a diet that is a challenge to many.

The executive director of education and outreach at the Vegetarian Society had been a strict vegetarian for 25 years but decided to eat only fruit and nuts in the last decade.

Mr Low - who is single - made the switch for ethical reasons.

'We take from the tree what the tree wants to give,' he said, so no plants are killed.

His refrigerator is stocked with mangoes and passionfruit, seeds and soaked nuts which are softened and easy to use in blended drinks. He also stockpiles dates in his freezer as good ones are usually available only during Hari Raya.

He eats only some of the fruit, blending the rest into smoothies 80 per cent of the time.

The smoothies are filling because of the high fibre content, he said. A large glass can keep him going for three to four hours, especially if it has high energy ingredients like bananas and nuts.

Otherwise, he carries dried fruit like figs with him in case he gets hungry. Or he just snacks on a banana which he calls 'nature's fast food'.

When asked if his diet is balanced, especially when some types of fruits are known to lack nutrients like iron and calcium, Mr Low agreed that one should include fruits and nuts that are high in these nutrients.

For example, bananas and apples give him iron while figs are rich in calcium.

He takes vitamin B12 supplements which help maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells.

He said he has not seen a doctor for any ailment since 1995.

While he is happy that more people are cutting down on meat and turning vegetarian, he said that one should not suddenly adopt a fruitarian diet. The body needs time to adjust to the detoxifying effect and any change should be gradual.

To most people, the fruitarian diet does sound like a challenge and Mr Low believes he is the only Singaporean who follows it.

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.