It seems that the health and food industries are pushing more and more the vegetable scene and less on the fruit end. Many “health conscious” people reduce the amount (or eliminate it completely) because of their high sugar content (when compared to vegetables). But should these sweet and delicious edibles be left out of the diet? Or are they more critical then the other groups are letting on?
Fruits are seeds surrounded by fleshy pulp (except in the case of strawberries which are inside out). They are the next generation of the plant they originate from, coming to life. When the flowers of the fruit bearing plant are fertilized by insects (especially bees), the petals of the flower shrivel up and die. At the base of the flower, the bulb begins to swell and grow. Over the next few weeks, it transforms from a green part of the stem into the fleshy fruits we all know and love.
When the fruit in untouched by man or animal, it continues to ripen on the plant itself. It 
draws more and more nutrients in from the soil and sun and stores them in the flesh of the fruit. If the fruit never is plucked off, it ripens until it falls away. Then the seeds inside are further nourished by the rotting fruit and if inserted in the ground, they can sprout and grow.
All of this potential to grow and develop is locked inside the fruit and seeds. When the fruit is allowed to become ripe on the vine it gathers in a sweet and delicious flavor. Unripe fruit tastes sour and bitter and can even make one sick. However, fully ripened fruit has healing and restorative properties. The sweetness and tenderness of the fruit indicate its ready to consume state.
However, it is difficult to get fully ripened fruit. Fruits have seasons of growth and do not just drop ripe fruit at a moment’s notice. This has caused many growers and sellers to pick fruits in advance of their ripened state and let them “ripen” over the course of shipping and sitting in the grocery store. But, unlike the ripening that happens on the vine, nutrients are not added to these fruits anymore. They simply break down on the inside. They aren’t ripening; they’re rotting. Who wants to eat rotting fruit?
Well, most of us do all the time. Our produce section in the grocery store isn’t full of ripe fruit fresh from the local farm, but unripe, rotting vegetables from sometimes half way around the world and them after weeks after being picked and then allowed to rot is not acceptable. Consuming fruits should be done intelligently.
A good fruit juice blend like MonaVie’s acai drinks is a perfect example of this. They are made from super fruits and berries that are allowed to ripen and mature on the plants they come from. The acai itself is kept on the tree until it is picked, juiced and freeze dried in a very short time. This allows the berry to be packed with nutrients like antioxidants and full of nothing but health to the drinker. This is the only way to get the ripe fruits of the world into your body.