The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-01
ON FRUIT AND NUTS.
Man and Wife Who Have Made Prac-
teal Test of These Foods.


teal Test of These Foods.
New York Mail and Express.
For eighteen months Emile La Croix,
New York actor, and his wife have lived
happily and heartily on nuts and fruits,
and nothing else. Their home is at Engle-
wood Cliffs. just across the Hudson from
upper Manhattan. In the winter Mr.. La
Croix is ION the road;'' in the summer he
turns gardener, by the way of variety,
and when. at intervals. he comes TO town,
X is on his bicycle.
II was a thirst-provoking day in the ear
ly spring when the writer first met Mr..
La Croix in the rooms of the Actors So
ciety, in West Fortieth street. A sugges-
ton to quench the thirst was natural.
But l don't drink" said Mr.. La Croix.
1t was explained that lemonade or some
thing of the sort was implied in the invi-
tation.
But don't drink lemonade" answered
the actor.
well, plain settler, then"
Nor seltZer," said Mr.. La Croix. Nor
coffee, nor tea, nor milk-not even water.
1 don't drink anything. and I'm not
thirsty" He added that since last summer
he had not taken a mouthful of any liquid
whatever.
II ma" he went on, that all the water
which my body needs internally is sup
Piled distilled by nature, in the fruits
eat. And L eat nothing, you know, but
fruits and nuts. / eat nearly all the fruits
in season, and all the nuts, excepting chest
nuts and peanuts Chestnuts contain too
much starch, and peanuts belong TO the
vegetable family. / object both to vege-
tables and to cereals Vegetables, in my
opinion, especially beans, contain too much
xanthine. which is closely allied to uric
acid, and cereals contain calcareous mat
ter, which is deposited in the joints and
makes us old before our time. Even eggs
contain uric acid. and while milk is a nat
ural food it is such an absorbent of odors
and disease that l think it is just as well
to let 1t alone. Besides, / don't need IL.
Fruits and nuts. by actual analysis, have
all the elements necessary to sustain hu-
main life-the proteids, carbohydrates, n.y.
drocarbons and salts. 1 eat no salt other
| than what is contained in them.
The actors arm is that of an athlete
by special exercise. His chest expansion is
over six inches.
II got that chest by running" he said.
when a young man in France, where
/ was born, / was threatened with consump-
| ton. Running in the open air cured it.
| Then, several years ago, physician told
me l had symptoms of locomotOr ataxia.
L also victim of catarrh. which was
a detriment to actor. One of New
York's leading specialists in throat troubles
said he could do nothing for me. To-day
L am perfectly healthy man. l wear linen
| underclothing in winter and only the film
siest of light overcoats in the coolest
weather. AS you see, am in the prime
| of life. How many men of my age can do
| ths?"
While seated, he grasped a foot by the
| ankle and easily touched his forehead
| with il.
NO calcareous matter in my joints" he
/ said, with a smile. Now, formerly, my
| legs were as stiff as the average man s.
! You see, / take no impurities into my blood
| with my nourishment. Any one who knows
| will tell you that the juice of fruits har-
} bors no microbes injurious TO man.
! And the nuts! What a fine food, for
| example, is the walnut-in appearance IT
| self brain. In the morning l eat a double
| handful of shelled nuts, fifteen dates. an
apple and an orange. That is my break
| nuts, every day in the year. My dinner in
| the evening is practically the same thing
| Before going to bed l take two or three
| apples. But L eat nothing in the middle
| of the day"
And do you ever sigh for the flesh
pots?"
We'll" admitted Mr. La Croix, some
times the smell of a cooked dish is temp
! tation, Just as people who live the usual
way are tempted by things which do not
agree with them. But what l eat relish
| II satisfies my hunger; it agrees with me
and gives me health. What more could
| one ask?"
do you drink nothing. even in summer
! Yes in summer, when i work in the
| garden and perspire freely, l drink little
water-but always distilled water. AT
other times 1 am not often thirsty. When
| am eat al dpplc.
| Mr. La Croix, with his wife, who shares
his mode of living, became a vegetarian in
| 1896. Two years ago he further simplifed
| his diet by living exclusively on uncooked
/ food of which wheat was an important
item. Six months later he adopted his
/ present fare.
1.-The French people," says Mr.. La Croix
| earnestly, ARE consuming their own great
ness just as the Roman empire went down
| the throats of the Romans. Yes, that is
my own idea. l hold that the race has
eaten itself down from giants in stature
| strong-limbed and clear-eyed to the pig
mics of to-day dying before their time
! and scourged by terrible diseases, before
1 which the so-called science of medicine
| stands pOwerless.
| And the cost of Mr. La Croixs diet
| Shelled nuts average 40 cents a pound. In
| spring the best apples in New York fetch
| 5 cents each. Mr.. La CroiX eats five ounces
/ of nuts and six apples daily. So il costs
/ him about 43 cents a day for his food.