Seven Taboos of Fruit Consumption
One: Avoid eating unhygienic fruit: Consuming fruit that has started to rot, or fruit lacking dust-proof and fly-proof equipment and not thoroughly washed and disinfected—such as strawberries, mulberries, or sliced watermelon—is prone to cause gastrointestinal infectious diseases like dysentery, typhoid fever, and acute gastritis.
Two: Do not disinfect fruit with alcohol: Although alcohol kills surface bacteria, it alters the color, aroma, and taste of fruit. Alcohol reacts with organic acids in fruit, reducing its nutritional value.
Three: Do not eat raw fruit without peeling: Some believe that the vitamin content in fruit peels exceeds that in the flesh, so they eat fruit including the peel. However, when fruit is infested by pests or diseases, pesticides are often sprayed, which penetrate and remain trapped in the wax layer of the peel. Thus, pesticide residues in the peel are much higher than in the flesh.
Four: Do not use kitchen knives to peel fruit: Kitchen knives frequently contact meat, fish, and vegetables, potentially transferring parasites or parasite eggs onto fruit, leading to parasitic infections. Especially, rust on the knife blade reacts chemically with tannic acid in apples, deteriorating the apple’s color, aroma, and taste.
Five: Do not eat fruit immediately after meals: Eating fruit right after a meal does not aid digestion but instead causes bloating and constipation. Therefore, it is better to eat fruit 2 hours after a meal or 1 hour before a meal.
Six: Do not skip rinsing after eating fruit: Some fruits contain fermentable sugars that strongly corrode teeth. If not rinsed after consumption, residual fruit particles in the mouth easily lead to tooth decay.
Seven: Do not overeat fruit: Excessive fruit intake may lead to copper deficiency in the body, resulting in elevated blood cholesterol and increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. Therefore, avoid eating large quantities of fruit in a short time.
Potential “fruit diseases” caused by excessive fruit consumption:
1. Allergy: Commonly seen with mangoes and pineapples. Some people experience immediate numbness and swelling of lips, severe cases developing rashes all over the body;
2. Stones: Excessive consumption of persimmons may cause stones, related to their high tannin content. Furthermore, calcium from gypsum used to reduce astringency may further increase stone formation risk, especially causing intestinal obstruction in the elderly;
3. Constipation: According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, apples and guava have "astringent" properties and are used to treat diarrhea. Therefore, people with constipation should eat less. Apples contain abundant tannic acid, which combines with proteins to form astringent tannic protein, slowing intestinal motility and prolonging stool retention time in the intestines, thus easily causing constipation;
4. Hypoglycemia: Eating too many lychees may trigger hypoglycemia. Patients with chronic tonsillitis, pharyngitis, allergies, or diabetes should avoid eating fresh lychees in large quantities;
5. Poor Digestibility: Durian contains rich plant protein, making it difficult to digest.