🌿 Folk Prescriptions

People commonly believe that eating fruit benefits the body and more is better. However, this is not always true. Certain fruits can be harmful—or even dangerous—for specific individuals at certain times. Improper handling may even cause disease. Therefore, mastering correct methods of fruit consumption is essential.
Fruit Properties
Fruits are generally classified into three categories: cold-cool, warm-hot, and neutral-sweet. Cold-cool fruits include tangerines, mandarins, water chestnuts, bananas, snow pears, persimmons, and watermelons—those with cold constitutions should consume them cautiously. Warm-hot fruits include dates, chestnuts, peaches, apricots, longans, lychees, grapes, cherries, pomegranates, and pineapples—those with hot constitutions should eat them in moderation. Neutral-sweet fruits include plums, prunes, coconuts, loquats, hawthorns, and apples—suitable for all constitution types.
Fruit Consumption Precautions
Avoid excessive intake of acidic fruits such as waxberries, plums, and prunes. The acidic substances in these fruits are hard to oxidize and decompose, easily causing internal acidosis. They also contain tannic acid, which, when consumed with seafood, binds with proteins and precipitates in the intestines, leading to vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and indigestion. Moreover, the acidity in fruits stimulates the gastric mucosa together with gastric acid—patients with ulcers should avoid acidic fruits. Constipated individuals should also limit acidic fruits to avoid worsening constipation.
Consume longans and lychees in moderation. These fruits are warm in nature; eating too many can generate internal heat and cause “fire.” Those with excessive internal heat or yin deficiency with fire should avoid them, as overconsumption may cause gum swelling, bleeding, and nosebleeds. Severe cases may develop “lychee disease.”
Not everyone can eat pears or pomelos. These fruits are cold in nature; excessive consumption harms yang energy. People with yang deficiency, cold limbs, weak stomachs, or pregnant women should avoid or refrain from eating them.
Do not eat fruit on an empty stomach. Tomatoes, persimmons, tangerines, hawthorns, bananas, and almonds should not be eaten on an empty stomach. Tomatoes contain pectin, galactoglucon, and soluble astringents; eating them on an empty stomach causes them to combine with gastric acid, increasing gastric pressure and causing bloating and pain. Persimmons contain tannins, which, when combined with gastric acid, form “persimmon stones.” Patients with gallstones or kidney stones should be cautious when eating persimmons to avoid worsening their condition. Tangerines contain large amounts of sugar and organic acids; eating them on an empty stomach can cause gastric distension and belching. Hawthorns are sour; eating them on an empty stomach may cause hunger-like discomfort or stomach pain. Bananas are high in potassium and magnesium; eating them on an empty stomach raises blood magnesium levels, potentially suppressing cardiovascular function. Almonds should not be eaten on an empty stomach, nor immediately after meat or starchy foods, as this may disrupt gastrointestinal function.
Common Fruit Evaluations
Watermelon: A great summer cooling fruit, but diabetics and those prone to bloating should avoid it. Watermelon, like many high-sugar fruits, is digested in the intestines rather than the stomach. When consumed with foods requiring saliva and gastric digestion, watermelon breaks down quickly in the stomach, begins fermenting, and produces gas, causing bloating and discomfort. For this reason, watermelon should be eaten separately, on an empty stomach, or two hours after other meals.
Banana: Not suitable for those with cold constitution or weak stomachs, as bananas digest slowly in the gastrointestinal tract and may harm the gallbladder.
Grape: Best consumed two days after picking, as freshly harvested grapes produce large amounts of gas in the small intestine. The inner membrane of grape skins is rich in nutrients, but the skin and seeds should be avoided—they are hard to digest and may cause bloating.
Tangerine: Sweet and sour in taste, cold in nature. It helps regulate qi, moisten lungs, sober up, and stop diarrhea. It can resolve dampness, phlegm, detoxify, relieve cough, and treat lower back pain and mastitis. However, those with “yin deficiency and yang excess” should eat less to avoid “excessive upper burner fire.”
Coconut: Sweet in taste, beneficial for invigorating qi and killing parasites. Coconut juice and flesh are edible. Shake mature coconuts—the sound of liquid hitting the shell can be heard.
Apple: Beautiful color, fragrant, crisp, and sweet. According to traditional Chinese medicine, apples are neutral in nature and have functions of nourishing the heart, moistening the lungs, generating fluids, detoxifying, strengthening qi, harmonizing the stomach, sobering up, and calming the liver. However, due to high fructose and organic acid content, apples can strongly erode teeth. It is advisable to rinse mouth or brush teeth after eating.
Pomegranate: Crystalline, bright red flesh, sweet and sour, refreshing. According to TCM, pomegranate is warm and astringent, moisturizing and consolidating. It treats dry throat and thirst, quenches thirst, stops diarrhea, and strengthens the kidneys. But overeating may damage teeth and increase phlegm.
Pineapple: Sweet and sour, neutral in nature. It helps treat nephritis edema, hypertension, and bronchitis. However, clinical observations show that some people experience allergic reactions after eating pineapple—commonly known as “pineapple disease” or “pineapple poisoning.” Symptoms appear within 15 minutes to one hour: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, along with allergic reactions such as headache, dizziness, flushed skin, cyanosis, numbness in limbs and mouth. Severe cases may suddenly faint or even go into shock. Therefore, those with pineapple allergies should avoid it.
Lychee: Nourishes the brain and strengthens the body, enhances intelligence. Poets once wrote: “Eating three hundred lychees a day, I’d gladly live forever in Lingnan.” But in reality, lychees should not be eaten in excess. Overconsumption can cause internal heat, disrupt sugar metabolism, and lead to “lychee disease” (hypoglycemia). Mild symptoms include nausea, sweating, thirst, weakness; severe cases involve dizziness, unconsciousness. Thus, lychees should not be eaten in large quantities, especially for children.
Mango: Golden yellow, sweet, juicy, and fragrant. It benefits the stomach and stops vomiting. Its peel can treat eczema and dermatitis. However, avoid eating with spicy foods—excessive consumption may harm the kidneys.
Pomelo: Contains insulin-like substances, vitamins, niacin, sugars, calcium, iron, phosphorus, lipids, etc. Sweet and sour in taste, cold in nature. It helps descend qi, reduce inflammation, aid digestion, sober up, has unique blood sugar-lowering effects, and promotes beauty and hair growth.
Plum: Delicious and juicy, clears liver heat and activates blood circulation, offering beautifying and blackening hair effects. However, overeating plums generates phlegm and damages teeth. Weak individuals should eat less. According to ancient experience, if plums taste bitter or float in water, they are toxic and should not be consumed.