Eating jujubes for nourishment is great, but there are also some taboos about eating them circulating online. Some of these taboos have some truth to them, while others are completely untenable. Here, we will clarify three major misconceptions about eating jujubes.
Misconception 1: Jujubes are very effective for blood enrichment
First of all, it should be noted that eating jujubes is beneficial for anemia patients, just like eating other fruits such as apples or grapes. However, it is wrong to expect jujubes to have a special blood-enriching effect, or even to treat iron-deficiency anemia, in the same way as pork liver or meat do.
The iron content of fresh jujubes is relatively high among fruits, at 1.2 mg/100g. However, like other plant-based foods, the iron absorption rate from jujubes is extremely low and cannot be utilized well by the human body.
The Vitamin C (VC) content of fresh jujubes is among the highest of fruits, at 243 mg/100g. VC can promote iron absorption and help prevent and treat iron-deficiency anemia. However, as discussed above, fresh jujubes often cannot be eaten in large quantities. Eating only eight or ten jujubes is like scratching an itch through a boot—completely ineffective for blood enrichment.
Misconception 2: Jujubes cannot be eaten with carrots
The reason for this claim is that fresh jujubes are rich in Vitamin C (VC), while carrots contain an oxidase that can destroy VC, so the two together reduce the nutritional value of the jujubes. The first two sentences are correct: jujubes have VC, and carrots have oxidase. But the final conclusion is wrong. The destructive power of the oxidase in carrots is very limited; it can't even destroy all the VC in the carrots themselves, so how could it destroy the VC in other foods?
Therefore, if you are really that concerned about VC being destroyed, the "best" strategy would be to simply not eat carrots. But this also presents a problem, because vegetables like cucumbers also contain oxidases that destroy VC, so should you stop eating those as well? But that still doesn't work, because other foods, while lacking VC-destroying oxidases, have their own drawbacks—for example, eggs have cholesterol, and meat and milk have saturated fat… so should you not eat any of those either? Just starve to death.
As for the nonsense about food incompatibility, such as "jujubes cannot be eaten with seafood" or "jujubes cannot be eaten with green onions," it is not even worth refuting.
Misconception 3: Jujubes should not be eaten in large quantities
As is well known, fresh jujubes are not easy to digest. This is because jujubes not only have a low water content of only 67% (compared to 80%-90% for most other common fruits), but they also have a high dietary fiber content of 1.9%, significantly higher than other common fruits (for example, grapes average 0.4% and apples average 1.2%). Dietary fiber (especially insoluble fiber) cannot be digested in the stomach and small intestine, and a large intake at once can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. The dietary fiber in jujubes is mainly concentrated in the skin. The flesh of the jujube is crisp, but the skin is very thin and hard. It is difficult to crush it completely when chewing. You can try this: chew a fresh jujube, but do not swallow it; spit it out and observe. You will find that it contains fragments of jujube skin of various sizes, separated from the flesh, with irregular shapes and a hard, sharp texture. You can imagine that after swallowing them, if your gastric mucosa happens to have inflammation or an ulcer, it would be like rubbing salt in the wound, causing pain or discomfort.
Of course, if your stomach is healthy, with no inflammation, ulcers, or wounds, your tolerance for jujubes will be higher. Even so, eating too many fresh jujubes can still cause stomach discomfort. This is the reason why it is advised not to eat too many jujubes. However, even without obvious gastritis or ulcers, the thickness of a person's gastric mucosa and their tolerance to certain irritants can vary. Therefore, the appropriate amount of jujubes to eat (is it 5 or 35?) is completely individual, and there is no fixed limit. So, can't we at least give a general guideline?
Actually, giving a general guideline is also meaningless. Because when people eat jujubes, they can determine for themselves how many are appropriate based on their own condition. By trying them, you'll know how many is the right amount for you.