A popular rumor circulating online claims that you cannot drink milk for 8 hours after eating durian, or else something terrible will happen. It's said that the combination of durian and milk produces a large amount of caffeine that can lead to sudden death, and this "poison is more potent than cobra venom."
If you can't drink milk 8 hours after eating durian, what about consuming them at the same time? Wouldn't that be even worse? Durian lovers are not convinced. Take a series of delicious desserts like durian cream puffs, durian ice cream, and durian mille-crêpe cakes, for example. Aren't all of these made by blending fresh cream or condensed milk with durian? They are all made from processed fresh milk, yet there have been no reported cases of anyone being poisoned from eating them.
The truth is out there. Next, the slumbering "Durian Conan" will crack the truth behind this rumor for you.
1. Do durian and milk produce a large amount of caffeine when combined?
Durian ingredients: carbohydrates, protein, sugar, vitamins, minerals, etc.
Milk: Milk is rich in minerals, with high levels of calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and molybdenum.
So where is the caffeine? It is mainly found in coffee, tea, and other herbal plants.
It is true that excessive caffeine intake can lead to high blood pressure, palpitations, insomnia, and other discomforts. However, durian does not contain caffeine, nor does milk. It's impossible for caffeine to be produced from eating them together or one after the other. Whether a food can produce caffeine is an inherent property of that food.
The cases of poisoning from mixing certain foods that are spread online, such as some people being allergic to seafood or others getting an upset stomach from drinking milk, are extremely rare and not everyone will be affected. This phenomenon is called an allergy or a digestive issue, which is also related to individual physical characteristics, and it cannot be considered poisoning.
The concept of "food incompatibility" doesn't mean that eating two certain foods together will definitely produce toxins or cause fatal poisoning. It's just that improper selection, combination, and processing of certain foods can lead to varying degrees of adverse reactions in people with allergies. Chinese food culture has a long and storied history, and the Manchu Han Imperial Feast is a testament to the wide variety of food combinations. There are no absolute food incompatibilities. As long as you achieve reasonable pairing and a balanced diet, the side effects between nutrients can be negligible.
2. Does consuming durian and milk together or one after the other lead to sudden death?
The risk factors for sudden cardiac death include gender, age, family history, high levels of low-density lipoprotein, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes, among other reasons. The causes are multifaceted. You cannot conclude that eating durian and milk together causes sudden death based on some coincidental factors.
Therefore, the only "big thing" that will happen after eating durian and milk together is that you'll realize that eating them this way has absolutely no effect. The end.
However, although there are no absolute taboos for eating durian, the following special groups should not eat too much of it:
1. Diabetics. Firstly, its sugar content is relatively high, so it is not suitable for diabetics to eat a lot of it.
2. People who are prone to "heatiness" (a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine).
3. Patients with kidney and heart disease. Because every 100 grams of durian contains 261mg of potassium.
4. Durian has high calories and sugar content, with 500 grams containing 500 kcal. People with colds, high blood pressure, and diabetes should not consume too much durian.