Does eating sugarcane in the spring cause excessive internal heat?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, sugarcane enters the lung and stomach meridians, and has the special effects of clearing heat, generating fluids, promoting the downward flow of qi, moistening dryness, and nourishing the lung and stomach. Sugarcane can treat fluid damage caused by febrile diseases, vexation, thirst, nausea and vomiting, and coughing and wheezing caused by lung dryness.

In addition, sugarcane can also relieve constipation and resolve stagnation, and drinking its juice can also alleviate alcohol poisoning. However, eating too much sucrose is not good for the brain, and long-term consumption can cause great damage to teeth.

Sugarcane and Water Chestnut Drink

The juice of sugarcane itself is cooling in nature, so people with a cold and deficient constitution should not drink too much of it. If those with a cold cough (with white and thin phlegm) mistakenly drink it, the condition may worsen immediately. It is said that steaming the sugarcane before juicing can avoid this drawback, but its actual efficacy still needs to be verified. However, boiling water with black sugarcane, cogon grass root, and carrot does have the effect of clearing heat, which is most suitable for children who have a lot of eye discharge and a cranky temperament. If water chestnut (马蹄) is added, it can be drunk as a daily drink when children have chickenpox or measles to clear heat and detoxify. It can help the virus erupt and also speed up recovery.

As for why some people get "heatiness" and blisters in their mouth after eating sugarcane, it is because:

First: The main component of sugarcane is fiber. The fiber of sugarcane is particularly coarse, while the tissue of the tongue is relatively tender. When eating sugarcane, the friction between the tongue and the fiber can easily sting the tissue on the tongue.

Second: The juice of sugarcane is rich in sugar. There are salivary glands on the tongue, and the so-called saliva is an enzyme, which is a maltase. This enzyme can convert the sugar in the mouth into maltose, and it is this reaction that causes blisters on the tongue.