The daily diet is related to our body's health, so we should pay attention to dietary health. There are many types of food. Below, the editor has compiled the dietary taboos for several most common foods. Let's take a look!
I. Sour and Astringent Fruits
The common side effect of this type of fruit is that it can cause cavities. Moreover, these fruits are considered "hot" in nature and can promote the accumulation of heat in the body. Acidity can trigger water retention in the body, thus generating a large amount of phlegm. Therefore, patients who cough with a large amount of phlegm should limit their intake of such fruits.
The so-called "sour" fruits mainly include red bayberries, pomegranates, cherries, plums, apricots, hawthorn, and quince (also known as wood pear). Eating quince is harmful to people with urination difficulties. Even hawthorn is not very suitable for some patients. If a person who is abnormally weak and thin eats a lot of these fruits on an empty stomach, they will soon feel a gurgling and rumbling of gas in the stomach, and it can also damage the spleen.
II. "Sweet" Foods
Excessive consumption of sweet foods may cause stagnation of spleen and stomach qi, leading to symptoms such as satiety and bloating. Prolonged stagnation of qi can transform into fever. In addition, eating too many sweets can also damage teeth and produce phlegm. Therefore, when you have symptoms like satiety, bloating, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, constipation, edema, toothache, asthma, or heartburn, you should not consume excessive sweet foods (such as those containing maltose, granulated sugar, or sucrose).
Although honey helps to moisten the intestines and relieve constipation, patients with cough and phlegm, bloating, or vomiting should limit their intake. Conversely, many fruits also contain a large amount of sugar, and overconsumption can lead to ascariasis. Lychee has an extremely "hot" nature, so it is not advisable for people who already have a significant accumulation of heat in their bodies to eat it.
If you eat a lot of sour jujubes, you will feel bloated, thirsty, and have a dry mouth. Although sour jujubes are sweet and sour, they are irritating. Eating too many of them can damage teeth, lead to the production of phlegm and damp-heat in the body. Therefore, patients with jaundice, internal damp-heat, and those who are prone to producing phlegm should not eat sour jujubes.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, starchy foods have a "sweet" taste. Starchy foods include Chinese yam, lotus seeds, fox nuts (gorgon fruit), water chestnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts. If you consume too much of these foods, it is easy to experience bloating and constipation. Therefore, people who often feel chest tightness, suffer from constipation, or have dry stools should further limit their intake of these foods. Sweet potatoes can cause bloating and heartburn; Taro, which also belongs to this category, can cause abdominal swelling and discomfort. Potatoes, although sweet in taste and "cold" in nature that does not cause constipation or heartburn, can lead to bloating and abdominal pain. People with insufficient qi and blood and a "cold" constitution should not eat too much of this food.
III. "Gentleman's Vegetable" - Bitter Melon
Not suitable to eat on an empty stomach: Bitter melon has a certain effect of lowering blood sugar. When a person's blood sugar level is already low on an empty stomach, eating bitter melon will lower it further, leading to hypoglycemia. Some people who are trying to lose weight like to drink bitter melon juice on an empty stomach, which is incorrect. From a nutritional perspective, liquid food stays in the gastrointestinal tract for a short time, and the nutrients are metabolized before they can be fully absorbed. Therefore, it is recommended that those trying to lose weight eat some solid food first before drinking bitter melon juice.
Consume with caution if you have a weak and cold spleen and stomach: Some people have a weak and cold spleen and stomach, and eating cold foods easily causes diarrhea, with normally loose and light-colored stools. Such people are not very suitable for eating bitter melon. Even if they do eat it, it is best to pair it with pungent foods during cooking (such as chili, pepper, scallions, or garlic) to avoid the bitter flavor from affecting the heart and to help benefit the lung qi.
Eat less during menstruation and lactation: Bitter melon is bitter and cold, and its astringent nature can slow down blood flow due to cold coagulation. Therefore, women during their menstrual period should eat less bitter melon to avoid affecting the smooth flow of menstruation. In addition, "momordicin" in bitter melon can cause uterine contractions. Although the content is not high, pregnant women should still consume it in moderation and not eat too much.
IV. Pungent and Spicy Vegetables
These foods are often used as condiments for vegetable and meat dishes. Sweet peppers (Sichuan pepper), red chilies, black pepper, etc., have pungent and heating properties. If consumed in large quantities, these foods can easily lead to "heatiness," damage yin, and consume qi. All patients with bleeding symptoms (such as nosebleeds, hemoptysis, hematuria, blood in stool, etc.) and people who are prone to "heatiness" should avoid these foods.
In addition, excessive consumption of black pepper is bad for the eyes and can cause blurred vision. Foods with irritating and heating properties, such as cloves, cinnamon, and fennel, are harmful to people with deficient qi and excessive internal fire and should not be consumed.
Besides this, there are other irritating vegetables (such as onions, garlic, cilantro (coriander), fresh ginger, etc.) that are also taboo foods for many patients. For example, garlic itself is very beneficial to human health (such as expelling toxins, dispelling cold, and removing dampness). However, some patients (such as those with furuncles or eye diseases), even after recovery, should still limit their consumption of these foods. If too many of these strongly irritating foods are consumed, it may lead to confusion of consciousness and blurred vision. Especially for disabled people and those with hyperhidrosis, these foods are also forbidden.