Chinese cuisine is extensive and profound, but not everything can be eaten indiscriminately. For example, the following food combinations, if consumed, may cause varying degrees of harm to your body.
1. Persimmons and Crabs
Consequence: May cause vomiting and diarrhea
Reason: Crabs are rich in protein. When combined with the tannins in persimmons, it can easily precipitate and coagulate into a substance that is difficult to digest. As tannins have an astringent effect, they can also inhibit the secretion of digestive fluids, causing the coagulated substance to remain in the intestines and ferment, leading to food poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea for the consumer.
2. Oranges and Milk
Consequence: May cause bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea
Reason: The protein in milk will first encounter the citric acid and vitamin C in oranges and coagulate into lumps, affecting digestion and absorption.
3. Pomegranates and Seafood
Consequence: May cause abdominal pain
Reason: Fish, shrimp, and algae in seafood are rich in nutrients such as protein and calcium. If consumed with pomegranates, which contain tannic acid, not only will the nutritional value of the protein be reduced, but the calcium in the seafood is also prone to combine with the tannic acid to form a new, indigestible substance. This substance can irritate the stomach and cause discomfort. Other autumn fruits with high tannic acid content include persimmons, grapes, hawthorn, and green olives.
4. Radishes and Oranges
Consequence: May induce or lead to an enlarged and painful thyroid gland.
Reason: After cruciferous vegetables like radishes enter the human body, they are metabolized to produce an anti-thyroid substance—thiocyanic acid. The amount of this substance produced is proportional to the intake. Meanwhile, flavonoid substances in fruits like oranges, pears, and grapes are decomposed by bacteria in the intestines into hydroxybenzoic acid and ferulic acid, which can enhance the effect of thiocyanic acid in inhibiting the thyroid.
5. Chestnuts and Tofu
Consequence: May lead to the formation of stones
Reason: Tofu contains magnesium chloride and calcium sulfate, while chestnuts contain oxalic acid. When these two foods are consumed together, they can form magnesium oxalate and calcium oxalate. These two white precipitates not only affect the body's absorption of calcium but can also easily lead to lithiasis. Similarly, tofu should not be eaten with bamboo shoots, water bamboo, or spinach.
6. Seafood and Beer
Consequence: May trigger gout
Reason: Seafood contains two components: purine and nucleotide. Beer, on the other hand, is rich in vitamin B1, an important catalyst that breaks down these two components. Eating seafood while drinking beer can easily cause a sharp increase in blood uric acid levels, triggering gout, which can lead to gouty nephropathy, gouty arthritis, and other conditions.
7. Eggs and Soy Milk
Consequence: May affect digestion
Reason: Raw soy milk contains trypsin inhibitors, which can inhibit the activity of human proteases, affecting the digestion and absorption of protein in the body. Meanwhile, the viscous protein in egg whites can bind with the trypsin in soy milk, hindering the breakdown of protein and thereby reducing the body's absorption rate of protein.
8. Milk and Chocolate
Consequence: May cause diarrhea
Reason: The calcium in milk will combine with the oxalic acid in chocolate to form calcium oxalate, which is insoluble in water. After consumption, it is not absorbed and can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and dry hair.