It is said that jujubes are a holy grail for blood nourishment, and many women especially like to eat candied or donkey-hide gelatin jujubes to "nourish their bodies." But are they really that effective? The editor shares health knowledge with you, revealing the four major dietary misconceptions about eating jujubes to replenish blood. Come and learn, so you don't eat so many jujubes for nothing without getting the nourishing effect!
First of all, it should be noted that it is beneficial for anemia patients to eat jujubes, just like eating other fruits such as apples or grapes. However, if you expect jujubes to have a special blood-nourishing effect, or even to treat iron-deficiency anemia like pork liver or meat, that is wrong.
Misconception 1: Jujubes are very effective for blood nourishment.
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 in jujubes is extremely low and cannot be well utilized by the human body.
The vitamin C (VC) content of fresh jujubes is among the highest in fruits, at 243 mg/100g. And VC can promote iron absorption and help prevent and treat iron-deficiency anemia. However, fresh jujubes are often not eaten in large quantities. Eating just eight or ten of them for blood nourishment is purely scratching an itch through a boot—it doesn't really help.
Misconception 2: Jujubes are high in sugar, so they are not suitable for people with constipation.
First, the logic of this statement is flawed. A high sugar content worsens constipation? How is that possible! There's no sugar in stool, and sugar doesn't affect bowel movements; the two are unrelated. Besides, there are countless foods high in sugar, and it's not just jujubes.
The reality is that jujubes contain a significant amount of dietary fiber, which has a laxative effect. Therefore, eating jujubes (as well as other fruits and vegetables rich in dietary fiber) can help relieve constipation. Of course, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. People with constipation can try eating jujubes to see if it worsens or alleviates their condition. Aren't the media and "experts" getting tired of repeating the same things?
Misconception 3: Jujubes cannot be eaten with carrots.
The reason given to support this claim is that fresh jujubes are rich in Vitamin C (VC), while carrots contain an oxidase that can destroy VC, so when the two are eaten together, the nutritional value of the jujubes is reduced. The first two parts 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 contained in carrots themselves, let alone the VC in other foods.
Therefore, if you are truly that concerned about VC being destroyed, the "best" strategy would be to simply not eat carrots. But this also has a problem, because besides carrots, vegetables like cucumbers also contain oxidase that destroys VC, so should you stop eating those too? But that still doesn't work, because other foods, although they may not have oxidase that destroys VC, have other drawbacks—for example, eggs have cholesterol, and meat and milk have saturated fat. Should you avoid all of them too? Then you would starve to death.
As for the nonsense based on the concept of "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 4: 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% (most other common fruits are 80%-90%), but they are also high in dietary fiber, at 1.9%, which is 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 consuming a large amount 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, making it difficult to crush completely when chewed.
You can try this: chew a fresh jujube, but do not swallow it. Spit it out and observe, and you will find that it contains jujube skin fragments of various sizes, separated from the flesh, with irregular shapes and hard, sharp edges. 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 a wound, causing pain or discomfort.
Of course, if your stomach is healthy and has no inflammation, ulcers, or wounds, your tolerance for jujubes will be higher. When eating jujubes, people can determine the right amount for themselves based on their own condition. By trying them, you will know how many jujubes are appropriate.