Summer is the season when plums ripen. These fruits, with their sweet and sour taste and soft, rich flesh, are truly mouth-watering. However, plums should not be eaten in excess. While the saying "Eating too many peaches can make you sick, but eating too many plums can cost you your life" is not scientifically sound, eating too many plums can indeed be harmful to your health. So, what happens when you eat too many plums? What are the specific drawbacks?
Excessive plum consumption can easily lead to acid reflux.
Plums are sour, and eating them in moderation can promote the secretion of stomach acid and digestive enzymes, thereby improving appetite and aiding digestion. This is particularly effective for those with insufficient stomach acid, post-meal bloating, and constipation. However, eating too many can overstimulate the secretion of stomach acid, leading to discomfort such as acid reflux and heartburn.
Excessive plum consumption can easily damage the spleen and stomach.
Plums are considered a "cold" natured food in traditional Chinese medicine. Eating too many cold-natured foods can easily cause a deficiency and coldness in the spleen and stomach. A weakened spleen affects food digestion, which is why many people experience diarrhea after eating too many plums. Moreover, plums contain a high amount of fruit acid, which can overstimulate stomach acid secretion, damage the gastric mucosa, and cause stomach pain.
Excessive plum consumption can easily damage teeth.
Plums are sour, and acidic foods that linger in the mouth for a long time can damage tooth enamel. Plums have a strong sour taste, and eating too many of them creates an acidic environment in the mouth. For individuals with already damaged tooth enamel, eating plums can cause a noticeable, sharp tooth pain.
Excessive plum consumption can easily lead to the production of phlegm and dampness.
The book "Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu" (Dietary Manual for a Peaceful Life) records that plums "when eaten in excess, produce phlegm, promote dampness, and can trigger malaria. Those with a weak spleen should especially avoid them." This means that eating too many plums can generate phlegm and dampness.
Excessive plum consumption can easily lead to a feeling of physical weakness.
Sun Simiao once said: "Do not eat them in excess, as it makes one deficient." In daily life, it is confirmed that eating too many plums can make a person exhibit symptoms of deficiency heat, brain swelling, irritability, and excessive sweating.
Excessive plum consumption can easily cause mouth ulcers.
Some people develop mouth ulcers after eating too many plums. While mouth ulcers are the most common symptom of "heatiness" (a concept in traditional Chinese medicine), not all mouth ulcers are caused by it. Plums contain a high amount of plant acid. Consuming too many without promptly rinsing the mouth can irritate the oral mucosa, causing it to break down and leading to symptoms that resemble mouth ulcers, but this is not due to "heatiness."
How many plums should you eat at one time?
Because plums are "cold" in nature, eating too many can produce phlegm, even deficiency heat, and cause intense gastrointestinal contractions. Those with a weak spleen and stomach or poor digestion should eat them sparingly. For adults, eating five or six at a time is fine, but the daily intake should not exceed five (100 grams). For babies, one or two is the maximum.
Dietary Restrictions for Plums
1. They are particularly beneficial for those with fever, thirst, deficiency with steaming bones, ascites due to liver disease, teachers, actors with hoarseness or loss of voice, and those with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.
2. Plums contain a high amount of fruit acid, which can harm the spleen and stomach in excess. Overconsumption can easily cause stomach pain. Those with ulcers or acute/chronic gastroenteritis should avoid them.
3. Eating too many can easily produce phlegm and dampness, harm the spleen and stomach, and damage teeth. Those with a weak spleen, phlegm-dampness constitution, and children should not eat many.
4. Plums are incompatible with green fish; eating them with honey, sparrow meat, chicken, eggs, duck meat, or duck eggs can damage the five organs. Do not eat them with elk meat.
5. Plums that taste bitter and astringent or do not sink in water are toxic. These are unripe plums and should not be eaten.
6. Plums must never be eaten on an empty stomach, as this can cause extreme damage to the stomach.