There was once a patient with chronic nephritis who had a very poor appetite and ate very little. Once, a friend came to visit him in the hospital and brought a large bunch of bananas. He wanted to eat them, but his wife, following the doctor's instructions, only gave him one at a time. One time, when his wife was not around, he ate several in a row. A few hours later, the patient suddenly felt dizzy, weak in his limbs, short of breath, and had a tight feeling in his chest. Upon examination, it was found that the patient's blood pressure had dropped, his heart rate was slow, and his breathing was also slow. A blood test showed an excessive level of magnesium in the blood. From the medical history, it was learned that the patient had eaten too many bananas on an empty stomach. After a period of intense treatment, the patient's condition was stabilized. The doctor explained that because the patient's kidney function was poor and urination was low, bananas contain a large amount of magnesium. Eating too many at once on an empty stomach caused a large amount of magnesium to be absorbed into the blood, which could not be excreted in the urine, leading to an imbalance in the calcium-magnesium ratio in the blood and causing magnesium poisoning. Magnesium has a suppressive effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems; in severe cases, it can lead to paralysis of the respiratory center and cardiac arrest. Therefore, one must not eat too many bananas on an empty stomach in the future.
Different patients have different fruits that are beneficial or harmful to them. Besides the example above, such as:
Patients with gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, or excessive stomach acid should not eat fruits with too much organic acid, such as plums, hawthorns, and lemons, to avoid damaging the gastric mucosa and worsening the condition.
Patients with hepatitis should also avoid fruits with high organic acid content, but they can eat more fruits rich in vitamin C, such as red dates and oranges.
Diabetic patients should not eat fruits with high sugar content, such as pears, apples, bananas, sugarcane, and fresh lychees, to prevent a rise in blood sugar.
Patients with frequent constipation can eat more fruits with a laxative effect, such as peaches, bananas, oranges, and watermelons, but should not eat astringent fruits like persimmons. The situation is the opposite for patients with chronic diarrhea. Some fruits contain a large amount of fiber, which patients with diarrhea should not consume excessively.
Patients with heart disease or edema due to renal insufficiency should not eat fruits with high water content, such as watermelons and coconut water, to avoid increasing the burden on the heart and kidneys and worsening the edema. Eating more persimmons can affect iron absorption and worsen anemia in patients with iron-deficiency anemia.
From this, it can be seen that patients should choose their fruits according to their specific conditions.