Glutinous rice and chicken cooked together can cause gastrointestinal discomfort
A movie called "Double Food Death" uses exaggerated performances and sensational effects to show the world the terrible consequences of how food pairings can slowly kill people. But the film also reminds the audience to pay attention to the incompatibility of foods and to avoid unknowingly harming themselves and their families through food.
Experts say that in the book "Jin Gui Yao Lue" (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet) by Zhang Zhongjing, a great physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, it is mentioned that there are 48 pairs of foods that should not be eaten together. The so-called food incompatibility is actually a gastrointestinal adverse reaction caused by mixing two or more foods with mutually opposing or conflicting properties. From the perspective of modern nutritional knowledge and the theory of dietotherapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine, although some food combinations have certain defects, they generally do not cause serious consequences, so there is no need to panic.
Pumpkin and Lamb
Reason for incompatibility: Pumpkin and lamb are difficult to digest when eaten together.
Scientific analysis: The above statement comes from "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Pumpkin should not be eaten with lamb, as it will cause qi stagnation in people." The reason is that pumpkin can tonify the middle jiao and benefit qi, while lamb is very hot and tonifies deficiency. The two tonifications together can lead to symptoms like chest tightness and abdominal bloating.
However, from the perspective of modern nutrition, pumpkin with lamb is actually a good combination. Lamb is high in protein and rich in minerals and vitamins. Pumpkin has a more complete range of nutrients, especially high in carotene and carbohydrates, and low in protein and fat. Regular consumption can effectively prevent and treat hypertension, diabetes, and liver diseases, and improve the body's immune system. Here, I especially recommend lamb and pumpkin dumplings to friends who don't like lamb dumplings. After such a combination, the gamey smell of the lamb in the dumpling filling is completely absorbed by the special fresh aroma of the pumpkin, creating an exceptionally delicious flavor that is very suitable for the elderly, children, and patients with chronic illnesses.
Dog Meat and Garlic
Reason for incompatibility: Eating dog meat and garlic together can cause poisoning.
Scientific analysis: In "Compendium of Materia Medica," there is a saying that "dog meat with garlic harms people." The reason is that dog meat is hot in nature, and garlic is pungent and warm; eating them together can add to the internal heat. However, minced garlic dog meat is a very common Korean dish and is often eaten by residents in Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, and other places, and many people enjoy it.
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that dog meat is a "hot" nature food that has the effects of tonifying the middle jiao, benefiting qi, warming the kidneys to help yang, strengthening the body, and nourishing the blood. It can be used for the weakness of the elderly, such as enhancing their cold resistance in winter. Modern nutrition believes that the protein in dog meat is of excellent quality, with a high proportion of globulin, which can enhance the body's disease resistance and cell vitality, strengthen the physique, promote blood circulation, and improve sexual function.
Fresh garlic contains alliin. This alliin is a sulfur-containing amino acid, which can be converted into allicin by the enzyme alliinase after decomposition. Allicin has various physiological effects such as sterilization, but if taken in excess, it can have adverse effects on the body, such as stomach discomfort or diarrhea. The recommended daily intake of fresh garlic for the average person is 3-5 grams. Consuming large amounts can irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing congestion and edema of the gastrointestinal mucosal blood vessels.
Because the volatile substances in garlic can inhibit gastric secretion, and dog meat is hot in nature, eating a large amount of fresh garlic with dog meat may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and is not conducive to the digestion and absorption of dog meat. Therefore, a large amount of fresh garlic should not be eaten with dog meat. However, there is no need to worry if it's stir-fried with dog meat, green garlic, or garlic sprouts.
Red Radish and White Radish
Reason for incompatibility: White radish is extremely high in vitamin C, but red radish contains an enzyme that can greatly destroy vitamin C.
Scientific analysis: In fact, most foods contain various enzymes, which are catalysts for biochemical reactions. However, enzymes are very sensitive to heat and are easily destroyed during the cooking process. Therefore, it is unreasonable to say that the enzyme in red radish will destroy the vitamin C in white radish, or that the enzyme in cucumber will destroy the vitamin C in tomatoes, peppers, or citrus fruits.
Glutinous Rice and Chicken
Reason for incompatibility: The main function of glutinous rice is to warm and tonify the spleen and stomach, so it has a good therapeutic effect for people with a deficient spleen and stomach or who often have diarrhea. However, eating it with chicken can cause physical discomfort.
Scientific analysis: Glutinous rice chicken is a steamed dish. Its processing temperature is 100°C, so it will not produce any new harmful substances. Glutinous rice chicken also has a protein-complementary effect. Therefore, as long as it is not eaten in excess or consumed if it has been stored unhygienically, it generally will not cause physical discomfort. However, it should be noted that glutinous rice is not easy to digest, so after eating greasy dishes, one should avoid eating a large amount of it.
In contrast, eating repeatedly heated fried foods and boiled fish is more likely to cause gastrointestinal discomfort, because such foods can produce peroxides that are harmful to the human body.
Tea-Boiled Eggs
Reason for incompatibility: The acidic substances in tea can combine with the iron in eggs, thereby irritating the gastric mucosa and being detrimental to the absorption of iron from the eggs.
Scientific analysis: This statement shows a superficial understanding of nutrition. Although the tannins in tea can bind with minerals like iron and proteins, to some extent hindering the absorption of trace elements and proteins, eating tea eggs will not affect the body's utilization of minerals because eggs are not a suitable food for iron supplementation in the first place; lean meat and animal livers are. The iron absorption rate in eggs is only 3% because the high-phosphoprotein in the yolk hinders iron absorption, which has nothing to do with tea.
Cured Meat Products and Lactic Acid Beverages
Reason for incompatibility: Eating a sandwich with yogurt for breakfast can easily cause cancer because food manufacturers add nitrites to processed meat products like ham, bacon, and cured meats to prevent food spoilage and the growth of botulinum. When nitrates encounter organic acids (such as lactic, citric, tartaric, malic acids, etc.), they are converted into carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Scientific analysis: As long as they are regular and qualified products, the amount of preservative nitrite added in meat products and canned foods is within a safe range. The amount of nitrite contained is even less than that in a plate of stir-fried vegetables left overnight. And there are countless foods containing organic acids, such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, bayberries, and apples. People cannot possibly stop eating fruits and drinking yogurt just because they have eaten meat products and canned foods with added nitrites.
Of course, in addition to nitrites, cured and preserved products also contain excessive salt and other substances that are harmful to the body, so it is best to eat them less or not at all.