Sweet potatoes contain an oxidase enzyme, which can easily produce a large amount of carbon dioxide gas in the human gastrointestinal tract. If too many sweet potatoes are eaten, it can cause bloating, belching, and flatulence. Sweet potatoes have a high sugar content, and eating too many can produce a large amount of stomach acid, making people feel "heartburn."
The stomach strengthens its contractions due to the stimulation of acid. At this time, the cardiac sphincter muscle at the junction of the stomach and esophagus relaxes, and the acid in the stomach flows back into the esophagus, causing a person to regurgitate sour fluid. An excess of sugar, which the body cannot absorb all at once, ferments in the intestines, which can also cause an upset stomach.
Therefore, the currently popular sweet potato health method is not suitable for everyone. If you experience diarrhea after eating them, you should not force yourself to continue. Eating brown rice can have the same effect.
Sweet potatoes are low in calories and quite filling, making them a good weight-loss food whether eaten as a staple or a side dish.
Liu, an elderly man who likes whole grains, told reporters that he ate a few sweet potatoes at dinner the other day, and then ate a persimmon less than half an hour later. That evening, while watching TV, his stomach started to hurt.
Sweet potatoes should not be eaten with persimmons
According to Mr. Gao, an expert from the Chinese Nutrition Association, sweet potatoes and persimmons should not be consumed at the same time within a short period. If large quantities are eaten, they should be spaced at least five hours apart.
If consumed together, the sugar in sweet potatoes ferments in the stomach, increasing stomach acid secretion. This reacts with the tannins and pectin in persimmons to form a precipitated coagulate, creating hard lumps. In severe cases with a large quantity, this can cause gastrointestinal bleeding or a stomach ulcer.
If you feel discomfort in your stomach, you must go to the hospital for a gastroscopy to check for gastric bleeding or a stomach ulcer.
When should you eat sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes lack protein and lipids, so they should be eaten with vegetables, fruits, and protein-rich foods to avoid nutritional imbalance. Most importantly, sweet potatoes are best eaten at lunchtime.
This is because the calcium contained in sweet potatoes requires 4 to 5 hours for absorption in the human body, and the afternoon sunlight can promote calcium absorption.
In this case, eating sweet potatoes at lunch allows the calcium to be fully absorbed before dinner, without affecting the absorption of calcium from other foods consumed at dinner.