Autumn Health Care: Eight Types of Foods to Avoid
1. Persimmons and Crabs
Consequence: May cause vomiting and diarrhea
Reason: Crabs are rich in protein. When combined with the tannins in persimmons, it can easily precipitate and form indigestible substances. As tannins have an astringent effect, they can also inhibit the secretion of digestive fluids, causing the precipitated substances to remain in the intestines and ferment. This can lead to food poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea.
2. Oranges and Milk
Consequence: May cause bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea
Reason: The protein in milk will first meet the citric acid and vitamin C in oranges, causing it to coagulate into clumps, which affects digestion and absorption.
3. Pomegranates and Seafood
Consequence: May cause abdominal pain
Reason: Seafood like fish, shrimp, and algae are rich in nutrients such as protein and calcium. When consumed with pomegranates, which contain tannic acid, not only is the nutritional value of the protein reduced, but the calcium in the seafood can also combine with the tannic acid to form a new, indigestible substance. This substance can irritate the stomach and cause discomfort. Other autumn fruits high in tannic acid include persimmons, grapes, hawthorn, and green plums.
4. Cherries and Radishes
Consequence: May induce or cause thyroid gland swelling and pain.
Reason: After cruciferous vegetables like radishes enter the human body, they are metabolized to produce an anti-thyroid substance called thiocyanate. The amount of this substance produced is proportional to the intake. Meanwhile, flavonoids in fruits like oranges, pears, and grapes are broken down by intestinal bacteria into substances such as p-hydroxybenzoic acid and ferulic acid, which can enhance the effect of thiocyanate in inhibiting the thyroid gland.
5. Chestnuts and Tofu
Consequence: May lead to kidney stones
Reason: Tofu contains magnesium chloride and calcium sulfate, while chestnuts contain oxalic acid. When these two foods are consumed together, they can form magnesium oxalate and calcium oxalate. These two white precipitates not only affect the body's absorption of calcium but can also easily lead to calculi. Similarly, tofu should not be eaten with bamboo shoots, water bamboo, or spinach.
6. Seafood and Beer
Consequence: May trigger gout
Reason: Seafood contains two components, purine and nucleotide, while beer is rich in vitamin B1, an important catalyst for breaking down these two components. Eating seafood while drinking beer can easily cause a sharp increase in blood uric acid levels, triggering gout, and leading to conditions like gouty nephropathy and gouty arthritis.
7. Uncooked Soy Milk
Consequence: May affect digestion
Reason: Uncooked soy milk contains trypsin inhibitors, which can inhibit the activity of human proteases, affecting the digestion and absorption of protein in the body. Meanwhile, the mucoprotein in egg white can bind with the trypsin in soy milk, hindering protein breakdown and thus reducing the body's absorption rate of protein.
8. Milk and Chocolate
Consequence: May cause diarrhea
Reason: The calcium in milk will combine with the oxalic acid in chocolate to form insoluble calcium oxalate. After consumption, this substance is not absorbed and can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and dry hair.