Three Precautions for Eating Persimmons to Help You Stay Healthy
Core Tip: It's still persimmon season. What should you be aware of?
Recently, a 3-year-old girl was rushed to the emergency department of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics. The child was unconscious at the time, and doctors diagnosed her with a "gastric rupture and perforation," followed by a tense emergency rescue. The cause of this incident, however, was the delicious and tempting persimmon the child had eaten.
Every autumn and winter, golden-orange persimmons come to market. Persimmons are vibrant in color, soft, and juicy, rich in various nutrients such as carbohydrates, sugar, protein, fat, phosphorus, iron, calcium, and vitamin C.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that persimmons are sweet, astringent, and cold in nature. They have functions such as clearing heat and relieving dryness, moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm, softening hard masses, quenching thirst and promoting fluid production, strengthening the spleen, treating dysentery, and stopping bleeding. They can alleviate symptoms such as dry stools, hemorrhoid pain or bleeding, dry cough, sore throat, and hypertension.
Chen Jing, a physician in the emergency department of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, reminds that children are in a stage of growth and development, and their organs are not yet mature. Therefore, they should eat persimmons as little as possible, and more importantly, not on an empty stomach, as it can easily lead to "bezoars" (stomach persimmon stones) and cause gastric perforation.
Certain substances in persimmons can easily bind with iron, hindering its absorption, so patients with anemia should also eat them sparingly. Due to their high sugar content, diabetics should also avoid consuming them.
Three Precautions for Eating Persimmons
1. Do not eat on an empty stomach: Persimmons contain a large amount of tannic acid. In the presence of stomach acid, tannic acid can precipitate and coagulate into a mass that remains in the stomach, forming a "gastric persimmon stone." These stones are not easily broken down; as they accumulate, they can cause congestion, edema, erosion, and ulcers of the gastric mucosa, and in severe cases, can lead to gastric perforation.
2. Do not eat with high-protein foods: High-protein foods such as crab, fish, and shrimp can easily solidify into a mass under the action of tannic acid, forming a gastric persimmon stone. Therefore, they should be avoided together.
3. Rinse your mouth after eating: Persimmons are high in sugar and also contain pectin and tannic acid. Neglecting oral hygiene after consumption can damage teeth, and children are prone to developing cavities. Therefore, it is important to rinse your mouth or brush your teeth promptly after eating persimmons.