Exploring 4 Misconceptions About Jujubes for a Healthier Diet
Introduction: Women are advised to drink jujube tea during their menstrual period, and eating jujubes is great for health supplementation. However, some taboos about eating jujubes have also spread online. Some of these taboos have some truth to them, while others are completely untenable. Today, let's interpret the 4 major misconceptions about eating jujubes.
Is it a misconception that jujubes can replenish blood? Is it a misconception that jujubes cannot be eaten with carrots? Are jujubes not suitable for eating in large quantities? Let's see what the nutritionist has to say.
Eating jujubes for health supplementation is good, but there are also some taboos about eating jujubes circulating online. Some of these taboos have some truth, while others are completely untenable. A nutritionist interprets the 4 major misconceptions about eating jujubes for the public.
1. Jujubes cannot be eaten with carrots—A serious misconception!
The reason supporting this claim is that fresh jujubes are rich in Vitamin C (VC), while carrots contain an oxidase that can destroy VC, so the two together reduce the nutritional value of the jujubes.
The first two sentences are correct—jujubes have VC, and carrots have oxidase—but the final conclusion is wrong.
The destructive power of the oxidase in carrots is very limited; it can't even destroy all the VC contained in the carrots themselves, let alone destroy the VC in other foods.
Therefore, if you are truly so concerned about VC being destroyed, the "best" strategy would be to simply not eat carrots.
But this is also a problem, because vegetables like cucumbers also contain oxidase that destroys VC. Should you stop eating cucumbers as well?
But that still doesn't work, because other foods, although they may not have oxidase that destroys VC, have other drawbacks. For example, eggs have cholesterol, and meat and milk have saturated fat... Should you just not eat any of them? Just starve to death.
As for the nonsense based on "food incompatibility," such as jujubes not being able to be eaten with seafood, or jujubes not being able to be eaten with green onions, it is not even worth refuting.
2. Jujubes are not suitable to be eaten in large quantities? A misconception!
As is well known, fresh jujubes are not easy to digest.
This is because fresh jujubes not only have a low water content, only 67% (most other common fruits are 80%-90%), but also have a high dietary fiber content, 1.9%, which is significantly higher than other common fruits (for example, grapes average 0.4%, apples average 1.2%).
Dietary fiber (especially insoluble cellulose) cannot be digested in the stomach and small intestine. When consumed in large quantities at one time, it can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. The dietary fiber in jujubes is mainly concentrated in the skin. The flesh of the jujube is crisp, but the skin is very thin and hard.
It is difficult to crush it completely when chewing.
You can try this: chew a fresh jujube, but don't swallow it. Spit it out and observe. You will find that it contains jujube skin fragments of varying sizes, separated from the flesh, with irregular shapes, hard textures, and sharp edges.
One can imagine that after swallowing it, if your gastric mucosa happens to have inflammation or an ulcer, it would be like rubbing salt in the wound, causing pain or discomfort.
Of course, if your stomach is healthy and has no inflammation, ulcers, or wounds, your tolerance for jujubes is stronger. Even so, eating too many fresh jujubes can still cause stomach discomfort.
This is the reason why it is recommended not to eat too many jujubes. However, even without obvious gastritis or ulcers, people differ in the thickness of their gastric mucosa and their tolerance to certain irritating substances.
Therefore, how many jujubes are appropriate to eat (5 or 35?) varies from person to person, and there is no specific limit. So, can we at least give a rough amount?
Actually, giving a rough amount is also meaningless. Because when eating jujubes, people can determine for themselves how many are appropriate based on their own condition. You'll know just by trying.
3. Jujubes are very effective for replenishing blood—A serious misconception!
First of all, it should be explained that it is beneficial for anemia patients to eat jujubes, just like eating apples or grapes. However, if you expect jujubes to have a special blood-replenishing effect, or even to treat iron-deficiency anemia like pork liver or meat, that is wrong.
The iron content in fresh jujubes is relatively high among fruits, at 1.2 mg/100g. However, like other plant-based foods, the iron absorption rate in jujubes is extremely low and cannot be well utilized by the human body.
The Vitamin C (VC) content in fresh jujubes is among the highest in fruits, at 243 mg/100g. VC can promote iron absorption and help prevent and treat iron-deficiency anemia. However, as discussed above, fresh jujubes often cannot be eaten in large quantities. Eating eight or ten of them for blood replenishment is completely ineffectual.
4. Jujubes have a high sugar content, so they are not suitable for people with constipation—A serious misconception!
First of all, the logic of this statement is wrong. A high sugar content worsens constipation? How is that possible! There is no sugar in stool, and sugar doesn't affect it. The two are unrelated. Besides, high-sugar foods are everywhere, not just jujubes.
The reality is that jujubes contain a lot of dietary fiber, and dietary fiber has a laxative effect. Therefore, eating jujubes (and other fruits and vegetables rich in dietary fiber) helps relieve constipation.
Of course, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. People with constipation can try eating jujubes to see if it worsens or alleviates their condition.
Aren't the media and "experts" getting tired of repeating the same old things?