Introduction: In the summer, Guangdong is abundant in lychees. The taste of lychees is delicious and sweet, and many people love them. However, if you are not careful when eating lychees, it may trigger "lychee disease". Let's quickly check out the taboos of eating lychees with the editor.
1. Do not eat on an empty stomach
Fresh lychees have a very high sugar content. Eating them on an empty stomach can irritate the gastric mucosa, leading to stomach pain and bloating. Moreover, consuming a large amount on an empty stomach can cause a "hyperosmolar coma" due to the sudden influx of excessive high-sugar substances into the body.
2. Do not eat in excess
Eating a large quantity of lychees while consuming very little other food can easily trigger acute hypoglycemia, with symptoms such as dizziness, thirst, nausea, sweating, stomach pain, and palpitations. In severe cases, it can lead to coma, convulsions, and arrhythmia. These symptoms are caused by acute hypoglycemia after consuming a large amount of lychees, which is medically known as acute lychee poisoning, or "lychee disease". This is because most of the monosaccharides in lychees are fructose. After being absorbed by the body, fructose must undergo a series of enzymatic reactions to be converted into glucose for energy or into glycogen for storage, to be oxidized and utilized by tissue cells. If too many lychees are eaten at once, it can cause a significant drop in blood sugar levels, leading to hypoglycemia. Therefore, lychee disease is an acute disease caused by hypoglycemia, characterized by an onset in the early morning, with initial symptoms such as sweating, cold limbs, fatigue, and mild diarrhea, followed by sudden convulsions and coma. If symptoms of "heatiness" (上火) appear, you can eat some watermelon, which is considered "cooling" in nature, to relieve the heat.
You should not eat more than 10 lychees at a time, as excessive consumption can cause liver fire to rise, leading to a dry throat and tongue. In severe cases, it can cause nausea, weakness in the limbs, and dizziness. For children, 3-4 pieces are enough, as eating too many can easily lead to "heat-related" illnesses.
3. Diabetics should eat with caution
Lychees are very high in sugar, so diabetics should consume them with caution. At the same time, people with yin deficiency and excess fire, or those with symptoms of "heatiness", should not eat them to avoid worsening these symptoms. Those with a sore throat, swollen gums, or nosebleeds should also avoid them.
4. Try not to eat water-soaked lychees
Many lychees on the market now are soaked in water and contain a lot of moisture. A large amount of water entering the gastrointestinal tract can dilute digestive juices, leading to loss of appetite or indigestion, and can also cause temporary hypoglycemia.
Some water-soaked lychees may contain toxic substances such as detergents, which can also cause dizziness.
Little tips for picking lychees
Fresh lychees should have a bright color, be large and uniform in size, have thin skin and thick flesh, be tender and juicy, sweet, and aromatic. When picking, you can first gently squeeze them in your hand; good lychees should feel firm and springy. From the outside, fresh lychees are generally not extremely brightly colored. If the top of the lychee is relatively pointed and the "buds" (钉) on the peel are densely packed, it means the lychee is not yet ripe. Conversely, it is a ripe lychee. If the scaly cracks on the lychee shell are flat and the suture lines are distinct, the taste will be very sweet.
How to pick different varieties of lychees?
Guiwei: The fruit is spherical, medium-sized, light red, with a thin and brittle shell. The peaks of the scaly cracks on the peel are sharp and prickly, and it has a osmanthus fragrance.
Nuomici: The fruit is flat-heart-shaped, large, bright red, with smooth scaly peaks on the surface. One shoulder of the fruit is significantly raised, and it has thick flesh with a small pit.
Feizixiao: The fruit is large, with an average single fruit weight of 30 grams. The flesh is tender, delicate, and juicy.
Heiye: The fruit is oval or irregularly heart-shaped, medium-sized, dark red, with a thin shell. The scaly cracks on the surface are flat and blunt, uniform in size and regularly arranged. The cracks and suture lines are distinct, and the pit is large.
Baila: The fruit is heart-shaped, medium-sized. The peel is light red with a yellow wax color, thick and brittle. The scaly cracks are smooth. The flesh is soft and smooth, sweet, and juicy.