Introduction: Fruits are not only delicious but also rich in sugar, vitamins, trace elements, and water, making them a favorite for many. However, with the cold weather, facing "icy" fruits, some people avoid them for fear of irritating their stomachs, while others heat them in the microwave and worry about destroying their nutritional value. Some are superstitiously convinced that one should only eat "warming" fruits in the winter... So, what are the actual considerations behind the seemingly simple act of eating fruit? What should one pay attention to when eating fruit in the winter?
In this issue, we have invited Zhang Xiaoyu, a renowned TCM physician in Shanghai, a professor at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a specialist in the special outpatient clinic of Yueyang Hospital, to discuss the nature of fruits—whether they are cooling, cold, warming, or hot—and their therapeutic properties with our readers.
Lychee is a neutral fruit, often mistakenly believed to be "warming".
Professor Zhang Xiaoyu explains that the nature of a fruit (its thermal property in TCM) is different from its physical temperature. All fruits feel "cold" in the winter, but warming fruits are ultimately warming. Conversely, some cooling fruits remain cooling even after being cooked. Professor Zhang advises choosing fruits based on your body's constitution. For example, if you have a "cold" constitution, you should avoid cooling and cold-natured fruits. If you have a "hot" constitution, you should avoid warming fruits, as this can easily exacerbate internal heat.
Cold-natured fruits include kiwi, persimmons, sugarcane, pomelo, banana, and watermelon. The plate of ice watermelon often served as a post-meal fruit in some restaurants is particularly inappropriate in the winter. Cooling fruits include apple, pear, loquat, starfruit, orange, and raw water chestnut. However, water chestnuts become warming after being cooked. Neutral fruits include lychee, tangerine, pineapple, hawthorn, grape, strawberry, coconut meat, olive, and plum. Lychee is often mistakenly thought to be warming, but it is actually neutral. This misconception arises because people tend to assume most fruits are cooling, making lychee feel relatively warm in comparison. Warming fruits include peach, plum, cherry, waxberry, jujube, pomegranate, longan, and coconut water. The quintessential example of a hot-natured fruit is the apricot.
Worried about cold fruits in winter? You can juice them and warm the juice in water.
The most common way to eat fruit is raw, but they can also be cooked into congee or soups, or made into dried fruit and preserves. Professor Zhang Xiaoyu points out that regardless of whether a fruit is naturally warming or cooling, eating it raw in the winter will feel physically cold, making it unsuitable for people with weak digestive systems. However, this doesn't mean you should avoid fruit altogether. He suggests slightly warming the fruit before eating, for example, by giving it a quick spin in the microwave, but be careful not to overheat it, as this can destroy the vitamin C. If possible, juicing or blending the fruit and then warming the juice or puree in water is a better option, as it causes less damage to the vitamin C.
Professor Zhang also gives a special reminder: patients with cirrhosis, especially those in the late stages, should not eat hard foods. When eating fruits like apples or raw pears, even if chewed carefully, a small, unbroken piece can easily cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Therefore, it is recommended to consume them as a puree or smoothie. Fruits are high in sugar, so diabetics should use a substitution method, calculate their intake, and eat them between meals.
Furthermore, be mindful of potential interactions between fruits and medications. It is best to consult a doctor; for instance, if you are taking warming and nourishing herbs, consuming very cold fruits can counteract their effects. The combination of foods is also important. People often say that persimmons and crab should not be eaten together because it's too "cold," but they might not realize that kiwi, a cold-natured fruit, should also not be eaten with crab. This shows that once you understand the nature of different fruits, you should be able to apply this knowledge flexibly to other similar situations.