Introduction: Jujubes are great for nourishment, but there are also some taboos about eating them circulating online. Some of these taboos have some truth to them, while others are completely untenable. Here, we will debunk 4 major misconceptions about eating jujubes.
Misconception 1: Jujubes are very effective for blood enrichment
First of all, it should be noted that eating jujubes is beneficial for anemia patients, just like eating other fruits such as apples or grapes. However, it is wrong to expect jujubes to have a special blood-enriching effect, or even to treat iron-deficiency anemia, in the same way that pork liver or meat does.
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 from 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 just eight or ten of them is like scratching an itch through a boot when it comes to blood enrichment—it's completely ineffective.
Misconception 2: Jujubes cannot be eaten with carrots
The reason given for this claim is that fresh jujubes are rich in Vitamin C (VC), while carrots contain an oxidase that can destroy VC, so when the two are eaten together, the nutritional value of the jujubes is reduced. 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 in the carrots themselves, so how could it destroy the VC in other foods?
Therefore, if you are really that concerned about VC being destroyed, the "best" strategy would be to simply not eat carrots. But this is also problematic, because vegetables like cucumbers also contain oxidases that destroy VC, so should you stop eating those as well? But that still doesn't work, because other foods have their own drawbacks—for example, eggs have cholesterol, and meat and milk have saturated fats... should you stop eating all of them too? Just starve to death, then.
As for the nonsense based on the theory of "food incompatibility," such as "jujubes cannot be eaten with seafood" or "jujubes cannot be eaten with green onions," it is not even worth refuting.
Misconception 3: Jujubes should not be eaten in excess
Jujubes are a nourishing food
As is well known, fresh jujubes are not easy to digest. This is because jujubes not only have a low water content, only 67% (compared to 80%-90% for other common fruits), but they are also high in dietary fiber, at 1.9%, which is significantly higher than other common fruits (for example, grapes average 0.4% and apples average 1.2%). Dietary fiber (especially insoluble fiber) cannot be digested in the stomach and small intestine, and consuming a large amount at once 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, and you will find that it contains jujube skin fragments of various sizes, separated from the flesh, with irregular shapes and hard, sharp edges. You can imagine that after swallowing it, if your gastric mucosa happens to be inflamed or have 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 will be higher. Even so, eating too many fresh jujubes can still cause stomach discomfort. This is the reason why it is advised 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 irritants. Therefore, the appropriate amount of jujubes to eat (is it 5 or 35?) varies from person to person, and there is no fixed limit. So, can't we at least give a rough guideline?
In fact, giving a rough guideline is also meaningless. Because when people eat jujubes, they can determine for themselves how many is appropriate by simply eating them and seeing how they feel.