The human body consumes a significant amount of heat when driving, and the heat in the human body mainly comes from carbohydrates in food. Many people like to eat very sweet fruits such as lychees and bananas. A study found that if drivers eat too many lychees before or at the start of driving, not only can they not replenish sugar in time, but it will also increase the risk of traffic accidents. Relevant experts have reminded drivers that fresh lychees are now in season, and they must not overindulge in them while driving.
Sun Mengli, director of the Nutrition Department at Peking University First Hospital, said there are three main reasons why drivers should eat fewer lychees:
First, when the blood sugar concentration of a healthy person is below 80 mg/mL, some hypoglycemic symptoms will occur. For example, feeling hungry, blurred vision, palpitations, hand tremors, dizziness, sweating, and difficulty concentrating. For a driver, this is extremely dangerous. The sugar contained in lychees is fructose, a monosaccharide that cannot provide nutrients to the body's organs; it needs to be converted into glucose through a series of catalytic enzymes in the liver before it can be absorbed by the body. If too much fructose enters the bloodstream, the liver's conversion enzymes may be unable to handle it in time, which could potentially cause hypoglycemia.
Second, many lychees on the market now are soaked in water and contain a lot of moisture. When a large amount of water enters the gastrointestinal tract, it will dilute digestive juices, causing loss of appetite or indigestion, and can also lead to temporary hypoglycemia.
Third, some water-soaked lychees may contain toxic ingredients such as detergents, which can also cause dizziness in drivers.
In addition, drivers should not eat a large number of bananas on an empty stomach while driving. Bananas contain a large amount of magnesium, and eating a large number of bananas on an empty stomach can lead to a significant increase in blood magnesium, which will have an inhibitory effect on the cardiovascular system. When the ratio of magnesium to calcium in the body's fluids changes, symptoms such as significant numbness, muscle paralysis, drowsiness, and fatigue will appear. Driving in this situation is most likely to lead to traffic accidents. People engaged in hazardous work should also avoid eating too many of these two fruits before work.