[Fat Bear Science] Watermelon, grapes, peaches... How to eat summer fruits

Summer is the season when fruits are in abundance. Lychees, peaches, watermelons, grapes, mangoes, bayberries, cherries, apricots, pineapples, olives, etc. are gradually put on the market, making people dazzled.

Fruits are rich in nutrients. They not only contain abundant vitamins, water and minerals, but also have significantly higher fructose and pectin content than other foods. According to the "Balanced Diet Pagoda for Chinese Residents", each person should eat at least 200 grams of fruit a day, and fruits of various colors are more nutritious.

According to Chinese medicine, food, like medicine, has four properties: warm, hot, cold, and cool. Food that is neither warm nor hot, nor cold nor cool is classified as "neutral". You need to refer to your own physical condition when choosing which fruit to eat. Eating the wrong fruit can also make you feel uncomfortable, such as causing diarrhea, sore throat, hypoglycemia, and other symptoms. So how should we choose the right fruit for ourselves?

Expert Profile

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Wang Wei

Director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology Treatment Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, Director of the Teaching and Research Section of Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology, Doctor of Medicine, and postdoctoral supervisor.

He is good at treating middle and late stage malignant tumors with traditional Chinese medicine, and providing rehabilitation conditioning and prevention of metastasis and recurrence for patients after surgery and after radiotherapy and chemotherapy; he is good at treating poor appetite, low white blood cell count, nausea, vomiting, fever, sweating, cancer pain, cancer pleural effusion and ascites after radiotherapy and chemotherapy with traditional Chinese medicine.

Clinic Hours:

Monday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon (special outpatient clinic)

Monday morning, Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning (specialist clinic)

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Xia Dongqin

Attending physician at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology Treatment Center of the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University.

He is good at TCM conditioning for sub-health, unbalanced constitution, and chronic diseases, prevention and treatment of precancerous lesions and tumor complications, and TCM treatment and rehabilitation conditioning for common tumors such as lung cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and intestinal cancer.

Clinic hours: Monday afternoon, Friday afternoon

Summer cold fruits

SUMMER.TIME

Suitable for people with hot constitution

2021·SUMMER

People with a heat constitution have a high metabolism, are prone to fever, thirst, dry tongue, often have a red face, like to eat cold drinks, are easily irritable, and often have constipation. This group of people can eat more cold fruits in summer, such as watermelon, pear, banana, kiwi, etc.

Watermelon: It is cold in nature, has the effects of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, and promoting diuresis and relieving restlessness. It has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on summer heat and thirst, heat syndrome and body fluid damage, short and dark urine, and heatstroke. Modern research shows that watermelon is rich in nutrients. In addition to a large amount of water, the flesh of the watermelon is also rich in citrulline, alanine, glutamic acid, arginine, fructose, sucrose, glucose, vitamin C, etc.

Pear: It is cool in nature, has the effects of promoting fluid and quenching thirst, moistening dryness and clearing heat, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough. It can assist in the treatment of thirst, hot cough, constipation and other symptoms. "Eating too many pears can easily upset the spleen." Eating too many pears can easily damage the spleen and stomach, and reduce people's appetite.

Banana: It is sweet and cold in nature, slightly astringent in taste, and has the effects of clearing away heat and quenching thirst, clearing the stomach and cooling blood, moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements, lowering blood pressure and promoting diuresis. It is a very healthy food for people with thirst, constipation, and other symptoms of yin deficiency, dry intestines, blood heat and qi stagnation. Bananas are not suitable for people with spleen and stomach deficiency and insufficient yang energy, otherwise it will cause the virtual fire to become stronger.

Kiwi: It has the effects of relieving heat and quenching thirst. It is rich in sugar, vitamin C and other nutrients, especially vitamin C, which is much higher than pears and apples.

Summer warm fruits

SUMMER.TIME

Suitable for people with cold constitution

2021·SUMMER

People with a cold constitution have cold limbs, a paler complexion than normal people, are rarely thirsty, and are afraid of cold. People with a cold constitution can choose to eat more warm fruits, such as lychees, longans, cherries, durian, apricots, etc.

Litchi: It tastes sweet and sour, and is warm in nature. It has the effects of nourishing the spleen and liver, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, detoxifying and stopping diarrhea. Modern medicine believes that litchi contains vitamins A, B1, and C, as well as pectin, free amino acids, proteins, and various elements such as iron, phosphorus, and calcium. It has the effects of nourishing the kidney, improving liver function, accelerating the elimination of toxins, promoting cell generation, and making the skin tender. It is not advisable to eat too many litchis, as eating too much can easily cause acne and get angry. People with mouth ulcers, insomnia, frequent dreams, dry stools, irritability, thirst, and flushed cheeks should not eat it. Litchi has a high sugar content, so it is not suitable for diabetic patients to eat it.

Peach: It is warm in nature, sweet and sour in taste, and can nourish qi and moisten the lungs, produce fluid and moisten the intestines, so it is suitable for people with qi and blood deficiency, cough, asthma, and dry mouth. Eating too much peach can easily cause heat, so people with excessive internal heat and prone to sores and boils should not eat too much peach.

Summer flat fruit

SUMMER.TIME

Fruits that are between cold and hot are neutral in nature. These fruits include grapes, pineapples, apples, oranges, etc., and can be eaten by people of different body types.

Apple: It is mild in nature, sweet and sour in taste, and has the effects of nourishing the heart and qi, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Apples are very nutritious. The tannic acid and organic acids they contain have astringent effects, and the pectin and fiber can absorb bacteria and toxins, so they can stop diarrhea; the fiber they contain can facilitate excretion, and the organic acids can stimulate the intestines and help with bowel movements. The potassium they contain can combine with excess sodium in the body, which is beneficial for preventing and treating high blood pressure.

Grapes: They are mild in nature, sweet and sour in taste, and enter the spleen, lung, and kidney meridians. They have the effects of replenishing qi and blood, promoting the production of body fluids and quenching thirst, and strengthening the spleen and promoting urination. Modern research has found that grapes contain substances that are antioxidant and inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells. Grape skins also contain anthocyanins, flavonoids, plant polyphenols and other highly effective anti-cancer substances. Grapes are cool in nature, so people with spleen cold and deficiency should not eat too much at one time.

Pineapple: Pineapple is a tropical fruit, flat in nature, sweet in taste, enters the lung and large intestine meridians, has the effect of nourishing the spleen and stomach, promoting the production of body fluids and harmonizing the stomach, and is rich in vitamin C. In the hot summer, the human body is prone to drowsiness, poor appetite, food accumulation, etc. Eating some pineapple at the right time is good for health and disease prevention.

Plum: Plum is mild in nature, sweet and sour in taste, and enters the liver and kidney meridians. It has the effects of promoting fluid production and diuresis, and clearing the liver and relieving heat. However, plums have a high content of fruit acid. Eating too much can damage the spleen and stomach and cause abdominal distension and other phenomena. Children should not eat too much of them.

Other considerations

SUMMER.TIME

People with cold constitution should eat fruits in moderation

2021·SUMMER

People with cold constitution, weak spleen and stomach, loose stools, frequent abdominal discomfort, the elderly, the sick, pregnant women, postpartum women, and children with weak constitution should be cautious in eating cold fruits. Qi deficiency generally refers to insufficient qi in the middle. Without it, these people usually have a pale complexion, a thin body, and cannot eat; while spleen deficiency means that the digestive system is relatively poor and the intestinal peristalsis is slow.

If this group of people eat too much cold fruit, it will cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms, increase the burden on the spleen and stomach, and easily damage the yang energy in the stomach. People with long-term illness and spleen deficiency are more likely to affect the spleen. If you must eat it, you can eat a little less one hour after a meal, but don't eat too much.

Moldy and rotten fruits cannot be eaten

2021·SUMMER

As long as the fruit becomes moldy and rotten, various microorganisms, especially various fungi, will continue to multiply in the rotten fruit and produce a large amount of toxic substances. These toxic substances continue to penetrate and diffuse from the rotten part through the fruit juice to the unrotten part, causing the unrotten part to also contain microbial metabolites. People who eat fungal toxins in rotten fruit may experience symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension. In severe cases, they may also experience convulsions, coma, and even life-threatening. In addition, after the fruit rots, the nitrates it contains will turn into toxic nitrites.

There are some rules for eating fruit

2021·SUMMER

Many families are accustomed to eating fruits immediately after meals. In fact, eating fruits immediately after meals will affect the digestive function, increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas, and cause symptoms such as abdominal distension and constipation. It is recommended to eat fruits one hour after meals. Chinese medicine says that "if the stomach is not in harmony, you will not be able to sleep well", so it is not suitable to eat fruits before going to bed, so as not to cause gastrointestinal bloating and discomfort, which will affect sleep.

Diabetics have the choice of eating

2021·SUMMER

Having diabetes does not mean that you cannot eat any fruit. If the blood sugar level of diabetic patients is stably controlled, they can eat appropriate amounts of fruit. It is recommended to eat tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, plums, apricots and other fruits with low sugar content. It is not advisable to eat cantaloupe, apples, lychees, pears, mangoes and other fruits.

A balanced diet requires attention not only to quality but also quantity. Eating too much of any kind of fruit will affect your health, no matter how good your physique is. Finally, it is recommended that you choose fresh seasonal fruits when choosing melons and fruits.

Text/Fat Bear Photos/Partially from the Internet (Please contact us to delete if there is any infringement) Review/Chinese Medicine Tumor Treatment Center

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