Lychee is delicious but how to eat it without getting hot?
Lychee is a popular summer fruit but can also easily cause acne, mouth ulcers, and even allergies if eaten incorrectly.
According to Dr. Huynh Tan Vu, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, lychee (also known as lychee) has a sweet, sour taste and warm properties. If eaten in excess, this fruit can have the opposite effect, causing acne, mouth ulcers, dry throat, and even nosebleeds.
Cantonese people have a saying: "Eating one lychee is like holding three torches in your body" - a metaphor for the very strong yang (hot) nature of this fruit. Vietnamese people also call the phenomenon of "internal heat" after eating a lot of lychee, with symptoms such as dry mouth, sore throat, nausea or rash.
To take advantage of the benefits without getting "hot", Dr. Vu recommends:
Adults should only eat 5-10 fruits at a time; Pregnant women and children should stop at 3-4 fruits; Postpartum and breastfeeding women should eat 100-200g at a time; Menstruating women should limit their intake; Diabetics need to control their intake because the sugar content in lychee is quite high.
In addition, lychee can also cause allergies in some people, with symptoms of hives, nausea, and abdominal pain. The cause is often due to Candida tropicalis fungus appearing on overripe, crushed fruit buds. Therefore, you should only choose fresh fruit, avoid eating rotten, bruised fruit.
However, if eaten properly, lychee brings many benefits: rich in water, fiber, vitamin C, antioxidants such as epicatechin, rutin - good for the immune system, beautifying the skin, anti-aging and supporting digestion.
Lychee can be eaten fresh, processed into tea, jelly, soft drinks or dried for year-round use. Refrigerated, it can be kept for 5-10 days; dried lychee can be kept for up to a year if kept in a dry place.
In addition to eating directly, lychee also appears in many folk remedies:
- Cure acne: Crush lychee flesh with apricot or sticky rice paste, apply on acne.
- Cure toothache: Burn lychee with skin and seeds intact with salt, crush and rub on teeth.
- Cure hiccups: Burn the fabric into charcoal, grind into powder, mix with hot water and drink.
As with all foods, "eating the right food is medicine, eating the wrong food is poison." With lychee, a reasonable limit is the "key" to enjoying it without worrying about getting hot.
