Can Pregnant Women Eat Persimmons? A Detailed Guide to Preparation and Food Pairing Taboos
Persimmon, also known as vermilion fruit or red persimmon, is a common fruit in October, deeply loved for its sweet taste and rich nutritional value. It is currently grown in most regions of our country. So can pregnant women eat persimmons? What are the preparation methods and consumption taboos? What can't it be eaten with?
I. Can pregnant women eat persimmons?
Yes, but they should not be eaten in excess. Persimmons have the effects of promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, clearing heat and moistening dryness, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough. They have certain therapeutic effects on high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, chronic bronchitis, hemorrhoids with bloody stools, and constipation, and are especially suitable for pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome. However, they should not be eaten in excess, because persimmons are a cold-natured fruit, and eating too many will have the opposite effect.
1. Benefits of pregnant women eating persimmons
(1) Supplementing nutrition during pregnancy
Persimmons contain many nutritional components, and in high amounts. Their rich vitamin content is 1-2 times higher than that of ordinary fruits, so they are very suitable for pregnant women to eat during pregnancy to supplement the body's nutrition. Moreover, compared with apples, persimmons have higher levels of other nutritional components except for copper and zinc.
(2) Relieving pregnancy-induced hypertension
Persimmons have the effects of moistening the lungs, reducing dryness, clearing internal heat, and lowering blood pressure, and have therapeutic effects on diseases such as high blood pressure. Some pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension can eat persimmons regularly, which is very helpful for their condition.
(3) Treating constipation in pregnant women
Persimmons contain a water-soluble dietary fiber—pectin. Pectin has the effect of moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements, and can maintain normal bacterial flora growth in the intestinal tract. It has a very good effect on treating constipation, and pregnant women with constipation during pregnancy are advised to eat it.
2. What pregnant women should pay attention to when eating persimmons
(1) It is not advisable to eat persimmons on an empty stomach
Because persimmons are rich in pectin and tannic acid, they can react with gastric acid to form lumps. If the lumps produced are relatively large and cannot be expelled, they will be retained and form stones, so persimmons are best eaten after meals.
(2) It is not advisable to eat too many at one time
No matter how a persimmon is de-astringed, it will still have some astringency. If too many are eaten at one time, the mouth and tongue will feel astringent and numb. Also, because persimmons easily form lumps when they encounter acid, even if not on an empty stomach, one should not eat too many. Generally speaking, eating one after a meal is best.
(3) Pregnant women with diabetes should not eat persimmons
Because persimmons have a very high sugar content, and it is all monosaccharides and disaccharides that are easily digested and absorbed, eating too many persimmons can easily cause blood sugar to rise. Pregnant women with diabetes had best not eat persimmons. If they insist on eating them, they must strictly control their intake.
(4) It is not advisable to eat the skin when eating persimmons
Most of the tannic acid contained in persimmons is actually in the skin. So if the tannic acid-rich persimmon skin is eaten, after encountering gastric acid it easily forms lumps and stones, and may even cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
(5) Rinse the mouth after eating persimmons
Persimmons have high sugar and tannic acid content. After eating persimmons, some will remain between the teeth, and over time this can easily damage the teeth. Therefore, after eating persimmons, it is best to rinse the mouth promptly to avoid cavities.
3. What pregnant women should not eat persimmons with
(1) Crab
Both persimmons and crab are cold-natured foods, and the protein in crab and the tannic acid in persimmons easily undergo a coagulation reaction, becoming hard-to-digest lumps. If eaten together, they may cause gastrointestinal disease, diarrhea, and in severe cases even food poisoning. Besides crab, other protein-rich seafood also should not be eaten with persimmons.
(2) Baijiu
There is a saying that persimmons can sober you up, but this saying is actually incorrect. Baijiu stimulates the secretion of the gastrointestinal tract. Persimmons are rich in tannic acid, and after meeting baijiu they form a viscous substance. This substance easily adsorbs with cellulose and eventually clumps together, forming stones, so baijiu and persimmons cannot be eaten together.
(3) White [Note: likely a typo in the source] and sweet potato
After we eat sweet potato, a large amount of gastric acid is produced in the stomach, and the tannin and cellulose in persimmons will precipitate under the action of gastric acid, producing stones, causing intestinal obstruction, and affecting normal gastrointestinal function.
(4) Vinegar
Persimmons not only cannot be eaten at the same time as vinegar, but vinegar should also not be eaten before or after eating persimmons. Because the persimmon gum contained in persimmons will react with the acetic acid in vinegar to form clumps, causing stomach stones, so persimmons and vinegar cannot be eaten together.
II. How are persimmons best eaten?
1. Preparation methods
(1) Sweet Persimmon Creme Brulee:
Ingredients: 500 grams crisp persimmon, 300 ml each of fresh cream and fresh milk, 60 grams white sugar, 125 grams egg yolk, 15 ml orange liqueur, 3 soft candies, 3 ramekins.
Method:
① Peel and cut the crisp persimmon into pieces; preheat the oven to 160°C for 10 minutes.
② Cook 20 grams of white sugar until caramelized, add the crisp persimmon pieces and stir-fry for 3 minutes; mix fresh cream, fresh milk, and 40 grams of white sugar, heat to 40°C, then turn off the heat, add egg yolk and orange liqueur and mix well, pour into ramekins and bake at 160°C for 30 minutes, cool and then refrigerate, and decorate with stir-fried crisp persimmon and soft candies.
(2) Crisp Persimmon Fruit Cake:
Ingredients: 400 grams crisp persimmon, 300 grams whole eggs, 100 grams white sugar, 300 grams cake flour, 100 grams cultured butter, 50 ml orange liqueur, 2 rectangular cake molds.
Method:
① Peel and dice the crisp persimmon, add orange liqueur to soak and refrigerate for 8 hours; preheat the oven to 180°C for 10 minutes.
② Beat the whole eggs with white sugar, first add flour and mix gently, then add melted cultured butter and persimmon and mix well, pour into the cake mold, and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
(3) Sugar-Fried Sweet Persimmon Pastry:
Ingredients: 300 grams crisp persimmon, 35 grams white sugar, 1 orange, 8 puff pastry sheets, 20 ml sweet wine, 8 ramekins, appropriate amount of butter.
Method:
① Squeeze juice from the orange, take 1/3 of the orange peel and chop it; peel and cut the crisp persimmon into pieces; evenly spread 10 grams of white sugar and butter on the bottom of the ramekins; preheat the oven to 180°C for 10 minutes.
② After cooking 25 grams of white sugar until caramelized, add orange peel, orange juice, and crisp persimmon pieces and stir-fry for 3 minutes, wrap with puff pastry sheets, put into ramekins, and bake at 180°C for 25 minutes.
(4) Honey Soft Persimmon Mousse:
Ingredients: 10 soft persimmons, 40 grams egg yolk, 120 ml fresh cream, 40 ml honey, 10 ml water, 5 grams gelatin, 100 grams white chocolate, 10 cylindrical molds, 5 grapes.
Method:
① Scoop out part of the flesh from the soft persimmons to make containers; heat gelatin and white chocolate over water until melted.
② Heat egg yolk, honey, and water to 80°C, beat until thick, then turn off the heat, pour in the melted gelatin and white chocolate in 2 additions and mix well. After cooling to 32°C, pipe into the molds and refrigerate to set, fill with soft persimmon, and decorate with grapes.
2. What are the benefits of eating persimmons?
(1) Stop-bleeding and cooling-blood effects: Fresh persimmons have blood-cooling and bleeding-stopping effects. Persimmon frost moistens the lungs and can be used for dry throat, mouth and tongue sores, etc. Persimmon calyx has the effect of descending adverse qi and stopping [Note: incomplete in source]. Dried persimmon harmonizes the stomach and stops bleeding. Persimmon leaves have a hemostatic effect and are used to treat coughing blood, bloody stools, bleeding, and vomiting blood. Recent research has found that persimmons and persimmon leaves have blood pressure-lowering, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and hemostatic effects.
(2) Moistening the lungs and quenching thirst: Persimmons have the functions of clearing heat and removing dryness, moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm, softening hardness, quenching thirst and promoting fluid production, strengthening the spleen, treating dysentery, and stopping bleeding. They can relieve dry and hard stools, hemorrhoid pain or bleeding, dry cough, sore throat, high blood pressure, and other conditions.
(3) Promoting blood circulation and lowering blood pressure: Persimmons help lower blood pressure, soften blood vessels, increase coronary artery flow, and can promote blood circulation and reduce inflammation, improving cardiovascular function.
(4) Sobering up: Persimmons can promote the oxidation of ethanol in the blood, help the body excrete alcohol, and reduce alcohol's harm to the body.
3. Can it be eaten with yogurt?
Persimmons and yogurt cannot be eaten together. Yogurt is rich in protein, while persimmons contain tannic acid. When the two are eaten together, under the action of gastric acid, tannic acid easily reacts with protein and cellulose to produce lumps and hard stones. In mild cases, this affects gastrointestinal absorption; in severe cases, over time, together with pectin, the lumps become larger and larger, forming stomach stones, commonly known as “persimmon stones”, which require surgery to resolve. People with weaker digestive function should pay special attention.
4. Can it be eaten with bananas?
Persimmons and bananas cannot be eaten together. Persimmons and bananas contain tannic acid and tannin substances respectively, and when the two substances react together they can cause problems such as stones, preventing the stomach and intestines from functioning normally. Moreover, both persimmons and bananas are cool-natured fruits. Eating too much of them together can also cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, and other reactions. People with weaker digestive function should pay special attention. However, if only a small amount is eaten together, there will not be much of a problem.
5. What happens if you eat too many?
(1) Eating too many persimmons can also affect the absorption of calcium and other minerals. The tannic acid in persimmons can form compounds with calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and other minerals in food that cannot be absorbed by the human body, making these nutrients unusable. Therefore, eating too many persimmons can easily lead to deficiency of these minerals.
(2) Also, because persimmons contain relatively more sugar, people feel fuller after eating persimmons than after eating the same amount of apples or pears, which affects appetite and reduces intake at main meals. It is generally believed that, when not on an empty stomach, eating no more than 200 grams of persimmon each time is appropriate.
(3) Persimmons contain relatively large amounts of pectin and tannic acid. The above substances can chemically react with gastric acid to form hard-to-dissolve gel lumps, thereby forming stomach stones.
(4) Persimmons are cold in nature. If a person has cold stomach, they should not eat them. If ordinary people eat too many, corresponding discomfort will also occur. Therefore, even good things should be eaten in moderation and not in excess.
6. What is best to eat them with?
(1) Brown rice: Sweet potato paired with brown rice has a weight-loss effect.
(2) Lotus seeds: Sweet potato paired with lotus seeds can treat habitual constipation and chronic hepatitis.
(3) Pork chops: Food made from sweet potato and pork chops can enhance the human body's absorption of food nutrients.
(4) Celery: Sweet potato paired with celery has a blood pressure-lowering effect.
7. What can't it be eaten with?
(1) Crab: Persimmons and crab are both cold-natured foods, and eating them increases and worsens gastrointestinal disease. High-protein foods such as crab and shrimp more easily coagulate into lumps, namely gastric persimmon stones, under the action of tannic acid.
(2) Sweet potato: When the tannin and cellulose in persimmons encounter the fermentation products of sweet potato, they cause tannin to precipitate rapidly, which affects the normal function of the human stomach and in severe cases may lead to intestinal obstruction.
(3) Seafood: The tannic acid contained in persimmons will produce precipitates with the protein and calcium salts contained in seafood such as fish and shrimp, irritating the gastrointestinal organs and easily causing symptoms such as nausea and constipation.
(4) Alcohol: Persimmons are cold in nature, and alcohol entering the stomach stimulates increased intestinal secretion. The tannic acid in persimmons and gastric secretions form a thick, sticky substance, which easily twists together with cellulose into clumps, forming coagulated masses that are both difficult to digest and difficult to excrete, eventually causing intestinal obstruction.
(5) Kelp: Persimmons are rich in tannic acid, and kelp is rich in calcium ions. When the two are eaten together, the calcium ions in kelp combine with the tannic acid in persimmons to form insoluble compounds, which easily affect the digestion and absorption of certain nutrients and cause gastrointestinal discomfort.
(6) Pickled cabbage: Eating persimmons and pickled cabbage together may cause gastrolithiasis. After eating pickled cabbage, a large amount of hydrochloric acid is produced in the stomach, which will precipitate with the calcium ions of persimmons. The precipitates accumulate together to form water-insoluble lumps, thereby forming gastrolithiasis.
(7) Octopus: Eating persimmons and octopus together harms the stomach and intestines and easily causes diarrhea. Octopus is cold in medicinal nature but not purgative, and can nourish blood and boost qi, while persimmons are sweet, astringent, and cold in nature, belonging to cold medicinal nature. Therefore, the two should not be eaten together, otherwise they will harm the stomach and intestines and easily cause diarrhea.
(8) Goose meat: In severe cases, eating persimmons and goose meat together can lead to death. Goose meat is complete protein and high-quality protein, and its protein easily coagulates with the tannic acid in persimmons into tannic acid protein that gathers in the stomach and intestines; in severe cases it can lead to death.
8. What precautions are there for eating persimmons?
(1) Persimmons are cold in nature, so people with cold stomach should not eat them. People with chronic gastritis, delayed gastric emptying, indigestion, and other conditions of low gastric motility function should not eat persimmons.
(2) Persimmons are rich in carbohydrates, mostly sucrose, glucose, and fructose. They are easily digested after eating and easily raise blood sugar, so people with diabetes cannot eat them.
(3) The tannic acid in persimmons can combine with iron in food, hindering the human body's absorption of iron from food. At the same time, the precipitate formed by the combination of the two can cause gastrointestinal discomfort and even colic, so patients with anemia should not eat persimmons.
(4) Persimmons contain relatively large amounts of tannic acid and pectin. On an empty stomach, under the action of gastric acid, they form hard lumps of varying sizes, forming “persimmon stones”, which easily cause nausea, vomiting, gastric ulcers, and even gastric perforation.
(5) The vast majority of the tannic acid in persimmons is concentrated in the skin. If eaten together with the skin, it is even easier to form gastric persimmon stones, and it may also increase the chance of conditions such as abdominal pain and nausea.
(6) Persimmons contain large amounts of carbohydrates and pectin. Eating large amounts of persimmons can easily erode the teeth and form cavities, and the large amount of tannic acid affects the human body's absorption of trace elements such as calcium and magnesium, easily leading to malnutrition.