Analysis of the Truth of the Restrains between Foods

According to a recent done survey, nearly 90% of Chinese have heard about a statement that we cannot eat some kinds of food together otherwise we will be sick. A picture which tells the restrains between foods and is said to be made by China Public union of Nutrition has gone viral through social media. And some so-called experts said the statement is supported by TCM (traditional Chinese medicine). However, most statements lack experimental evident and CCTV has refuted the rumors before. So, in this essay, I am going to discuss if the restrains between foods exist and if not what are the real causes of sick.

There are usually two statements on how restrains between foods affect our health. It is said that some kinds of foods cause illness and intoxication while eaten together. For example, eating lily root and pork together will lead to diarrhea. But survey of the literatures and the experiment study about mutual restrained food combinations has done some experiments on guinea pigs and prove eating lily root and pork did no harm to their health, the same to sesame seeds and chicken, cucumber and peanut. Actually, food is full of nutrients that human beings need. Just mixing the nutrients is definitely unable to poison someone. More conditions such as environment and large amount are required. There is another statement claiming that eating some foods together will destroy some beneficial nutrition component. As professor Liu from Chinese Agriculture University said, some component will be broken after boiling and will not destroy the beneficial nutrient. Besides, the content of some nutrient such as mineral and vitamin is so few that the influence can be ignored. What's more, volunteers that are offer to try the dubious recipes did not feel ill. In conclusion, restrains between foods do not exist.

So why there are still some people insist that they get ill after eating two kinds of foods together? Here are my guesses. Firstly, about milk with many foods. Lots of people feel uncomfortable after drinking milk and then owl it to restrains between milk and other food. In fact, it is likely because they are lactose intolerance. Secondly, improper edible way such as eating too much and cooking the food in the wrong way is one of the reasons too. Thirdly, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) sufferers may mistake the real reason of their sick. Lastly, allergies to nuts, beans, seafood are probably the reason why so many people believe they cannot be eaten together.

Though restrains between foods do not exist, food pyramid is reliable considering healthy eating. We can still make some improvement on our diet to have a balanced and nutrient-rich diet. After all, health is wealth.

Reference List

1. ZHANG yin-hongDENG li-liWANG yuYUE liZHAO Jin-sheng, Ge ke-you. Apr,2011. Survey of the literatures and the experiment study about mutual restrained food combinations . Acta Nutrimenta Sinica, Vol.33 No.2

2. YUE Li, ZHAO Jin-sheng, WANG Yu. Recognition of mutual restriction between foods and practice of diet arrangement among undergraduates. Mar, 2010. China Public Health Vol.26No.3

3. Yu Rui-Min,Yang Junyun. Survey of common 30 mutual restrained food combinations. Centre for diseases Prevention and control of Beijing military region.

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