Can diabetic patients control their blood sugar better if they don't eat staple foods? Here comes the November scientific rumor list →

1. Will eating hawthorn and chestnuts together make it more likely to cause gastric stones?

Rumor content : Hawthorn and chestnuts cannot be eaten together. Eating them together will damage the stomach and cause gastric stones.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

There is currently no evidence that eating hawthorn and chestnuts together will directly cause stomach stones in healthy people.

When stomach acid meets tannic acid, it forms a gelatinous substance that sticks together. When it meets some undigested food in the stomach, it gathers more and more and may squeeze into a lump, and gastric stone is formed. Tannic acid mostly comes from some astringent fruits, such as persimmon, hawthorn, green banana, etc.

When tannic acid and stomach acid combine together, it is easy to form sticky lumps as long as there is undigested food nearby. However, this does not require the additional supply of chestnuts. Just eating hawthorn is enough. Therefore, most gastric stones are caused by eating hawthorn on an empty stomach. Eating too much other things will neutralize the stomach acid, making it less likely to form sticky lumps.

There is no food incompatibility between hawthorn and chestnut. Instead, what needs to be emphasized is that fruits with astringent taste like hawthorn should not be eaten on an empty stomach, nor should they be eaten too much. Or when eating, try to chew as much as possible and do not let large pieces of food remain in the stomach at the same time. That is enough.

Source: Tencent News

2. Can diabetic patients control their blood sugar better if they do not eat staple foods?

Rumor content : Many diabetic patients pay great attention to controlling sugar in their diet and do not eat staple foods for fear of high blood sugar.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

Not eating staple foods will bring more harm to diabetic patients. Not eating staple foods will not get a better blood sugar index. On the contrary, the human body needs basic energy to function, and the energy comes from sugar or fat. Many people eat less staple foods, but consume more fat to obtain energy, which further aggravates the diabetes that is originally caused by excessive fat. In addition, insufficient intake of staple foods can easily lead to malnutrition. The nutrition of diabetic patients is very easy to lose. Long-term lack of nutrients such as protein and trace elements will lead to a decrease in the patient's resistance. This is also the reason why diabetic patients are more likely to get tumors, more susceptible to infection, more prone to toxic shock, and difficult to close the wound after surgery.

Diabetic patients should eat more than 12 kinds of food every day and no less than 25 kinds of food every week. They should ensure the intake of meat, eggs, milk, soy products and various fruits and vegetables. In terms of staple food, they can eat refined rice and flour with coarse grains and cereals.

Source: People's Daily Health Client Check Disease

3. Do I need to quit smoking and drinking while taking medication for hypertension?

Rumor content : Many people believe that the occurrence of high blood pressure has little to do with smoking and drinking, and that blood pressure can be lowered by taking medication, so there is no need to quit smoking or drinking.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

If patients with hypertension smoke or drink while taking medication, it may affect the efficacy of the medication, be detrimental to the treatment of the disease, and even aggravate the condition.

Cigarettes contain dozens of substances that are harmful to the human body. Smoking not only increases the heart rate and cardiac output, but also causes blood vessels to constrict, leading to high blood pressure.

Alcohol will speed up the heart rate and increase cardiac output. Blood pressure may decrease immediately after drinking or drinking excessively, but it will increase significantly the next day, leading to increased blood pressure fluctuations. Alcohol will also reduce the antihypertensive effect of antihypertensive drugs, making blood pressure more difficult to control.

Long-term smoking and drinking are important factors that cause blood pressure fluctuations. If you do not maintain good living habits, your blood pressure will continue to fluctuate. Therefore, if you want to control high blood pressure as soon as possible, you should also quit smoking and drinking.

Source: People's Daily Health Client Check Disease

4. Do only women planning to get pregnant need to supplement folic acid?

Rumor content : I have only heard that women need to supplement folic acid in advance when preparing for pregnancy, but I have not heard that men also need to supplement it.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

Supplementing folic acid is not just for women, men who are preparing for pregnancy also need to take it, because folic acid has an important impact on the quality of male sperm.

If the folic acid level in men is low, it may lead to lower sperm concentration and decreased sperm motility, which is not conducive to conception. On the other hand, it may cause sperm chromosome abnormalities, cause fetal developmental defects, and increase the risk of miscarriage. Therefore, during the period of preparing for pregnancy, it is recommended that both husband and wife need to supplement folic acid.

Generally speaking, it is recommended to supplement folic acid from 3 months before pregnancy, with a daily supplement of 0.4mg or 0.8mg of folic acid. Since each person's physical condition is different, the specific dosage still needs to be based on the doctor's advice.

Source: People's Daily Health Client Check Disease

5. Is breast cancer a disease exclusive to women?

Rumor : Breast cancer only occurs in women, and men will not get it.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor that threatens women's life and health, but it is not a "disease exclusive to women".

Breast cancer refers to a malignant tumor that occurs in the mammary gland epithelial tissue. Breast cancer cells can spread and metastasize throughout the body through lymph or blood, most commonly to important organs such as bones, lungs, liver, and brain.

Male breast cancer accounts for less than 1% of all breast cancers, but in recent years, its incidence has been increasing year by year. Research data shows that the incidence of male breast cancer is about 1.2/100,000, and the average age of diagnosis is 67. At the same time, the mortality rate of male breast cancer patients is 19% higher than that of female patients.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

6. Will eating waxed apples be harmful to health?

Rumor content : Some people believe that in order to make apples rot more slowly and appear better, merchants wax apples, and that such apples are poisonous.

Truth interpretation : Incorrect.

During the normal growth process of apples, the skin will naturally secrete a layer of fruit wax to prevent harmful external substances from invading the flesh. It is harmless to the human body.

After being picked, apples are usually treated with artificial waxing to prevent water loss, solve the problem of skin shrinkage, prevent pests from attacking, and extend the shelf life. my country's "Sanitary Standards for the Use of Food Additives" stipulates that morpholine fatty acid salts (also known as fruit wax) and Brazilian palm wax can be used as coating agents on the surface of fresh fruits. Regular waxing will not harm human health.

If you are really worried, you can choose to peel the skin or rinse the apples in hot water.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

About the Science Rumors List

Released by the China Association for Science and Technology, the list is reviewed by experts every month. Based on criteria such as timeliness and harmfulness, hot rumors are selected for special interpretation and pushed across the entire network.

Jointly published: Scientific rumor-busting platform, China Internet Joint Rumor-busting Platform, "Study to Strengthen the Country" learning platform

Supported platforms: Weibo rumor refutation, Toutiao rumor refutation, Tencent Jiuzhen, NetEase Health, Toutiao Health, Baidu Knows, Douyin

Scientific rumor debunking: Sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other ministries and commissions, guided by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and jointly created by national societies, authoritative media, social organizations and scientific and technological workers, it aims to effectively improve the dissemination, guidance and influence of rumor debunking information, so that rumors can stop at the wise and let science outrun rumors.

List of review experts

(In order of the number of strokes of surname)

Zhang Yu , researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, doctor of medicine, and supervisor of master's students

Chen Peng, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Nankai University

Liu Guiyang , Chief Pharmacist, Fourth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

Han Hongwei, Researcher, National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center

Yuan Zhiqin, Associate Professor, Beijing University of Chemical Technology

This article is produced by "Science Facts" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.