What to do if you get "hot" after eating oranges, eating melon seeds, and drinking beverages during the Chinese New Year? 4 ways to relieve it!

During the holidays at home, I can’t stop eating snacks. Peanuts, melon seeds, various nuts, and the must-have tangerines... But eating too much can also lead to "excessive joy and sorrow", either oral ulcers or sore throats. Whenever this happens, the elders at home will say: "You are getting angry."

So, what exactly is "getting angry"? And how can we prevent it?

01

What is getting angry?

In fact, "getting angry" is a common name. The concept of "getting angry" comes from the traditional Chinese medicine's view of the body and disease. Many modern scientists are studying the mechanism and cause of "getting angry", but there is still no unified conclusion . Therefore, there is no corresponding disease name in the medical system, nor are there objective physical and chemical examination indicators.

Generally speaking, the concept of "getting angry" is still relatively vague and general. People often refer to symptoms such as red and swollen eyes, mouth ulcers, dry and sore throat, dizziness, hot nasal cavity, nosebleeds, toothache, constipation, etc. as "getting angry".

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02

Will these foods cause "heatiness"?

Eating oranges, cracking melon seeds, eating nuts, drinking beverages...will it really cause getting a sore throat?

tangerine

Many people will experience dry and astringent throat, or even nosebleeds after eating oranges, causing "getting angry".

In fact, this is due to the high sugar content of oranges . Due to the high sugar content of oranges, it may induce some acute inflammatory reactions. At the same time, excessive intake of sugar can also make the throat feel dry.

For example, the sugar content of sugar oranges is about 11%. Generally speaking, eating about 10 of them has reached the daily sugar limit for people. Although sugar oranges have many nutrients, such as vitamin C, the calories cannot be ignored . If you really eat 20-40 of them in one meal, it is basically equivalent to the calories of a full meal.

So, although oranges are delicious, don't eat too many at one time.

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Blisters at the corners of the mouth from eating melon seeds

Melon seeds are a common snack at parties, but many people will have blisters at the corners of their mouths the next day after eating them.

This is mainly because the melon seeds are too dry and salty .

On the one hand, melon seeds are very dry, and now many commercial melon seeds have some salt in their shells. You chew them, and then they are salty and your lips are dry. Melon seeds are also rough and can easily scratch your mouth , which can easily cause inflammation and even blistering at the corners of your mouth, which is what people often call "getting angry".

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Sore throat and foreign body sensation after eating nuts

It is said that nuts are healthy, and many people buy some nuts at home during festivals. However, some people feel sore throats or even a foreign body sensation after eating nuts.

This could be an allergy, or it could be because the nuts are too dry and salty .

On the one hand, nuts are one of the most common foods that can easily cause allergies. If you feel uncomfortable every time you eat nuts, even if you eat a small amount, it is very likely that you are allergic, so try not to eat them.

On the other hand, nuts are baked at high temperatures and have very little moisture. Many delicious nuts are seasoned with salt, pepper, etc. If you eat a lot at one time, it can easily cause congestion of the pharyngeal mucosa and hyperplasia of lymph follicles, resulting in a foreign body sensation when swallowing, which many people think is causing heat in the body.

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Eating lychees can cause dizziness and hypoglycemia

Many people experience symptoms of hypoglycemia such as dizziness, fatigue, and palpitations after eating lychees. Some people say this is caused by getting a sore throat, while others call this phenomenon "lychee disease."

The reason for this is that the sweetness of lychees mainly comes from fructose. If you take fructose on an empty stomach or ingest a large amount of it in a short period of time, it will not only fail to be converted into the glucose needed for energy supply by our body in time, but will also stimulate the secretion of insulin to decrease, thus causing symptoms of "hypoglycemia".

In addition, lychees also contain two toxins : Hypoglycin-A and α-(Methylenecyclopropyl) glycine (MCPG), which are especially high in unripe lychees. They can also affect the body's sugar metabolism. Therefore, if you "eat a lot" of lychees on an empty stomach, you may develop lychee disease.

Therefore, during the Spring Festival, you should try to eat ripe lychees. You may want to eat something else before eating lychees. Do not eat lychees on an empty stomach. Do not eat lychees without a meal, especially for children. At the same time, lychees should be eaten in moderation and not too much.

According to the recommendations of the Food Pagoda, you should not eat more than 200-350 grams of fruit per day, which is probably no more than 20 lychees .

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Eating too much meat can cause dryness, thirst, and even constipation, especially lamb

During the Spring Festival, many people feel hot after eating too much meat, and some people feel more hot after eating mutton. This is because meat has a greater "food thermal effect" and generates more heat.

Because meat is rich in protein, protein consumes a lot of water during digestion, absorption and metabolism, and a high-protein diet increases body heat dissipation. Eating different types of meat can generate heat for the human body, but the degree of heat generation depends on the protein contained in the meat.

Take mutton as an example. Its protein is a strong promoter of postprandial heat production, and thyroid hormone may contribute to this effect. Other studies have found that eating a lot of mutton will increase the release of antidiuretic hormone and aldosterone in the body , affecting the body's water and salt metabolism, and enhancing water reabsorption in the renal tubules and collecting ducts, resulting in reduced urine volume and dry and hard stools. This is one of the reasons why some people feel more likely to experience "heat" symptoms such as dryness and constipation after eating mutton.

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Drinking sweet drinks and eating desserts

During the Spring Festival, of course, there are all kinds of desserts and sweet drinks. Many people get acne after drinking sweet drinks and eating sweets, which is also considered to be caused by internal heat.

In fact, this is because of too much sugar intake. The level of male hormones is positively correlated with the level of blood sugar, and sebum secretion is regulated by male hormones, so a high glycemic load diet will aggravate the growth of acne .

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03

How to prevent getting angry?

A study surveyed 1,051 college students and found that students who often stayed up late (61.4%), loved spicy food (59.1%), and were under great pressure (55.2%) were more likely to experience symptoms of "getting angry". Common manifestations of getting angry were dry mouth and lips (50.7%), oral ulcers (49.6%), irritability and insomnia (40.6%), etc.

Therefore, we can roughly believe that bad living patterns, eating habits and excessive mental stimulation will make people more prone to "getting angry" symptoms .

In order to reduce the trouble of "getting angry", I suggest that you pay attention to the following during the Spring Festival:

First, try to eat light food .

Try to keep your diet light and avoid heavy flavors. During the Spring Festival, when friends and family gather together, it is inevitable to let go of yourself in a happy mood. However, I hope everyone still pays attention to restraint. Life is still long, and there are still opportunities to get together. Health and longevity are the key. You may also remind yourself to eat light foods during the festival and eat less spicy foods such as pepper, salt, and spicy food.

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Second, eat in moderation and don’t overeat .

During the holidays, you should also pay attention to eating in moderation and avoid overeating. For example, don't "can't stop" eating melon seeds and nuts. The daily amount is about a handful of shelled nuts. Don't eat too much. Eating meat and drinking alcohol in big mouthfuls may feel good for a while, but it is not good for your health. Although fruits are healthy, they are high in sugar and eating too much is not good for you.

Third, drink more water .

If water is not replenished in time, the body's metabolic response will naturally be affected. Remind yourself to drink more water. Drink water first, and avoid all sugary drinks (including sweet herbal tea). If you really want to drink sweet, you might as well choose sugar-free drinks.

Fourth, stay up late less .

During the Chinese New Year and other holidays, many people will play cards, mahjong, and games with relatives and friends, playing all night until dawn. If you don't get enough rest, your body will be more likely to have problems such as "getting angry". It is better to try to get enough rest and avoid staying up late if you can.

References:

[1] Xie Guanqun, Qian Junhua, Fan Yongsheng. The origin, definition and research ideas of "shanghuo"[J]. World Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2017, 12(12): 2869-2871.

[2] Deng Wenjun. Effects of citrus storage and excessive consumption of ginseng on “getting angry” and its mechanism analysis[D]. Huazhong Agricultural University, 2022.DOI:10.27158/d.cnki.ghznu.2022.000097.

[3] Wu Jinfei. Study on tongue image and symptom characteristics of “getting angry”[D]. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 2008.

[4] Zhang Cong, Jiang Xiaoming, Feng Xianmin, et al. Pathogenesis of food-induced "heatiness" syndrome[J]. Journal of Jilin Medical College, 2020, 41(1): 51-53.

[5] Lin Fuxiang, Chen Weiying. Investigation and research on 1051 cases of "heatiness" in college students[J]. World Science and Technology - Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2012, 14(1): 1306-1310. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-3849.2012.01.034.

[6] Zhai Jingbo, Cao Hongbo, Wang Xiaohui, et al. Analysis of core life habits related to “getting angry” among college students based on association rules[J]. Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2016, 31(7): 2552-2555.

[7] Bao Jie, Wang Qinjing, Li Simin, Zhu Yongfu, Chen Ningning, Zheng Weijun, Xie Zhijun, Fan Yongsheng. Case-control study on the inducing factors of “getting angry”[J]. Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2015, 30(04): 1013-1016.

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center

Reviewer: Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

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