It’s so cold in winter, will eating fruit hurt your stomach?

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The weather is getting colder.

Winter is cold and dry, so you should eat more fruit to replenish water. However, many people, especially girls and the elderly, are very cautious about eating fruit. They often think that fruit is too cold, and eating such cold fruit in winter will hurt the stomach. Many people will feel uncomfortable in their stomachs after eating it, and even have diarrhea and dysmenorrhea...

Does eating fruit in winter really hurt your stomach? Can you eat fruit in winter? Today we will talk about how to eat fruit in winter.

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● Some people are sensitive to low temperatures and will feel uncomfortable in their stomachs if they eat too cold food. You can heat the fruit before eating it.

● Allergies, microbial contamination, and fructose intolerance may all cause diarrhea after eating fruit.

● The nutritional loss caused by heating fruits is not significant, so they can be heated before eating. Heating fruits helps digestion and is also convenient for people who are sensitive to low temperatures to eat fruits.

● Off-season fruits are mainly produced through long-term storage, greenhouse cultivation and transportation to other places, and they are all good fruits.

● From a health perspective, you should also eat appropriate amounts of fruit in winter.

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01

Will it hurt your stomach if the fruit is too cold?

When eating fruit in winter, the biggest concern is whether the fruit is too cold and will hurt the stomach. Especially many women are afraid to eat it during menstruation. Many parents dare not let their children eat it. Some elderly people are afraid of stomach discomfort and hardly eat fruit.

Actually, it depends on the situation.

In fact, for healthy people, no fruit can "hurt the stomach". Unless you are allergic to certain fruits, you can eat them without worry.

As for the low temperature of fruits in winter, some people are indeed sensitive to cold and will feel uncomfortable after eating cold fruits, or even have stomachache, diarrhea, and dysmenorrhea. If you belong to this kind of people, you can warm the fruits before eating them, or cook them before eating.

Of course, everyone has different tolerance to temperature, and not everyone cannot eat cold food. If you don't feel any discomfort when eating cold food, then you can eat it without worry.

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02

Is eating fruit in winter causing diarrhea because it is too cold?

Since it is said that fruits will not hurt the stomach, then why do I have diarrhea when I eat too much of certain fruits in winter? Is it because it is too cold?

In fact, if you have diarrhea after eating fruit, there may be several reasons:

(1) Allergy or intolerance.

If you are intolerant or allergic to this fruit, you may experience diarrhea.

(2) The fruit is contaminated by bacteria or parasite eggs.

In the past, the surface of fruits may be stained with parasite eggs, pathogenic microorganisms, etc., and some untreated manure was used, which made the elderly and children with low immunity prone to stomach pain and diarrhea after eating. This is not due to the "coldness" of the fruits. In fact, as long as we go to regular supermarkets and markets to buy fresh fruits, and pay attention to washing with water or peeling before eating, there will be no problem.

(3) Fructose intolerance.

In addition, if you always have diarrhea after eating certain fruits, it may be fructose intolerance.

Many people have varying degrees of fructose intolerance, which means they cannot digest fructose well. The absorption of fructose requires a "transport tool" called a fructose carrier. The number of fructose carriers is limited. If you eat too much fructose, the fructose carriers will not be enough, and some fructose will not be absorbed. The unabsorbed fructose will reach the intestines, which will increase the osmotic pressure in the intestines and cause abnormal intestinal movements, resulting in abdominal pain, loose stools and other problems.

Therefore, diarrhea after eating fruit is not necessarily a sign of stomach damage, and don’t blame it on the fruit being too cold.

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03

The fruit is so cold, can I heat it up and eat it?

Since some people do feel that eating fruits in winter is too cold, can we heat them up before eating, such as boiling them, so that we won't feel uncomfortable. Then, will we lose nutrition if we boil the fruits before eating them?

This approach is certainly acceptable, and nutritional loss is not a big problem!

In fact, the loss of nutrients caused by heating is not as much as everyone thinks. The nutrients in fruits that are most sensitive to heat are mainly vitamin C and B vitamins, but the loss is generally no more than 50%; as for other nutrients, such as carotenoids, they are not afraid of heat and will not be lost much when heated. Moreover, loss does not mean that there is no nutrition at all. Compared with not eating fruits at all, eating cooked fruits can still obtain most of the nutrients.

Moreover, when fruits are cooked, the stimulation of fiber and other ingredients on the digestive tract is reduced. It is actually a good choice for children and the elderly whose digestive ability is not very sound. After heating, it has a different flavor and you may eat more. Compared with not being able to eat fruits because they are cold, eating them cooked at least allows you to eat a lot of fruits. For example, many people like to eat apple pie, pear soup, yellow peach pie... These are all very good choices.

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04

Are off-season fruits nutritious?

Many people also think that winter fruits are "off-season fruits", have poor nutritional value and are harmful to health, so they are unwilling or afraid to eat them. Some traditional health experts even believe that off-season fruits are not in season and are harmful to the body.

In fact, this is a complete misunderstanding.

Currently, off-season fruits usually come in three forms.

① Long-term preservation. With the rapid development of long-term preservation and storage technology for fruits and vegetables, it is very easy to preserve "seasonal" fruits and vegetables until winter. For example, in the warm season, some common fruits such as bananas, grapes, apples, pears, citrus, pineapples, etc. can be stored until winter using refrigeration and other preservation technologies, which can almost meet the supply throughout the year.

② "Greenhouse planting". Using greenhouses, in the cold winter, the greenhouses are still as warm as spring, and fruits and vegetables can grow and bear fruit normally to meet people's needs. This is also a very common practice at present. Most of the strawberries we eat now are grown in greenhouses.

③ Planting in different places. Plants are out of season in one place, but in season in another place. For example, almost all vegetables are out of season in Beijing in winter, but in southern cities such as Guangdong and Hainan, there are still many fruits, not to mention that we now have a lot of fruits imported from southern hemisphere countries such as New Zealand. When it is winter in our country, it is summer in their country. When the north is experiencing a cold winter, Hainan cherry tomatoes, Chilean cherries, and Southeast Asian fruits are in their ripening season, but you say they are out of season? They feel so wronged.

In fact, there is not much difference in nutritional value between off-season fruits and seasonal fruits.

The so-called "seasonal" simply means that the temperature, humidity, light and other natural conditions of that season are suitable for the growth of a certain plant. We can already simulate similar environmental conditions and allow these plants to grow all year round. This is the benefit brought by technological progress. Studies have found that light and temperature have only a 10% impact on vitamin C. In other words, seasonal fruits and greenhouse fruits are both good fruits, and there is no nutritional difference.

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05

Should we eat fruit in winter?

In such a cold winter, should we eat fruit? The answer is of course yes.

Fruits are also rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, polyphenolic antioxidants and other substances that are beneficial to health. Many studies have confirmed that eating fruits properly is beneficial to the human body and can reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, stroke, and various cancers. So, you should try to eat fruits in winter!

How can I eat fruit when the weather is so cold?

(1) Eat in moderation. As long as you do not feel any discomfort after eating fruit, you can eat it with confidence. The dietary guidelines recommend that we eat 200-400 grams of fruit per day.

(2) Eat a variety of fruits. Try to eat different kinds of fruits to increase food diversity, such as apples, bananas, tangerines, cherry tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupe, etc., and eat them in rotation.

(3) If you feel that the fruit is too cold, you can heat it up appropriately, or put it in a warmer environment in advance to an acceptable temperature before eating. If you feel that the fruit is too cold and your stomach is uncomfortable after eating it, you may want to eat less; you can also heat the fruit before eating.

Source: Nutritionist Ruan Guangfeng