Does watermelon cause internal heat? What should we pay attention to when eating watermelon

Watermelon is a must-have summer delicacy for cooling down. The cool chilled watermelon is a favorite of many people because it quenches thirst and reduces body temperature. Some people can eat half a watermelon in one meal. At this time, the elderly often come out to dissuade people, saying that you cannot eat so much watermelon and that eating too much watermelon will cause getting a sore throat. Many people will then doubt, is this true? Let’s take a closer look at it below!

Whether eating watermelon will cause internal heat depends on the specific physical condition. Some children have a cooler constitution and will not get internal heat. If you have a hot body constitution, you may get a sore throat. The main thing is to observe the stool to see if it is very hard. If it is very hard, you can no longer eat it.

Precautions for eating watermelon in summer

1. Watermelon is a cold food, so it is not suitable to eat too much.

Watermelon is a cold food. If people with weak physique and weak stomach eat too much, it will cause abdominal distension and diarrhea, loss of appetite, accumulation of cold and dampness. The large amount of water contained in watermelon will also dilute the gastric juice, causing indigestion and decreased gastrointestinal resistance. It should not be eaten with greasy foods; if eaten with warm food or drinks, the cold and heat will not be harmonized, which may easily cause vomiting.

In addition, although watermelon has beauty-enhancing effects, it has a high sugar content and eating too much of it can easily turn into fat, so this is also something you need to pay attention to. If you want to beautify your skin without gaining weight, you can eat less of the sugary part in the middle of the watermelon and instead eat the red and white rind. It is also not advisable to eat watermelon after 9 p.m. as it can easily cause a small belly. In summer, you can even use the rind to cook dishes, such as making cold-mixed watermelon rind: take the rind with a slightly red flesh, remove the outermost hard skin, cut into small pieces, and then add sugar, salt, and various seasonings according to your taste.

2. Four types of people should not eat

Cold patients: No matter it is a wind-cold cold or a wind-heat cold, the early stage is an external symptom and should be treated with a dispersing method to eliminate the pathogenic factors from the surface. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that whether it is a cold caused by wind and cold or a cold caused by wind and heat, eating watermelon in the early stage of a cold is equivalent to taking medicine to clear internal heat, which will lead to the entry of evil into the body, making the cold worse or prolonging the course of the disease; however, when the cold worsens and symptoms of internal heat such as high fever, thirst, sore throat, and yellow and red urine appear, eating some watermelon appropriately while taking normal medication will help recovery.

People with renal insufficiency: Eating a large amount of watermelon in a short period of time will increase the amount of water in the body and exceed the body's physiological capacity. For those with renal insufficiency, the kidney's ability to regulate water is greatly reduced. They are unable to regulate and excrete excessive water that enters the body, causing a sharp increase in blood volume, and they are prone to death from acute heart failure.

People with oral ulcers: From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the main cause of oral ulcers is yin deficiency and internal heat, which causes virtual fire to disturb the body and burn the blood, flesh and veins. Watermelon has a diuretic effect. If people with oral ulcers eat more watermelon, some of the normal water needed by the body will be excreted through the diuretic effect of watermelon, which will aggravate the state of yin fluid deficiency. Yin deficiency will increase internal heat and aggravate oral ulcers.

Postpartum women: Postpartum women have relatively weak constitutions. Chinese medicine believes that eating too much watermelon will cause excessive coldness and damage the spleen and stomach. Therefore, it is best for postpartum women not to eat watermelon.

3. Diabetic patients should eat watermelon in moderation

Watermelon contains about 5% sugar, and it is mainly glucose, sucrose and some fructose, which means that eating watermelon will cause blood sugar to rise. Normal people can maintain blood sugar and urine sugar at normal levels because they can secrete insulin in a timely manner. But it is different for diabetics. If they eat too much watermelon in a short period of time, not only will their blood sugar level rise, but those with more serious conditions may also suffer from acidosis due to metabolic disorders, and even be life-threatening. The amount of carbohydrates that diabetics eat every day needs to be strictly controlled. If they eat watermelon several times a day, they should reduce the amount of staple food accordingly to avoid aggravating their condition. If you eat 25 to 50 grams of watermelon at a time, it will not have much effect on diabetics, so diabetics should pay attention to eating watermelon in moderation.

4. Do not eat watermelon that has been opened for too long, and eat less cold watermelon

The temperature is high in summer, which is suitable for bacterial reproduction. If you eat watermelon that has been opened for too long and contaminated by bacteria, it will cause gastrointestinal infectious diseases. Therefore, when eating watermelon, you should choose ripe and fresh watermelon.

It should be noted that although eating ice watermelon on a hot day is very effective in relieving heat, it is very irritating to the stomach and can easily cause damage to the spleen and stomach, so you should pay attention to the temperature and quantity. It is best to place the watermelon on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature is about 8℃~10℃. It tastes best at this temperature. Do not eat more than 500 grams each time, and eat slowly. People with caries (cavities), tooth allergies that feel sour and painful when exposed to cold, and those with poor gastrointestinal function should not eat cold watermelon.

5. Don’t eat before or after meals

Because the large amount of water in watermelon will dilute the digestive juices in the stomach, eating it before or after meals will affect the digestion and absorption of food. Moreover, eating a large amount of watermelon before meals will occupy the volume of the stomach, which will greatly reduce the intake of multiple nutrients during the meal, especially for the health of children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

For those who want to lose weight by dieting, eating some watermelon before meals is a good way to reduce food intake.