There are thousands of varieties of persimmons in the world, and they are divided into two categories: astringent persimmons and sweet persimmons based on whether they can naturally remove astringency before they mature on the tree. Among them, astringent persimmons (most of the persimmons marketed in my country belong to this category) must be artificially deastringent after picking before they can be eaten. The material basis for the astringent taste of astringent persimmons is tannic acid (also known as tannic acid). Persimmons contain a lot of carbohydrates, 10.8 grams per 100 grams of persimmons, which are mainly sucrose, glucose and fructose. This is why people think persimmons are very sweet. There are not many other nutrients in persimmons, and they only contain a small amount of fat, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin C. In addition, persimmons are rich in pectin, which is a kind of water-soluble dietary fiber and has a good laxative effect. It has a good effect on correcting constipation and maintaining normal intestinal flora growth.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that persimmon is sweet, astringent, and cold in nature. It has the functions of clearing away heat and dryness, moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm, softening and hardening, quenching thirst and promoting body fluids, strengthening the spleen, treating dysentery, and stopping bleeding. It can relieve dry stools, Hemorrhoid pain or bleeding, dry cough, sore throat, high blood pressure and other symptoms. Therefore, persimmon is a natural health food for patients with chronic bronchitis, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and internal and external hemorrhoids. If persimmon leaves are decoctioned or boiled as tea, they can also promote body metabolism, lower blood pressure, increase coronary blood flow, and relieve cough and reduce phlegm.

Although eating persimmons has many benefits, there are a few things you need to be reminded of:

Do not eat persimmons on an empty stomach

Because persimmons contain more tannic acid and pectin , under the condition of fasting, they will form hard lumps of different sizes under the action of gastric acid. If these hard lumps cannot reach the small intestine through the pylorus, they will stay in the stomach and form gastric persimmon stones. Small gastric persimmon stones are initially like apricot stones, but It will accumulate more and more. If the gastric persimmon stones cannot be discharged naturally, it will cause gastrointestinal obstruction, causing symptoms such as severe pain in the upper abdomen, vomiting, and even vomiting of blood. Gastric persimmon stones as big as a fist have been found during surgery. If the stomach has a "bottom", the formation of gastric persimmon stones can be avoided.

Persimmon skin cannot be eaten

Some people feel that eating persimmons while chewing the skin is more flavorful than eating persimmons alone. In fact, this way of eating is unscientific. Because most of the tannic acid in persimmons is concentrated in the skin, it is impossible to remove all the tannic acid from the persimmons when they are deastringent. If you eat the persimmons with the skin, it is more likely to form stomach stones, especially if the astringency removal process is not perfect. At this time, the skin contains more tannic acid.

Do not eat them with foods containing high protein such as crab, fish, shrimp, etc.

In traditional Chinese medicine, crabs and persimmons are both cold foods, so they cannot be eaten together. From the perspective of modern medicine, crabs, fish, and shrimps containing high protein can easily solidify into blocks under the action of tannic acid, which is called gastric persimmon stone.

People with diabetes should not eat persimmons because they contain 10.8% of sugars, most of which are simple disaccharides and monosaccharides (such as sucrose, fructose, and glucose), so they are easily absorbed after eating. , causing blood sugar to rise. For people with diabetes, especially those with poor blood sugar control, it is even more harmful.

Enough is Enough

The tannic acid in persimmons can form compounds with calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron and other minerals in food that cannot be absorbed by the human body, making these nutrients unavailable. Therefore, eating more persimmons can easily lead to a deficiency of these minerals. And because persimmons contain more sugar, people will feel fuller when eating persimmons than eating the same amount of apples and pears, which will affect appetite and reduce meal intake. It is generally believed that it is appropriate to eat no more than 200 grams of persimmons at a time without fasting.

Rinse your mouth after eating

Persimmons are high in sugar and contain pectin. After eating persimmons, some of them always remain in the mouth, especially between the teeth, and are weakly acidic. The tannic acid in it can easily corrode teeth and form dental caries. Therefore, you should drink a few mouthfuls of water or rinse your mouth in time after eating persimmons.

There are some red persimmons on the market now that look very attractive, but they don’t taste sweet at all. They are probably ripened using hormones. Since it’s hard to tell them apart from the outside, it’s recommended that you buy one to try before deciding whether to buy more.