Does Eating Sweet Foods Cause Heatiness?
Every time we eat sweet food, our mood becomes more pleasant. However, excessive consumption of sweet food can also harm our teeth, and some people may even experience symptoms of heatiness after eating a large amount of sweet food. In fact, not all sweet food causes heatiness. Only hot ingredients, such as brown sugar, can lead to heatiness when consumed in excess, or when the body already has mild heatiness symptoms. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that "sweetness can tonify deficiency," so the nourishing effect of sweet food on the body is worthy of recognition. However, it is also believed that "excessive tonification can generate heat and aid in evil," so when using sweetness to tonify deficiency, there is a risk of functional disorders in the body, ranging from mild heatiness to more serious conditions such as nosebleeds, mouth ulcers, red and swollen eyes, abdominal distension, and poor appetite. Many snacks contain sweeteners to enhance their taste, and excessive consumption can naturally lead to heatiness due to the sweetness. Additionally, dried fruits and candies also produce a significant amount of heat. If consumed in excess, they can easily lead to an excess of calories and a higher risk of heatiness. Among vegetables, bitter gourd, kale, spinach, and rapeseed are good for reducing heatiness. Other vegetables that can help reduce heatiness include celery, winter melon, raw white radish, cucumber, raw lotus root, lettuce, eggplant, loofah, water bamboo shoots, arrowhead, laver, bamboo shoots, chrysanthemum greens, potatoes, and mung bean sprouts. Fruits that can help reduce heatiness include watermelon, pears, bananas, pomelo, persimmons, fresh lilies, sugarcane, hawthorn, mangoes, kiwis, and kumquats. Neutral fruits that can also be consumed include apples, grapes, lemons, umeboshi plums, loquats, olives, crabapples, sour plums, begonias, pineapples, pomegranates, figs, monk fruit, mulberries, starfruits, and muskmelons. Additionally, raw water chestnuts and water caltrops can also be consumed.