Does eating red-fleshed kiwifruit cause internal heat (excessive body heat according to traditional Chinese medicine)?
Disease description:
I've been particularly fond of red-fleshed kiwifruit lately and have eaten a lot of it consecutively. However, I've developed mouth ulcers and a sore throat these two days. I wonder if it's due to excessive heat caused by eating too much kiwi.
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Yu Yongchao
Under normal circumstances, eating red-fleshed kiwifruit does not cause heatiness.
Red-fleshed kiwifruit is a fruit with extremely high nutritional value, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, dietary fiber, and other nutrients. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, kiwifruit is cold in nature and sweet and sour in taste, possessing functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting saliva production and relieving dryness; therefore, it generally does not cause heatiness.
However, individuals vary in constitution and health status, and reactions to food may differ. For individuals with a cold constitution or those suffering from spleen and stomach deficiency cold, long-term excessive consumption of red-fleshed kiwifruit may worsen internal coldness and affect spleen and stomach function, thereby increasing the risk of heatiness to some extent. In addition, consuming unripe red-fleshed kiwifruit may irritate the gastric mucosa due to its high acid content, causing discomfort.
It is recommended not to consume more than two kiwifruits per day, preferably between meals, and to avoid eating them on an empty stomach in order to reduce gastrointestinal irritation. Meanwhile, attention should also be paid to selecting ripe, high-quality red-fleshed kiwifruit to ensure nutritional value and food safety.
