Dietary taboos include

There are pathological taboos directly related to individual health status, food source taboos linked to the safety or properties of the ingredients themselves, and humanistic taboos bound to cultural beliefs and regional customs. Most of the rest of the "food incompatible" statements spread online are not supported by modern medical evidence and do not belong to scientific dietary taboos.

The most important thing to remember first is definitely the pathological taboos. To put it bluntly, if you have any disease, you have to keep your mouth shut. This part is also the one with the highest degree of consensus in the medical community. For example, gout patients should strictly limit their intake of high-purine foods, and avoid touching thick broth, seafood, and animal offal during the acute phase. ； People who take antibiotics such as cephalosporin and metronidazole should completely avoid alcoholic foods, even fermented glutinous rice, wine-filled chocolate, and braised dishes with rice wine. Last year, a colleague of mine had a cold and took cephalosporin. During a dinner party, he thought it would be okay to take a few sips of rice wine. However, he felt panicked and chest tight after just drinking half a cup, and he was sent to the emergency room for gastric lavage. This is really not an exaggeration. Of course, this part of the content is not static. Twenty years ago, doctors would tell diabetic patients not to touch fruits at all. Now clinical advice has long been adjusted. As long as the total calories are controlled, strawberries, grapefruits, and blueberries with low glycemic index (GI) can be eaten in moderation without complete abstinence. Instead, they can supplement vitamins.

In addition to the requirements that are strongly bound to the physical condition, there is also a type of food taboo that most people, regardless of their physical constitution, are prone to problems with. For example, solanine in sprouted green potatoes, saponin in uncooked green beans, and aflatoxin in moldy nuts are all clearly toxic substances. No matter how strong your stomach is, eating them will most likely cause vomiting and diarrhea, and in severe cases, poisoning. There is no dispute about this part. What is more controversial is the combination of "conflicting nature and flavor" mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine diet therapy, such as crab and persimmon, duck meat and rabbit meat. The view of modern nutrition is that as long as the ingredients are fresh and the consumption is normal, there will be no problem for ordinary people to eat them together. However, traditional medicine believes that these two types of foods are cold in nature. People with a weak spleen and stomach are prone to diarrhea and abdominal pain when eating them together. I myself tried eating two hairy crabs and a crispy persimmon last fall, and nothing happened. However, my mother had diarrhea for two days after eating half a crab with half a persimmon. In the final analysis, it is still a matter of individual differences. There is no need to argue about who is right and who is wrong. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable eating. As for the statement on the Internet that "eating shrimp and vitamin C together is equivalent to arsenic", it is purely an eye-catching rumor. To reach a toxic dose, you would have to eat hundreds of kilograms of shrimp contaminated with heavy metals at one time. It is impossible for ordinary people to eat that much, so there is no need to take it seriously.

The two categories mentioned earlier are related to health and safety. There is also a category of dietary taboos that may not seem to have any "scientific basis," but you must keep them in mind when going out and interacting with people, which are humanistic taboos. For example, Hui compatriots do not eat pork or non-halal food, Hindus do not eat beef, and some Buddhists do not eat meat. There are also many places where there is a custom of not eating raw or cold food during the confinement period, and not eating sacrifices casually. These are taboos at the level of culture and belief. There is no right or wrong, only respect or not. I traveled to Qinghai two years ago and ate at a local halal restaurant. I asked the boss in advance if I could bring yogurt bought outside. The boss specifically reminded me not to bring food with non-halal labels into the store, so as not to offend other diners. Paying attention to these small details not only respects the habits of others, but also avoids a lot of unnecessary trouble. In fact, many cultural taboos can be traced back to their origins and are related to ancient health needs. For example, many coastal areas used to have the custom of "not eating wild pufferfish from offshore". Initially, it was because there was no technology to deal with pufferfish at that time and it was easy to be poisoned. It gradually became a local taboo, which can be regarded as overlapping with food source taboos.

To be honest, many people's misunderstanding about dietary taboos nowadays is that they always want a "one-size-fits-all" list, as if they must be followed regardless of men, women, old or young, or any physical condition. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. Keep the core categories in mind, and don’t take the others too seriously. Instead of comparing food items one by one, it’s better to pay more attention to your own body’s reactions and respect other people’s cultural customs. That’s enough.