What are the main contents of dietary taboos?

The core of dietary taboos are dietary choices that are clearly prompted to avoid in different contexts. They include both hard restrictions with clear scientific basis, and soft reminders derived from traditional experience and folk culture. Many of them are still controversial in academic circles, and it is impossible to draw a one-size-fits-all conclusion.

Don't underestimate the hard taboos that are supported by evidence. If you step on the thunder, problems will arise. I met a young man in the emergency department a while ago. He took cephalosporins and anti-inflammatory drugs and forgot his taboos. After drinking half a glass of beer at a friend's party, he felt chest tightness and dizziness. These taboos related to medication and diseases have been verified by a large number of clinical trials. For example, children with phenylketonuria cannot touch ordinary bread or milk tea, and all foods containing phenylalanine must be strictly tabooed, otherwise it will affect intellectual development.； It is common for patients with gout attacks to be in so much pain that they cannot get out of bed if they eat a lot of seafood or thick broth. There is no room for bargaining with these taboos and they must be observed.

But not all claims with the name "diet taboos" are so binding. Many of them either exaggerate the risks or are only applicable to specific groups of people. For example, in the past few years, there has been a rumor that "eating seafood and vitamin C together is equivalent to eating arsenic." I calculated for the users who consulted. To reach the toxic dose, you need to eat dozens of kilograms of seafood contaminated with seriously excessive arsenic, coupled with more than a dozen tablets of medicinal vitamin C. Who can eat this amount in a normal meal? It's basically alarmism. There is also the old saying that "eating crabs and persimmons together will cause diarrhea." In fact, most of them are caused by undercooked crabs, or weak gastrointestinal problems, and eating too many cold foods at one time. I have friends with good gastrointestinal problems. In autumn, I eat steamed crabs and frozen persimmons at the same time, and nothing happens.

There are also many taboos that are actually linked to individual physiques and regional habits, and are not universal. For example, it is often said that "you cannot eat ice cream during menstruation." Among the girls I have met, some can eat ice cream during their menstrual period in winter without any reaction, and some even drink room temperature yogurt and break out in cold sweats. This cannot be regarded as a unified rule and depends on the feedback of their own bodies. There are also some folk taboos that have no health significance. For example, in some places, pears are not allowed to be eaten during the New Year. They say that the homophonic word "li" is unlucky. To put it bluntly, they are just for good luck. People who don't care about these opinions have no problem eating them.

When I usually customize a diet plan for someone, I don’t just add the taboos I found online. I first clearly list the hard taboos that must be followed, and the rest of the flexible content will remind everyone to adjust according to their own physical feelings. There is no need to treat them unnecessarily for unwarranted taboos. After all, it is important to have fun eating.