Summer is here, and lychees are on the market again. You may have seen reports of children dying from eating lychees on an empty stomach, and therefore know that there is a disease called "lychee disease."

Summer is here, and lychees are on the market again. You may have seen reports of children dying from eating lychees on an empty stomach, and therefore know that there is a disease called "lychee disease".

"Lychee disease" refers to symptoms related to hypoglycemia that occur after eating a large amount of lychees on an empty stomach. In severe cases, convulsions, confusion, coma, and even death may occur.

As for why eating lychees can cause "lychee disease", there is no clear conclusion; but it is currently believed to be related to two toxins in lychees: hypoglycine A (Hypoglycin-A) and α-methylenecyclopropylglycine ( α-(Methylenecyclopropyl) glycine, MCPG).

htmlTriglycine A is a non-protein amino acid found in Sapindaceae plants. α-Methylenecyclopropylglycine is a metabolite of hypoglycine A. Both can affect the body's blood sugar metabolism and lead to hypoglycemia. Among them, unripe lychees contain higher levels of hypoglycine and α-methylenecyclopropylglycine than mature lychees.

In April 2017, a scientific research paper [1] in "The Lancet-Global Health" found that the "lychee disease" that occurred in Muzaffarpur, India in 2014 was related to hypoglycine A and α-methylenecyclopropylglycine related to acidity, and suggestions were made to reduce the intake of lychees as much as possible.

According to past reported cases, "lychee disease" is more common in children. Therefore, if children must eat lychees, they must pay special attention to the right amount, avoid eating them on an empty stomach, and choose mature lychees.

(Image source: unsplash) What is the appropriate amount of

?

In order to facilitate everyone's estimation, let's take an example:

html Children aged 32-5 years old are recommended to consume 100-150 grams of fruit every day; one lychee is calculated as about 20-25 grams, and the entire amount of fruit for the whole day is If it comes from lychees, it’s only 5.

For children, it is recommended to have a diverse diet. As for fruits, it is also recommended to choose fruits of different colors to ensure the intake of various nutrients. Therefore, for children aged 2-5, if they eat lychees, they should not exceed 5 lychees a day.

Finally, we need to be reminded that the two toxins found in lychees and related to "lychee disease" are actually also found in longan and rambutan, so we should also pay attention to them.

In addition, lychees, longans, and rambutan are all fruits with stones, so children under the age of 3-5 should also be alert to the risk of choking .

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