# Is it dangerous to eat persimmons together with lobster or crab? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881 "2010-08-10T22:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/21 "2010-08-12T15:21:00Z")
Aren’t there soem food combinations that can effectively cancel each other out? You might eat a certain food because it has some important nutrient but another food prevents you from digesting that nutrient. So if you eat them together you’ll get no benefit from the first food. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/22 "2010-08-12T16:04:49Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > They probably died from eating the durian. That is the most disgusting “food” I’ve ever eaten Or alcohol poisoning. “Can I stomach this yet? No, more whiskey. How about now? No…” > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Aren’t there soem food combinations that can effectively cancel each other out? You might eat a certain food because it has some important nutrient but another food prevents you from digesting that nutrient. So if you eat them together you’ll get no benefit from the first food. Grapefruit can change the effectiveness of many types of medications, presumably even chemicals present in foods. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/23 "2010-08-12T17:06:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Aren’t there soem food combinations that can effectively cancel each other out? You might eat a certain food because it has some important nutrient but another food prevents you from digesting that nutrient. So if you eat them together you’ll get no benefit from the first food. You mean like iron interferes with calcium absorbtion? I heard that a couople of years ago,a nd have always kept Celtling’s Iron and calcium supplements at oppsite ends of the day. She’s a head taller than her classmates, and she’s the youngest, so something is working 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/24 "2010-08-12T17:23:28Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I heard cherries and milk, I think via a great-grandparent. It’s probably an Italian thing. I always thought it was Pop Rocks and Coke! Oh wait… that was Mikey! > [@TruCelt](#): > > As long as we’re hijacking. . . Prune are dried plums, right? So WTF is prune juice anyway? A damn good laxative!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/25 "2010-08-12T17:24:00Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > As long as we’re hijacking. . . Prune are dried plums, right? So WTF is prune juice anyway? > > No, I’m not playing Seinfeldian wordgames, I really want to know. How does one juice a dried fruit?!? A prune is a type of plum that has a high sugar content and an easily-removed pit. This type of plum is called a prune even before it’s dried. Prune juice is the juice of undried prunes. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/26 "2010-08-12T17:45:23Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > A prune is a type of plum that has a high sugar content and an easily-removed pit. This type of plum is called a prune even before it’s dried. Prune juice is the juice of undried prunes. Ignorance fought. Thank you! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/27 "2010-08-19T02:39:39Z")
My wife is from mainland China, and it seems that the idea that certain combinations of food are dangerous to eat is common there. For the longest time, she even had a list on the fridge of supposedly deadly food combinations to avoid that her mom cut from a newspaper and mailed to us. It was in chinese so I couldn’t read it, but the only time it was an issue was one time I brought home steamed crab legs for dinner, and a watermelon I was planning to cut that evening. Apparently, the combination of crab and watermelon causes cancer or something, so she woudn’t let me serve the watermelon until the next day. We may still have that list somewhere, I’ll ask my wife about it. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/28 "2010-08-19T03:21:22Z")
Update: My wife still has the list, but it’s not in the kitchen anymore and it’s getting late so she can’t be arsed to look for it right now. If anyone’s still interested, tomorrow I’ll see if we can find it and I can post a summary of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/29 "2010-08-19T03:37:07Z")
Is watermelon really a common Chinese food? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/30 "2010-08-19T03:46:30Z")
It was until they discovered steamed crab legs, and someone died…☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/31 "2010-08-19T03:59:16Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > Is watermelon really a common Chinese food? It is a pretty common dessert item. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/32 "2010-08-19T03:59:16Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > It was until they discovered steamed crab legs, and someone died…☹ “It was a brave man who first ate an oyster” – Dr. Johnson > [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > > [@Mr.Slant](#): > > > > Is watermelon really a common Chinese food? > > It is a pretty common dessert item. Extremely common in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia, too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/33 "2010-08-19T04:07:28Z")
Mikey died from eating Pop-Rocks and Coca-Cola in Vietnam. He could have been saved, but people didn’t save up enough flip tabs from soda cans for his dialysis machine, and cigarette packs for a lung transplant. The autopsy revealed that he would have died anyway though, because of the spider eggs hatching in his stomach because of all the Bubble Yum he ate. Some people think this was all the result of breaking a mirror 7 years earlier, but in actuality he was heartbroken because he stepped on a crack and broke his mother’s back. Oh yeah, and that girl who didn’t go to school for most of the year, she didn’t have mono, she got pregnant from eating persimmons and lobster in a public pool. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/34 "2010-08-19T06:27:11Z")
Once upon a time in Texas, after the first frost, I would search the woods for wild persimmon trees. I absolutely loved ripe wild persimmons. The garbage sold in supermarkets ain’t persimmons even if they say they are. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/35 "2010-08-19T14:56:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think there are _any_ genuine binary poisons known (that is to say, two substances which are each safe separately, but become toxic in combination). At most, there are some minor toxins which become more dangerous when combined, but which are still somewhat dangerous separately. I don’t know if you’re just talking about foods or any substances at all, but I strongly suggest that you not combine amonia with chlorine bleach. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/36 "2010-08-19T15:13:10Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > I don’t think there are _any_ genuine binary poisons known (that is to say, two substances which are each safe separately, but become toxic in combination). At most, there are some minor toxins which become more dangerous when combined, but which are still somewhat dangerous separately. > > I don’t know if you’re just talking about foods or any substances at all, but I strongly suggest that you not combine amonia with chlorine bleach. Are you suggesting that it’s not at least “somewhat dangerous” to consume ammonia or chlorine bleach so long as you consume them separately? ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/37 "2010-08-19T16:00:44Z")
Eating fish and drinking milk together is supposed to kill you. And I had a distant relative about 80 years back who ate a strawberry with a spider on it and died. Drinking a Coke and eating a peanut butter sandwich will cause your innards to explode and you will die. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/38 "2010-08-19T18:26:04Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > As long as we’re hijacking. . . Prune are dried plums, right? So WTF is prune juice anyway? > > No, I’m not playing Seinfeldian wordgames, I really want to know. How does one juice a dried fruit?!? [Prunes on the hoof](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=prune+tree&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=kHZtTMSEB6XotAOV-umdDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDsQsAQwAw&biw=999&bih=636) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/39 "2010-08-19T18:53:02Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > Eating fish and drinking milk together is supposed to kill you. And I had a distant relative about 80 years back who ate a strawberry with a spider on it and died. Drinking a Coke and eating a peanut butter sandwich will cause your innards to explode and you will die. I think I’m safe, as it was a Diet Pepsi not a Coke. I imagine if I ever cross the Mason-Dixon line in the next few hours, my stomach will explode as all sodas magically become Coke down there. Maybe the jelly in the sandwich provides a panacea to PB’s destructive powers as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/40 "2010-08-20T00:11:53Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > I don’t think there are _any_ genuine binary poisons known (that is to say, two substances which are each safe separately, but become toxic in combination). At most, there are some minor toxins which become more dangerous when combined, but which are still somewhat dangerous separately. > > I don’t know if you’re just talking about foods or any substances at all, but I strongly suggest that you not combine amonia with chlorine bleach. Neither one of those constitutes “safe”, even separately. Try drinking a half a cup of either one alone. Or even just stick your nose in the top of the cup, and breathe, deeply. :eek:😕:mad::(:dead: That said, I once discovered the reason idiots keep mixing those, despite the hazard. I had a real mess to clean up, once. Neither alone would touch it. I just happened to have picked up a surplus mil-spec gas mask a couple of weeks before. Having studied chemistry, I knew what mixing them did. Having been an amateur student of military history, I knew the gas mask was rated for chlorine gas. Don gas mask, mix chemicals on mess… Perfect safety (as long as you knew what you were doing, but… _ **No mess!** _ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881.md?page=3)