# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/41 "2010-08-20T03:16:36Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > > There is a widely held belief in Thailand that eating durian and drinking whiskey can cause death. This appears to be from the Thai-Chinese tradition of assigning foods qualities of “hotness” or “coldness.” The idea being that one should not consume too much of a hot or cold food, but balance things out with some of each. Both whiskey and durian are considered to be extremely hot in character and thus eating both would make one too hot and cause death. Even some local doctors will tell you this (although not good ones). > > > > However, generations of durian-eating Thai alcoholics really give the lie to this. > > They probably died from eating the durian. That is the most disgusting “food” I’ve ever eaten You didn’t have a good one. Did you eat one in Malaysia or somewhere else in Southeast Asia or did you have an imported frozen one? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/42 "2010-08-20T03:23:28Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > Is watermelon really a common Chinese food? Yes, the street markets in China and Taiwan are full of watermelon sellers. Some cut them up in small bite-size pieces and sell them on paper plates for about 5 cents a plate. My friends and I used to almost get sick because we ate so many, Summers are brutally hot there, ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/43 "2010-08-20T03:35:24Z")
When I was living in Taiwan, the university students I was teaching told me that if I ate tofu and honey together I would die. How could I resist? The next day I bought these two foods in and consumed a good portion of both after class with no ill effects. Most of the students just shrugged, but some tried to tell me that an Americans body is _different_ than a Chinese one. (They also tried to tell me John Wilkes Booth was black!) ---
**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 20, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/44 "2010-08-20T04:26:10Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > > [@YogSosoth](#): > > > > They probably died from eating the durian. That is the most disgusting “food” I’ve ever eaten > > You didn’t have a good one. Did you eat one in Malaysia or somewhere else in Southeast Asia or did you have an imported frozen one? There ARE no good durians. That’s like saying “He’s a good pedophile.” ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/45 "2010-08-20T08:34:37Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There is a widely held belief in Thailand that eating durian and drinking whiskey can cause death. Maybe it’s eating durian, drinking whiskey AND riding a motorcycle. :dubious: > [@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. Sildenafil and nitroglycerin-likes are each only slightly dangerous, but should not be combined. I ingested 50 mg of the former, forgot about it 3 days later and popped a sublingual just to test if a minor pain might be angina. Wow! Sudden low blood pressure; I had to sit down, fearful since I now remembered the 3-days earlier pill. If I have to give up one of those medicines, it’ll be the nitroglycerin. 😃 For some reason, even 5 mg now gives me a terrible headache, which it didn’t use to. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/46 "2010-08-20T10:17:14Z")
Well, this isn’t poisoning, per se, but my MIL was _horrified_ the first time she saw me pour milk on sliced strawberries. MIL: “OMG! Don’t do that! The berries will clabber the milk!” Me: “No they won’t; I’ve been eating strawberries with milk since I was five!” MIL: “I grew up on a _farm_; I _know_ what fruits will clabber milk!” Me: “Uh, I know you grew up on a farm, but believe me, I’ve been eating this most of my life. The milk is fine.” MIL: “I know what I’m talking about!” Me: “Have you ever put sliced strawberries on your cereal?” MIL: “Yes” Me: “Then poured _milk_ on your cereal?” MIL:. . .speechless :smack: ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/47 "2010-08-20T10:25:17Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Well, this isn’t poisoning, per se, but my MIL was _horrified_ the first time she saw me pour milk on sliced strawberries. > MIL: “OMG! Don’t do that! The berries will clabber the milk!” > Me: “No they won’t; I’ve been eating strawberries with milk since I was five!” > MIL: “I grew up on a _farm_; I _know_ what fruits will clabber milk!” > Me: “Uh, I know you grew up on a farm, but believe me, I’ve been eating this most of my life. The milk is fine.” > MIL: “I know what I’m talking about!” > Me: “Have you ever put sliced strawberries on your cereal?” > MIL: “Yes” > Me: “Then poured _milk_ on your cereal?” > MIL:. . .speechless > :smack: Clabber: I learned a new word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/48 "2010-08-20T10:48:14Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > As long as we’re hijacking. . . Prune are dried plums, right? So WTF is prune juice anyway? A true Klingon’s drink! ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/49 "2010-08-20T16:37:47Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > > [@YogSosoth](#): > > > > They probably died from eating the durian. That is the most disgusting “food” I’ve ever eaten > > You didn’t have a good one. Did you eat one in Malaysia or somewhere else in Southeast Asia or did you have an imported frozen one? I got it at a Chinese market in LA. It still sucks though ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/50 "2010-08-20T18:03:42Z")
> [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > 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. Waiting… I don’t want to die in a Chinese restaurant by ordering the wrong combination! ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/51 "2010-08-20T18:13:39Z")
> [@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. Bleach and ammonium are two major ones, iirc. Neither of them is really “safe” on its own, though most people can safely handle them if they remember to wear gloves and follow basic precautions and not drink it. If you mix them, you get very poisonous gas that can kill you unless you get some serious ventilation. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/52 "2010-08-20T18:30:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There ARE no good durians. That’s like saying “He’s a good pedophile.” According to the wiki, there _might_ be some basis for the practice of not consuming alcohol with [durian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian). > [@wiki](#): > > Several medical investigations on the validity of this belief have been conducted with varying conclusions,[4] though a study by the University of Tsukuba finds the fruit’s high sulphur content caused the body to inhibit the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing a 70% reduction of the ability to clear toxins from the body.[54] Quite fascinating reading about durians, too (I’d never heard of the fruit). I love the descriptions: “like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory”, “your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother” and “To those not used to it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions, but immediately they have tasted it they prefer it to all other food”. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/53 "2010-08-20T18:36:31Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I love the descriptions: “like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory”, “your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother” and “To those not used to it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions, but immediately they have tasted it they prefer it to all other food”. 🆒 Many hotels in Thailand do not consider durian a food. I know because they post the otherwise pleonastic: “No Food. No Durians.” ---
**Author:** ![robsam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@robsam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robsam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/54 "2010-08-20T18:57:05Z")
I do not see any truth in that because I never heard about it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/55 "2010-08-20T19:43:31Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > According to the wiki, there _might_ be some basis for the practice of not consuming alcohol with [durian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian). > > > [@wiki](#): > > > > Several medical investigations on the validity of this belief have been conducted with varying conclusions,[4] though a study by the University of Tsukuba finds the fruit’s high sulphur content caused the body to inhibit the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing a 70% reduction of the ability to clear toxins from the body.[54] > > Quite fascinating reading about durians, too (I’d never heard of the fruit). Wait, wait, you shouldn’t drink alcohol while you eat durians because the combination might _get_ you drunk faster and _keep_ you drunk longer?? You say that like it’s a _bad_ thing! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/56 "2010-08-20T22:56:26Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > > [@Mangosteen](#): > > > > You didn’t have a good one. Did you eat one in Malaysia or somewhere else in Southeast Asia or did you have an imported frozen one? > > I got it at a Chinese market in LA. It still sucks though Yours was frozen at some point. Try a fresh one just off a tree. Just imagine if the only peach you had ever eaten was from a can of Del Monte sliced peaches in heavy syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/57 "2010-09-06T05:49:56Z")
From [_Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy_](http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec02/ch014/ch014b.html), persimmons may cause bezoars: > [@](#): > > Finally, consumption of persimmons (a fruit containing the tannin shibuol, which polymerizes in the stomach) has been known to cause bezoars that require surgery in \> 90% of cases. Persimmon bezoars often occur in epidemics in regions where the fruit is grown. Nevertheless, I wish I had my grandmother’s persimmon cookie recipe. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/58 "2010-09-06T14:44:50Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > > [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > > > 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. > > Waiting… I don’t want to die in a Chinese restaurant by ordering the wrong combination! Sorry, I forgot all about this thread. I’ll try to dig up the list and get my wife to translate it. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/59 "2010-09-06T21:23:11Z")
A combination that can cause a lot of misery–without generally being horribly dangerous–is Shaggy Mane mushrooms and alcohol. The mushrooms have something that acts pretty much like Antibuse, producing nausea and other enjoyable symptoms in combination with alcohol. Double-checking says that this reaction only comes from some mushrooms that are called Shaggy Manes, and some sources suggest that the reaction can be dangerous. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881/60 "2010-09-08T22:52:58Z")
Okay, we found the list and my wife translated it for me. It is a newspaper clipping from Tianjin, about 5-6 years old. There were a few items on the list that she didn’t translate because they are Chinese vegetables that she didn’t know the English names for and has never seen sold in the US anyway. I’ve written it in the form of combination = alleged problem. Spinach + Tofu = Kidney Stones Seafood + Beer = Arthritis Root vegetables\* + Oranges = Swollen thyroid Eggs + Soymilk = Blocks protein absorption Milk + Chocolate = Diarrhea Seafood + Fruit = Hard to digest White wine + Persimmon = Poisonous Beef + Water chestnuts = Vomiting Onion + Honey = Eye problems Lamb + Watermelon = Hurts “chi” Root vegetables\* + Wood ear (a type of mushroom, basically) = Skin problems Banana + Taro = Bloating Peanuts + Cucumber = Weakens body Licorice root + Anything high carb = Poisonous Prawns + Anything high in vitamin C = Poisonous Sausage + Yogurt = Cancer - Root vegetables mean things like carrots and turnips, but don’t include tubers like yams and potatoes. Interesting to note that the combination of persimmons with white wine is listed as poisonous. Some common combinations (milk and chocolate!?!), a couple strange ones (onions and honey!?!). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-dangerous-to-eat-persimmons-together-with-lobster-or-crab/549881.md?page=4)