Eat cherries and then drink water?
no problem
Created: 07/06/2022, 11:30 am
By: Ines Alms
It's good to eat cherries in summer - with water too?
Yes.
The myth remains so even if you wash the fruit thoroughly before eating.
Munich – Every year during the cherry season, this question comes up again: Can you eat cherries and drink water with them?
Grandmothers advised against it, but is that still the case today?
Generally not.
This is actually a myth, but with a small (cherry) kernel of truth.
Eat cherries and then drink water?
no problem
Cherries are in high season in summer.
And if you don't overdo it with snacking, you'll remain symptom-free.
(Iconic image) © Westend61/Imago
Why would you get a stomach ache if you eat cherries and drink water with or after?
One theory: yeast and bacteria often colonize the skin of cherries and other stone fruit.
If you pick the cherry directly from the tree and eat it, the fungi are usually killed in the stomach by the stomach acid.
Unless you know no stopping and eat so many cherries at once that the stomach is overwhelmed with getting rid of the microorganisms.
Similar to wine making, the yeast begins to ferment the sugars in the fruit, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The latter can lead to abdominal pain and bloating.
If you drink water, the stomach acid is additionally diluted and less yeast can be harmed and the effect is increased.
Whether there is something on it or not, this problem can easily be avoided by washing the cherries thoroughly before eating.
Cherries contain a lot of fructose, which causes stomach ache in large quantities
This theory was substantiated by the lack of drinking water quality in the past: the germs in it can also have provoked a resounding reaction with the cherries in the stomach and abdomen.
However, this would also have been possible with pure water consumption.
In any case, this is no longer a problem today, as the water quality in Germany is very good.
With or without water, there is no reason not to enjoy the sweet cherries.
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If you still get stomach pains or flatulence after eating cherries, the cause is probably fructose intolerance.
Since cherries contain a lot of fructose, not only people who are sensitive to it can react strongly to it because the small intestine is no longer able to channel the fructose into the blood.
Instead, the sugar enters the large intestine and causes turbulence there.