In winter, there are often bundles of sugar cane standing in prominent places at fruit stalls and drink shops next to the subway. Sugar cane in winter is crisp and sweet, and when you bite into it, the sweet juice immediately overflows your mouth, and it is so delicious that you can't stop eating it.
But delicious sugarcane is likely to turn into a deadly "poison", and news about eating sugarcane poisoning is also common, so everyone must pay attention.
Image source: Weibo screenshot
So, why is sugarcane poisonous? How to tell the difference?
Sugarcane has a red core, don't eat a bite
Although sugar cane is sweet, if you find that it has turned red, then don't eat it, it may have a deadly toxin.
After sugarcane is harvested, due to improper storage and transportation in the case of transportation and sales, it is likely to develop mildew and become contaminated with Arthrinium spp. The mold grows and multiplies and produces a highly toxic toxin, 3-nitropropanoic acid (3-NPA).
3-NPA is a strong neurophage toxin, after entering the human body to be absorbed, the onset is very fast, and it can cause central nervous system damage in a short period of time, resulting in dizziness, headache, convulsions and other symptoms, and in severe cases, it can lead to cerebral ischemia necrosis, respiratory failure, and even death. Some poisoned patients may also cause speech and movement disorders.
Especially in children, their liver and kidney and other detoxification organs are not mature, and their resistance is weak, and once mildew sugarcane poisoning occurs in children, it is more likely to develop severe disease.
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A very important feature of mildew in sugarcane is that the sugarcane core turns red or reddish-brown, because the rhombospora fungus reproduces wildly, producing red nitric acid. In addition, sugarcane that has become soft, hairy, and smelly may also be at risk of mildew, so try not to eat it.
At this time, some people may ask: Is it possible to eat the red core by removing the red core?
No! No! No! (important thing said three times)
After the sugarcane is attacked by mold, the mycelium has extended to every part of the sugarcane, except for the mildew part, the intact part actually contains toxins, but these toxins do not redden, so they are not visible to the naked eye.
How to buy safe and sweet sugar cane?
· Prioritize hard sugarcane, and if you find that the sugarcane has become soft, has red hearts, or smells bad, don't buy it, don't eat it.
· Many people want to choose sweet and delicious sugarcane, but in fact, the varieties of sugarcane that can be eaten directly on the market are basically the same, and the taste is not much different. So don't worry too much about how to choose. However, for the convenience of nibbling, you can choose a slender one.
A small reminder:
Sugarcane has a high sugar content, so you should pay attention to the appropriate amount when eating it, and you should not eat too much. Especially people with diabetes and high blood sugar should pay more attention to eating less sugarcane.
If children do not spit bagasse, it is easy to choke on their throats when eating sugarcane, causing the risk of suffocation, and it is not recommended to gnaw on sugarcane directly.
About sugar cane two most people do not know knowledge
Sugar cane is not actually a fruit
Sugarcane is a tropical herbaceous plant that belongs to the same family as bamboo, wheat, corn, and rice. It is a typical tropical crop that loves light and heat. Sugarcane is very tall, can grow up to 5~6 meters, has long knife-like slender leaves, and spikes of flowers like reeds bloom on the head, and the stalk is divided into many knots, where buds can grow (the so-called tillers [niè]). Its rhizome stores a large amount of sugary juice – known as "sucrose".
Later, sugar cane spread northward, and the Indians were the first to extract crystallized sugar from sugar cane juice. During the Warring States period in the 3rd century BC, sugar cane was introduced to southern China and spread to the whole country around the Tang Dynasty.
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In general, sugar cane matures around October every year and can be eaten in March and April of the following year, so it is no wonder that it has become a common "fruit" in winter. The reason why I put quotation marks is because strictly speaking, it is not a fruit, it produces not a fruit, but a stalk.
Different types of sugarcane will vary in color, stalk thickness, sweetness, amount of juice and fiber, and so on. However, according to the use, there are two main types: for the production of sugar and for fresh food. Sugar cane, both fresh and mainly for sugar production, is the result of artificial hybridization.
Sugarcane, also known as "fruit cane", which is used for fresh food (direct gnawing), has the characteristics of high water, high sugar content and low fiber content. In China, the sugarcane we often gnaw on is Chinese bamboo cane (S. sinense), this sugar cane not only has a sweet (high sugar content) taste, but also has a rich juice that is perfect for direct nibbling.
Sugar cane: an important economic commodity
On the afternoon of December 14, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Laibin City, Guangxi Province for investigation and investigation, inspected 10,000 mu of sugarcane forests and mechanized harvesting scenes, and encouraged to play a greater role in ensuring the safety of the national sugar industry and promoting sugarcane farmers to increase income and become rich.
In addition to fresh food, sugarcane has a more important role to play – sugar production, and at present, 80% of the sugar produced in the world every year comes from sugarcane.
Sugarcane is harvested, juiced, purified, dried and other processes to achieve a variety of sugars that we usually eat.
Image source: Editor's homemade
When it comes to sugar, many people may find it unhealthy and don't seem to be a good thing. In fact, sugar has played an important role in the history of the world. Until now, sugar has remained an important economic commodity in all countries.
For a long time in history, sugar was a very valuable commodity, because of its preciousness, countries around the world have carried out various interests and power struggles with the pursuit of sweetness, and have changed the world pattern more than once. Sugar has become cheaper and available to every household at any time, and it has only been a matter of the last one or two hundred years. As for the health benefits of sugar, the per capita annual consumption of sugar on the mainland is less than half of the world average.
The mainland is an important sugar producer and consumer, sugar cultivation occupies an important position in the mainland's agricultural economy, in the mainland, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces occupy the top three positions in sugarcane production, and the total sugarcane output reaches more than 90% of the national output. Sugar is not only an indispensable daily commodity, but also a basic raw material for more than 120 industries such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical.
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Planning and production
This article is a work of popular science China-Star Project
Produced by丨Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology
Producer丨China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd
Author丨Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center
Review丨Zhang Yu, Researcher of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, MD
Planning丨Fu Sijia