ARE THE SO-CALLED POISONOUS FOOD-COMBINATIONS REALLY POISONOUS?

The idea that to eat certain two foods simultaneously is to get poisoned has been entertained by Chinese people for many years.

The idea that to eat certain two foods simultaneously is to get poisoned has been entertained by Chinese people for many years. There are about 184 pairs of the so-called poisonous food-combinations, and 180 of them are mentioned in Chinese Ancient Materia Medica, Ben-Tsao-Gung-Mu （本草纲目） or other books. （la,2a） This belief was based upon some personal sketch, old-fashioned doctors＇ notes, stories and other false facts. Although these statements were originated without any experimental ground, yet many of the Chinese, even at present time, still believe them firmly. Whenever any poisoning outbreak occurs accidentally after having taken the so-called poisonous food-combination, they always attribute the cause of the poisoning to the two foods served simultaneously.