6 Bad Effects of Eating Too Many Lychees

Lychee or litchi are delicious fruit that grows on the native tree of the same name. These are native to China but is now cultivated in many regions of the world. Being a good source of many nutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, etc. they have proved to be very beneficial for our health. In addition to the health benefits, lychees also provide a number of beauty benefits for our skin and hair.

Although lychees are great for our health, skin, and hair, still it is important to eat them in moderation as there are also some side effects of eating too many lychees.

# May Cause Hypoglycemia

Lychees are very beneficial for us and provide a number of health benefits. One such benefit is the ability of lychees to lower our blood sugar level, and this helps with diabetics patients. However, over-consumption of lychees is bad as it can lower our blood glucose level to an extremely low level, and give rise to hypoglycemia.

In addition to this, if you are a diabetic patient and already taking medication to control blood sugar level, then consumption of lychees could worsen the situation.

The extremely low blood sugar level is bad for our health as it can cause hypoglycemia which is characterized by the symptoms like blurry vision, rapid heartbeat, sudden nervousness, pale skin, headache, dizziness, shaking, unconsciousness, fever, seizure, etc.

# May Drop Blood Pressure To Extremely Low Level

One of the most important health benefits of lychees is its ability to provide relief from high blood pressure. This helps in controlling hypertension which could otherwise give rise to a number of problems like a headache, severe anxiety, breathing difficulty, an increased risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack, heart stroke, irregular heartbeat, etc ( source ).

This benefit of lychee is mainly due to the abundance of potassium in them. Consuming just 100 grams of lychees provides around 171 mg of potassium. Being a vasodilator, potassium relaxes our blood vessels and ensures that blood flows through them smoothly.

Although lychees are good for regulating blood pressure, one should not consume them too much as overeating lychees could reduce our blood pressure to an extremely low level and give rise to conditions like dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, cold, extreme tiredness, shallow breathing, etc.

# High Sugar Level

Lychees are good for people with diabetes as they help in regulating our blood sugar level. However, one should not forget that they have a high sugar level.

Consuming too many lychees in short duration can cause a sudden rise in our blood sugar level and worsen the condition of diabetic patients. It could also work otherwise and drops our blood sugar level to dangerously low level.

For a safe side, both eastern and western doctors advice consuming no more than six to seven lychees at a time.

# Lychees are Hot

They may be sweet and so delicious in taste, but as per Chinese culture, they are “hot ” in nature. Consuming too many “hot” food is bad for our health as it is believed to throw off the balance of our body, and give rise to conditions like bleeding nose, sore throat, mouth soreness, etc.For this reason, it is better to eat lychees in a limited quantity.

# Lychees During Pregnancy And Breastfeeding Stage

Lychees are a good source of many nutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, etc. and provides a number of health benefits. However, not much is known about whether or not they are safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding stage.

For this reason, pregnant and nursing women are advised to be on the safe side and avoid eating lychees. Or, if you want to eat lychees then get in touch with your doctor and follow their advice and recommendation.

# Lychees and Auto-Immune Diseases

You never know when advantage could turn into a disadvantage and lychees are a perfect example of this. They are an excellent source of vitamin C which is an antioxidant that fights with the free radicals of our body and prevents them from causing oxidative damage to our body cells ( including the immune system ).

By protecting our immune system from oxidative damage, lychees make our immune system more active and this protects us from various disease-causing microbes like bacterias, viruses, etc. However, there is a disadvantage to this.

Consuming too many lychees make our immune system hyperactive and this increases the risk of auto-immune diseases like multiple sclerosis, lupus ( systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, etc. For this reason, it is advised to be cautious and eat lychees in moderate quantity.