Recently, crayfish and grapefruit have been involved in muscle dissolution. Some people regard them as the "true murderer" of the disease, and they are afraid to avoid it.
Can eating grapefruit and crayfish dissolve muscles? One is alarmist, one needs to be studied
Our reporter Zhang Yun
Recently, a news that "men have muscle dissolution after eating grapefruit for 7 days" has attracted social attention.
The common fruit grapefruit is actually related to the panic-stricken muscle dissolution. Many people therefore come to the conclusion: Do not eat grapefruit, otherwise the muscles will dissolve.
In addition, the husband of Wu Minxia, a famous diving athlete in my country, caused muscle dissolution due to eating crayfish some time ago and was admitted to the ICU, which caused people to "talk about the discoloration of shrimps" and regarded crayfish as the "true murderer" of the disease.
So, what is the terrible muscle dissolution?
What is the cause of the disease?
Are grapefruit and crayfish the culprit?
In response to this series of questions, reporters from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant industry experts.
"Suspect" Crayfish Crime Insufficient Evidence
Li Qing, chief physician of the Nephrology Department of Tianjin TEDA Hospital, said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that in clinical terms, muscle dissolution, rhabdomyolysis syndrome, also known as myosinuria, is a medical emergency.
The term "dissolve" here refers to the breakdown of the cells that make up the muscle, and internal proteins, creatine phosphokinase and other substances enter the blood.
The striated muscle is a type of human muscle, mainly distributed in the bones and heart. The striated muscle at the bones, also known as skeletal muscle, accounts for about 40% of the body's body weight.
Statistics show that about 26,000 people suffer from rhabdomyolysis syndrome in the United States each year.
There are two main causes of this disease:
One is traumatic factors.
This mainly includes acute crush injuries (such as being compressed by a heavy object or being beaten suddenly after a car accident), prolonged muscle compression (such as being crushed by a heavy object for a long time after an earthquake), electric shock or burn, and being bitten by a poisonous snake or insect Wait.
The second is non-traumatic factors.
This mainly includes hypoxia, ischemia, high temperature, excessive use of alcohol and certain drugs (such as individual statin lipid lowering drugs, antifungal drugs or psychotropic drugs), excessive exercise, metabolic abnormalities, and bacterial infections.
"And one of the'true killers' in the news-crayfish, may contain certain toxic substances." Li Qing said, in fact, many freshwater fish, such as cod and salmon, may contain certain toxic substances. , Threatening the striated muscle of the eater.
Data show that this kind of rhabdomyolysis syndrome caused by aquatic products is also known as Haff Disease.
In our country, whether in the news or in the academic literature, crayfish are "going with you" with Huff disease.
For example, in 2010, many people in Nanjing developed symptoms of Huff disease after eating crayfish.
However, according to information disclosed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010, my country screened and tested more than 900 related chemicals in response to the crayfish suspected of causing rhabdomyolysis syndrome in Nanjing at that time, and no crayfish samples have been found. There are chemicals known to cause rhabdomyolysis, and the cause of the disease needs further investigation.
At present, most people believe that, strictly speaking, crayfish can only be regarded as a "suspect" for causing illness, and its "criminal evidence" is not sufficient, but it cannot completely remove the suspect.
Wang Silu, a national senior food inspector and internal auditor of China's HACCP food system, said that there is currently no sufficient evidence to prove that "eating crayfish will definitely induce rhabdomyolysis syndrome."
According to the news, Wu Minxia’s husband ate 3 catties of crayfish, but there is another point that “he exercised after eating crayfish”, and strenuous exercise may also induce muscle dissolution and even cause acute kidney injury.
Simply eating grapefruit will not dissolve the muscles
So, is another "suspect"-grapefruit, innocent?
According to reports, Mr. Liu in the news eats a grapefruit every day.
One day, Mr. Liu suddenly felt sore limbs, weakness in his hands and feet, and his symptoms continued to worsen.
After the blood test, the measured value of creatine kinase was more than 5 times higher than the normal value, which was caused by acute injury.
After the doctor asked Mr. Liu, he learned that he was diagnosed with hyperlipidemia three months ago and was treated with statins on the doctor’s recommendation. He had been eating grapefruit for a week before symptoms appeared.
Li Qing introduced that statins need specific metabolic enzymes when they are absorbed by the small intestine. The furanocoumarin compounds rich in grapefruit can inhibit this enzyme.
Eating a lot of grapefruit reduces the concentration of metabolic enzymes and increases the concentration of statins in the blood.
Excessive intake of certain statins is one of the factors that induce rhabdomyolysis syndrome.
"But for healthy people, eating grapefruit will not cause muscle dissolution without taking related drugs." Li Qing answered.
Li Qing also said that not all citrus fruits have a serious impact on drug metabolism.
The common honey pomelo and red pomelo are the "close relatives" of grapefruit, and the effect on the medicine is weaker, so it is safe to avoid taking them together.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recommends that certain drugs cannot be taken with grapefruit juice.
"Lemons and oranges have basically no effect on the medicine and can be eaten normally. If you are not sure whether you can eat them together, you can read the drug instructions or consult a professional doctor." Li Qing said.
Moderate exercise and taking medication are essential for prevention
Li Qing said that rhabdomyolysis not only causes muscle pain and general weakness, it may also cause acute renal failure, cardiac arrest or sudden death in severe cases.
Therefore, everyone must pay attention to rhabdomyolysis syndrome.
So, how can we prevent rhabdomyolysis syndrome?
Wang Silu gave the following suggestions:
First of all, exercise should be moderate and gradual.
Warm up before exercise and replenish water and electrolytes appropriately during exercise.
If you experience physical discomfort after exercise, especially muscle weakness, soreness, and dark urine, you must seek medical attention in time.
Second, pay attention to drug factors.
Clinically, rhabdomyolysis syndrome caused by misuse of drugs is not uncommon, but this varies from person to person, so you must follow your doctor's advice to take the medication according to the amount and on time.
Once the symptoms of rhabdomyolysis syndrome appear after the medication, the medication should be stopped immediately and seek medical attention as soon as possible.
"If you feel that you may have symptoms of rhabdomyolysis syndrome, you should control your activity, stay in bed strictly, limit salt, eat liquid food, drink plenty of water to thin your blood and increase urination, and if you have the conditions, you can take baking soda tablets." Li Qing said.
At the same time, Li Qing proposed to pay attention to the following 3 points when making crayfish.
"First, crayfish must be cleaned. After buying live crayfish, it is best to keep them in clean water for 24 to 36 hours, so that they can spit away impurities such as sand and other impurities in the body. The roots of crayfish's fine claws are the easiest To hide the dirt, be sure to cut it off. Secondly, boil the shrimp to be cooked thoroughly. Crayfish is a'pollution control master', and its head is the most prone to accumulation of heavy metals and parasites, so when you eat It is necessary to remove the head and cook it thoroughly. Third, eat crayfish in moderation and don't eat too much at one time. Even if it does not cause rhabdomyolysis syndrome, eating large amounts of crayfish can easily induce gout." Li Qing said.
When dining out and eating crayfish, the relevant departments remind consumers that they should choose a unit with a valid food business license (catering service license) for consumption.
When ordering crayfish online, the valid qualifications of the serving unit must also be confirmed.
Do not buy crayfish from street vendors or unlicensed business units.
When eating crayfish, you should carefully observe the body of the crayfish and choose a crayfish with a curled tail to eat.
Don't eat crayfish with abnormal senses.
Crayfish have high protein content, and protein corruption will cause great damage to human health, so do not eat "meal" crayfish.
Don't overeat crayfish, especially those who are allergic to crayfish, consciously resist the temptation of food, and avoid allergic food poisoning.