Doctors suggest drivers avoid eating certain kinds of fruits, such as bananas and litchis, because these fruits can result in inattentiveness, sleepiness and fatigue, which increase the risk of traffic accidents.
Long-distance driving uses a lot of heat energy, which requires foods high in sugars. The sugar content of a banana is as high as 20 percent. But bananas also contain a large amount of mineral magnesium, which restrains the cardiovascular system. As magnesium amounts rise in the fluid, drivers may feel muscle paralysis and sleepiness. Thus, for the sake of safe driving, drivers should not eat too many bananas, especially when their stomachs are empty.
A survey of 128 drivers who love to eat bananas showed that 33 percent of them feel drowsy and 25 percent have numb limbs.
Low blood sugar is another dangerous symptom for drivers because victims usually feel dizzy, anxious, tired, inattentive and slow-minded. Eating a large amount of litchi may cause low blood sugar, because the sugar from this fruit is difficult to be absorbed into the blood.
( Shanghai Star March 13, 2002)
