FIT WebQoof: Is It Fatal to Have Cold Drinks Post Eating Mangoes?

No, doctors say there is no truth to this claim - as long as mangoes are washed they are safe to eat.

No, mangoes and cold drinks do not combine to turn into poison.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/FIT)

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Summer is here, and with it comes the season of mangoes, school vacations and... fake news?

CLAIM: A viral message is claiming that having cold drinks immediately after eating mangoes creates a deadly chemical reaction in your stomach.

A viral message is claiming that having cold drinks immediately after eating mangoes creates a deadly chemical reaction in your stomach.Screenshot of the Whatsapp forward

The message claims that the citric acid from the mango and the carbonic acid from the aerated drinks mix together to become poisonous. To find out if this is true, FIT spoke to some experts

True or False?

"I do not know how true this message is, I have never seen a problem arise from eating mangoes and having cold drinks,” said Dr Ashwani Setya, senior gastroenterologist at Max Hospital.

What Does Mixing Mangoes and Cold Drinks Do?

There is no scientific confirmation that mixing the two can cause any severe chemical reaction. The citric acid in mangoes is only of negligible amount, according to LiveStrong.

Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, chief clinical dietitian at Apollo Hospital, says that such messages have been circulating on social media for the last two-three years and there is no truth to them.

Dr Setya explains that these days mangoes are artificially ripened with powdered calcium carbide. The calcium carbide makes acetylene by reacting with the moisture present in the environment to ripen the mango.

If the mangoes have not been washed, and the powder has been ingested in large quantities, then there might be some problem. But this is not fatal nor does it cause any acute toxicity.

Dr Setya

The concentration of calcium carbide is just not high enough to cause any severe damage, at the most, it can cause an upset stomach, nothing more.

So, this claim being spread on social media is not true at all, it just serves to create panic among people.

Dr Setya

Remember to Wash Fruits Before You Eat Them

The hotter the weather gets, the more we reach for a cold drink. Doctors suggest homemade drinks like lassi or fruit juices instead, and to stay away from too many aerated drinks.

Any fruit that is to be consumed, like mangoes, must be thoroughly washed before eating.

(This copy was originally published on FITHindi. It has been translated to English by Devina Buckshee.)