Durian: King of Fruit 水果之王

Durian is a fruit with a powerfully pungent yet sweet and tropical taste. People either love it or hate it. Yet, it’s known in China as the King of Fruits 水果之王. I became interested in it after hearing rumors that Master Jiang Feng had commented on it being good for neigong practitioners because it was an excellent dietary source of jing and qi. After developing a taste for it, it has now become my favorite fruit and something that I always seek out when in SouthEast Asia or China.

Durian is also called the King of Yang Qi 阳气之王 for its ability to boost Yang Qi in the body. Its warming effect is readily apparent after eating it. It is also a great food to eat (in moderate amounts) in the summer. In the summer Yang Qi moves outwards causing the internal organs to become susceptible to internal cold. For this reason, consuming some warming foods is recommended.

Durian can be so warming that it is often recommended to consume it with some cooling foods to counterbalance the effect, lest one overdo it and experience shang huo 上火 (excessive internal heat, i.e. excess yang). The commonly recommended cooling fruit that is recommended to go with durian is mangosteen. I also heard that you can make tea using the white pulp within the durian and that this tea is good to counterbalance durian’s heatiness. You basically cut out the pulp and chop it up, wash and rinse it with salty water, and then boil it in water for 20 minutes to make tea. I gave it a try recently. Maybe I didn’t wash it well enough… I’m not sure, but it did not taste very good (that particular durian was delicious though). Maybe I’ll try again sometime. Perhaps someone else is feeling adventurous and willing to give it a shot?

You should be cautious about (and probably avoid) eating durian if:

• You are yin deficient/excess yang, have a dry and/or bitter taste in the mouth, experiencing constipation, have dark yellow urine
• You have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, or are obese
• You have a cold, flu, fever, abdominal bloating, are currently taking medication, or have recently been drinking alcoholic beverages.