lychee
Fruit
Is lychee high in salicylates?
Is lychee high or low in salicylates? See its exact rating, how much counts as a portion, and its FODMAP, salicylate, oxalate and diet compatibility in one place.
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Sensitivity notes
Why salicylates food checker matters
Salicylates are natural chemicals found in many fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. They're related to aspirin and can cause reactions in sensitive individuals including hives, asthma symptoms, nasal congestion, and digestive issues.
- Start by eliminating the highest sources: spices, herbs, and concentrated products
- Peel fruits and vegetables when possible to reduce salicylate content
- Fresh is usually better tolerated than dried or concentrated
- Build up tolerance slowly by reintroducing foods one at a time
- Sensitivity often improves with gut healing over time
Sensitivities
What lychee contains
FODMAPs
Histamine & Amines
Plant compounds
Irritants
Additives
Allergens
Diet fit
Where lychee fits
Therapeutic diets
Lifestyle diets
Religious diets
What to know about lychee
Lychee grades E for excess fructose and D for polyols, which puts it at E overall on FODMAPs and makes it one of the tropical fruits most likely to produce bloating, wind and loose stools. It also grades E for low-fermentation SIBO protocols. On food chemistry it is mild: low histamine, only a slight liberator effect, low salicylate and low nickel, so a lychee reaction is almost always about the sugars rather than about amines. The other thing people search for is whether lychees are dangerous, after the acute encephalopathy outbreaks reported in litchi-growing regions of India and Vietnam. That risk is specific and worth stating precisely: it involves unripe fruit eaten in quantity by undernourished children who had skipped their evening meal, not ripe lychee eaten as part of a normal diet.
Watch for
- Very high in excess fructose (E), with more fructose than glucose, so a handful of lychees delivers a fructose load that a sensitive gut absorbs badly
- High in polyols (D) on top of that, which is what pushes it to E for total FODMAPs.Lychees are also easy to over-eat because they are small and sweet
- Poor fit for low-fermentation SIBO diets (E), where the combination of fructose and polyols is exactly what those protocols are built to limit
- Unripe lychee contains hypoglycin A and MCPG, natural compounds that block the body from making glucose from fat.They are the documented cause of hypoglycaemic encephalopathy outbreaks in undernourished children who ate unripe fruit on an empty stomach. Ripe fruit eaten alongside meals is not that scenario, but there is no reason to eat green, unripe lychees
- Canned lychee in syrup and dried lychee concentrate the sugars, so the processed forms are heavier on fructose than the fresh fruit
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Salicylates Guide
Everything you need to know about salicylates sensitivity and smart food choices.
Salicylates are natural chemicals found in many fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. They're related to aspirin and can cause reactions in sensitive individuals including hives, asthma symptoms, nasal congestion, and digestive issues.
Sensitivity varies widely. What triggers one person may be fine for another. Track your reactions to find your personal threshold.
These foods are generally well-tolerated for Salicylates sensitivity:
View all safe options
These foods have moderate levels and may be tolerated in small amounts:
These foods are high in salicylates and may trigger symptoms:
View full list
If you're sensitive to Salicylates, consider these strategies:
- 1Start by eliminating the highest sources: spices, herbs, and concentrated products
- 2Peel fruits and vegetables when possible to reduce salicylate content
- 3Fresh is usually better tolerated than dried or concentrated
- 4Build up tolerance slowly by reintroducing foods one at a time
- 5Sensitivity often improves with gut healing over time
Pro tip: Keep a food diary to track your reactions. The Triggerbites app makes this easy with automatic pattern detection.
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Get the AppFAQ
Is lychee high in Salicylates?
Salicylates: moderate signal - portion size matters.
Can I still eat lychee if I'm sensitive to Salicylates?
Try smaller portions and space it out.
What else should I check?
Check FODMAPs, Fructose, and Low Fermentation next for a fuller picture.