Why should we not eat onion garlic?

[Rasel Ali (IT)]

You may have these questions while you think of avoiding these:

“My food will be really bland if I skipped those two.”

“I know someone who’s been eating raw garlic every day; he’s in his nineties and in perfect health.”

It is easy to understand why to avoid meat, but giving up onions and garlic—that’s shocking news, even among the healthy eaters!

To make it more confusing, most of the Ayurvedic cookbooks have recipes with onions, garlic, and other members of the allium family, such as scallions, shallots, and leeks.

So this is going to be a long as i am giving a very detailed answer so that you don't have any confusion left.

You may know that onions and garlic are botanical members of the alliaceous family (alliums) - along with leeks, chives and shallots.



According to Ayurveda, India's classic medical science, foods are grouped into three categories - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic - foods in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Onions and garlic, and the other alliaceous plants are classified as rajasic and tamasic, which means that they increase passion and ignorance.

Some branches of western medicine say that the Alliums have specific health benefits; garlic is respected, at least in allopathic medical circles, as a natural antibiotic. In recent years, while the apparent cardiovascular implications of vegetable Alliums has been studied in some detail, the clinical implications of onion and garlic consumption from this point of view are still not well understood.

Nevertheless, there are still many adverse things to say about garlic and onions.

Let us first look at the distinct chemical compounds of these bulbous plants. Any cook knows that chopping an onion stinks and stings. Why is it so?

        Dr. Eric Block gives the answer in his book “Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science.” Garlic cloves produce a chemical called allicin (2-Propene-1-sulfinothioic acid S-2- propenyl ester), which is responsible for their strong pungency and aroma. Garlic can get into the eyes and mouth even if a clove is just rubbed on the foot, a body length away. Its active ingredient passes right through the skin and into the blood. Prolonged contact with garlic will blister and burn the skin. All alliums produce a sulfur molecule that is small and light enough to launch itself from the cut vegetable, fly through the air, and attack our eyes and nasal passages.

    Vaidya Mishra explains that cooked onions and garlic have less of an effect (both therapeutic and harmful), because cooking destroys much of the sulfur. Yet, enough of it remains to still harm the friendly bacteria in your gut, especially if you are among the majority of people who lack a good environment for the bacteria to thrive.

    Not so well known is the fact that garlic in the raw state can carry harmful (potentially fatal) botulism bacteria. Perhaps it is with an awareness of this that the Roman poet Horace wrote of garlic that it is “more harmful than hemlock”.

Garlic and onion are avoided by spiritual adherents because they stimulate the central nervous system, and can disturb vows of celibacy. Garlic is a natural aphrodisiac. Ayurveda suggests that it is a tonic for loss of sexual power from any cause.

    Fact 1: 55.2% of the Indian population eat roadside food twice every week.

    Fact 2: Asians are the most fertile human race in the world.

    The Taoists realized thousands of years ago that plants of the alliaceous family were detrimental to humans in their healthy state. In his writings, one sage Tsang-Tsze described the Alliums as the "five fragrant or spicy scented vegetables" - that each have a detrimental effect on one of the following five organs - liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Specifically, onions are harmful to the lungs, garlic to the heart, leeks to the spleen, chives to the liver and spring onions to the kidneys.
    Tsang-Tsze said that these pungent vegetables contain five different kinds of enzymes which cause "reactions of repulsive breath, extra-foul odour from perspiration and bowel movements, and lead to lewd indulgences, enhance agitations, anxieties and aggressiveness," especially when eaten raw.

Similar things are described in Ayurveda. 'As well as producing offensive breath and body odour, these (alliaceous) plants induce aggravation, agitation, anxiety and aggression. Thus they are harmful physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually'.

    Hundreds of years ago, Vaishnava community or the orthodox brahmin family were most of the time, indulged in their meditation/prayers and so they had to find a balance between mind and body and so they stopped consuming onion and garlic which they thought would disturb their concentration.
    Jains believe that when any fruit or vegetable gets uprooted from ground, many microscopic organisms are killed and so they don’t consume anything that’s grown underground. (Correct me if I am wrong).

Back in the 1980's, in his research on human brain function, Dr Robert [Bob] C. Beck, DSc. found that garlic has a detrimental effect on the brain. He found that in fact garlic is toxic to humans because its sulphone hydroxyl ions penetrate the blood-brain barrier and are poisonous to brain cells.

    Dr. Beck explained that as far back as the 1950s it was known that garlic reduced reaction time by two to three times when consumed by pilots taking flight tests. This is because the toxic effects of garlic desynchronize brain waves. "The flight surgeon would come around every month and remind all of us: "Don't you dare touch any garlic 72 hours before you fly one of our airplanes, because it'll double or triple your reaction time. You're three times slower than you would be if you'd [not] had a few drops of garlic."

Even when garlic is used as food in Chinese culture it is considered harmful to the stomach, liver and eyes, and a cause of dizziness and scattered energy when consumed in immoderate amounts.

Nor is garlic always seen as having entirely beneficial properties in Western cooking and medicine. It is widely accepted among health care professionals that, as well as killing harmful bacteria, garlic also destroys beneficial bacteria, which are essential to the proper functioning of the digestive system.

    Reiki practitioners explain that garlic and onions are among the first substances to be expelled from a person’s system – along with tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical medications. This makes it apparent that alliaceous plants have a negative effect on the human body and should be avoided for health reasons.
    Homeopathic medicine comes to the same conclusion when it recognizes that red onion produces a dry cough, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose and other familiar cold-related symptoms when consumed.



So how to Replace Onions, Garlic and Other Alliums in Your Daily Cooking??

Going completely onion- and garlic-free can have many positive effects on your body and mind, but if you are attached to them, try reducing their intake gradually.

    Use less in your cooking.
    Do not eat them every day but every other day or so.
    Use the recipes in this book—they are all free of onions and garlic and very flavorful.
    Significantly reduce them during the summer season, when we need to eat less pungent/heating foods.
    Use the spice asafoetida (also called hing in India) to add more sulfur-like flavor. Please use it very little, though—see the proportions in my recipes.
    Sauté finely minced basil stems in a little ghee or a 50%-50% mixture of ghee and olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. You can use this as a base for many savory dishes.
    Substitute for freshly minced or dry powdered ginger and green chili.
    Use more spices to flavor your food. This book gives you many suggestions how.
    If you eat out, look for garlic-free restaurants, for example Ayurvedic, Buddhist, or Jain Indian Restaurants. There is also a world chain of vegetarian restaurants called Govinda’s that is entirely onions- and garlic-free.

Hope this was helpful, Thanks for reading. 🙏🏻

Also read :
http://w.quora.com/What-are-some-healthy-living-hacks-and-tips/answer/Pragati-Chahar?ch=10&share=83c1813e&srid=hLoRX

Source : https://www.quora.com