What is the scientific evidence on this, there are conflicting reports. Should garlic be eaten, you cannot make a mono meal with garlic?

Garlic is considered one of the top prebiotic foods due to its inulin content so yeah it supports intestinal flora growth.

Onion is the same.

Some people argue that beacause of their antibacterial properties, Onion and garlic will damage the intestianal flora. For sure they do work against bad bacteria, herbology has shown this, however it remains to be proven wheather or not they really damage the intestinal flora. I know that the strong compounds in the onion familly can be to strong for some people who eat a really clean diet. (myself included) I despise them. But do they really damage the flora???



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2011 03:52PM by WorkoutMan.

The active compounds in garlic would be long absorbed before they reach most of the flora for it to cause any issue.

And like above the indigestible fibers they contain would encourage growth.

Top 10 Foods Containing Prebiotics

Food Prebiotic Fiber Content by Weight

Raw Chicory Root 64.6%
Raw Jerusalem Artichoke 31.5%
Raw Dandelion Greens 24.3%
Raw Garlic 17.5%
Raw Leek 11.7%
Raw Onion 8.6%
Cooked Onion 5%
Raw Asparagus 5%
Raw Wheat Bran 5%
Whole Wheat Flour, Cooked 4.8%
Raw Banana 1%

Thank you for the list, I knew about artichoke

by the way, the jerusalem artichoke is a sunchoke, not an artichoke, just for clarification.

Prana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> by the way, the jerusalem artichoke is a sunchoke,
> not an artichoke, just for clarification.

I dont know alot about artichokes but arent jerusalem artichokes also known as sunchokes?

I think the problem (with Garlic and Onions) is they are Stimulating Foods, and therefore counterproductive to a tranquil lifestyle. It all depends on what you're after.....WY
P.S. My mother likes a slice of Onion in her peanut butter sandwiches....and I can't tell her any differently.

Stimulating foods, what compounds do they contain that stimulate the CNS, i hear this all too often garlic, onions, spices they all contain stimulants which aren stimulative well the truth is they dont, there is no compound in any of the vegetables or spices which stimulate the CNS.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2011 10:39PM by powerlifer.

The active stimulating ingredient in garlic is allicin.

powerlifer, what you can say based on your personal experience of garlic is that it is not stimulating for you. However, based on my personal experience, garlic is stimulating for me.

So why would we have a difference of experience? Well, for one thing is that I've been 100% raw for over 9 years, and I have mostly not eaten garlic for 8 years.My system is sensitive enough that it can feel the stimulation of garlic.

So while you can speak about your personal experience given your current level of sensitivity, you cannot make a generalization to everyone.

For me, things that are typically labeled as digestive stimulants actually feel stimulating to me, that is I have the typical symptoms of stimulation after ingesting such substances. Garlic is referred to an immune system stimulant, and again, for me, it feels like an ordinary stimulant.

Thats the point though allicin isnt a stimulant though, it has no action or properties on the CNS such as stimulants like caffeine. If your feeling stimulated like you would with proper stimulants then id suggest this purely a mental/placebo reaction because of how you feel about garlic and spices in general. Or the other scenario would be that you've become mildly allergic and this would give a stimulated feeling due to the epinephrine released.

Again foods/herbs that stimulate the immune system in most cases or pretty much all arent CNS stimulants either. Garlic is a food that has been shown to stimulate the immune system but so have many fruits and vegetables, again id say its likely purely in the mind that you dont get a stimulative feeling from fruits.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2011 09:27AM by powerlifer.

Yoga texts often recommend control of eating onion and garlic because of stimulating effects - especially to stimulating sex drive which is not conducive to meditation. I don't know the science behind it however I belive that yoga as an ancient science has a lot of wisdom in it. Some things are not easy to prove through science but work on a more subtle level.
Having said that I think in India there is a tendancy to eat large quantities of raw onion. I doubt eating a little here and there would make most people an issue and is it really so bad to be a little bit stimulated from time to time??

I have read that garlic is not harmful to friendly gut flora but sorry I can't remember where I read it so that's probably not much use...I would imagine most of the bacteria in my body are immune to garlic by now anyway....

Im not debating the fact many foods, herbs and spices have stimulatory effects, i did an article on this. There is a difference between CNS stimulants and the above which have stimulatory effects on the body.

Take cayenne and its blood circulatory stimulatory effects, or bitter herbs which stimulate digestion and the liver. These are healthy choices, or foods such as artichoke and its bile stimulant properties which helps aid digestion and has been shown to help conditions such as IBS because of it. These are healthy stimulant properties which have no action on the adrenal glands or central nervous system.

Then take CNS stimulants such as cacao(theobromine), caffeine, guarana, ephedra etc these are the ones you wish to avoid completely or limit intake of. These are the ones which give you the false rush of energy by stimulating the adrenal glands, and in turn when there abused you end up crashing the adrenal glands and left with chronic fatigue etc. Not only that in most cases they raise blood pressure, heart rate and have various other side effects.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2011 02:11PM by powerlifer.

Hi,

It's my understanding that garlic makes the body acid. I know from personal experience that garlic is difficult to digest. I would conclude that foods that are difficult to digest are bad for the intestinal flora.

I hope that this helps.

Best,

M.

Why is garlic difficult to digest?

madinah Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ....... Should garlic be eaten, you
> cannot make a mono meal with garlic?
Anything that has to be eaten in moderation is best not
eaten at all. Onions and Garlic fall into that category. Plus,
you can't get close to other people. But that may be a good thing.....WY

WY ... A lot of wisdom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2011 02:24AM by madinah.

Bob Beck convinced me that garlic is not good. He said that garlic has been used as poison - it is deadly if it enters blood directly, so they were putting garlic on the arrow heads. Also, after eating garlic, brain behaves the same as after drinking alcohol, the activity slows down, rapidly.

"example, if you have garlic in your system, a little bit of it is tolerable. But garlic has sulfonhydroxyl in it, which is a deadly poison. Gangsters and soldiers used to rub their bullets with it before they fired, so if you were nicked, it would kill you. Organic gardeners use garlic now that they can't get DDT. It kills everything. Garlic also kills lots of brain cells, which causes desynchronisation of the left and right brain hemispheres. Pilots are not permitted to ingest garlic before their flights because it slows down their reaction times. Do not touch garlic! It is not a health food."

[curezone.com]

I have never had any of the issues with garlic any of the anti garlic people, and it is downright completely wrong that a bullet with garlic rubbed on it will kill you with a nick because of sulfonhydroxyl, LOL you could rub a bullet with arsenic and it wouldnt from a nick!

To prove it, Ive just cut my arm and rubbed garlic in it, Although I disinfected the outside with steam to kill the bacteria which causes botulism... which is common on garlic, and that COULD be what ends up eventually killing people by rubbing it on arrows and crap (bullets are unlikely) and if people dont believe this experiment, I'll do another in the future when I have the ability to record the whole process... But personally, I know I will be fine, as ive even cut myself while dicing large amounts of garlic, and I definitely got garlic juices in the wound, disinfected it, and I was fine...

I used to eat lots of garlic, not so many onions, so I cant judge completely on onions, but I have noticed foods I include garlic in actually digests better for me...so it seems like any digestive issues with it are based on personal physiology than on the garlic itself... Ive had to stop eating much garlic, as some of its beneficial health benefits are actually bad for my specific physiology...supposedly...

Id also like to say, only Beck and those who specifically believe what he says, are the only ones ive been able to find anywhere on the net saying there is anything wrong with garlic... to each their own I guess,lol... I am not cutting onion or garlic out of my diet! thats for sure!

Curator, of course. Forums are to talk about things. I cannot be 100% sure about anything, but I just believe the evidence that was presented. Millions of people eat garlic every day, it is everywhere - even considered a medicine.
I don't eat it and I don't miss it. Nor do I miss onions. I miss having more money to buy tons of organic fruit, or being able to grow them. That is what I miss. And some other things (like living buy the sea).

people dont have to eat it if they dont want to, thats no problem, but no evidence has been actually presented that ive been able to find, just the dr making statements with no verifiable data, and... oh, I miss those last things too rab,lol... that would be awesome to have:/, how bout we make a deal rab, if either one of us wins a giant lotto jackpot, we will buy the other a fruit orchard,lol... ^_^

Maybe garlic is just a medicine not necessarily a food, we cannot eat garlic by itself and get full.

Actually, Curator, regarding fruit I blame myself. I am starting to grow thiings now, but slowly, I am not very organized. I believe everyone can grow at least a little bit. We don't have to pay some big cash for a big orchard in some expensive area...if there is a will, there must be a way.

Sometimes I do eat cooked vegetable (with family), and sometimes even with garlic in it, but very rarely.

NEWS FLASH: – A raw foodist, known to his forum buddys simply as "Curator", died last night of unknown cause. Chief Medical Examiner Cora Ner found traces of garlic on an open wound on the the victim's body. There are several hypothesis as to why Curator was rubbing garlic on an open wound, his mother thought perhaps this was a "raw food therapy" used by Curator to detoxify his body and to improve his health. His neighbors all said that Curator was a nice guy, in spite of his unusual eating habits. He will be missed by all.

This is such a nice unusual forum, now we have death by garlic

Prana Wrote:
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> ....... His neighbors all said that
> Curator was a nice guy, in spite of his unusual
> eating habits. He will be missed by all.
Prana....Is this a Joke?? If so, it's pretty morbid humor.
If not, you might want to publish this as a separate Topic so
it won't be missed by anyone. I always enjoyed his posts......WY

nah Curator didnt die .. he steamed it first

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jgunn Wrote:
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> nah Curator didnt die ..
This just proves how Gullible I am. I was feeling
like a father who had just lost his son.....WY

LOl, im fine, thankyou for the concern yogi <3 I appreciate it, it was just a quick flash steam with the carpet steamer to kill bacteria, and ive been perfectly fine, for that matter the wound is nicely sealed with no sign of infection,lol...

Oh and rab, sure, we dont NEED a huge orchard, but id still LOVE to have one... no way I cuold grow enough fruit for what id love to eat on anything less than 10 acres, hehehe... then again, veggies may be a more economical use of space, since I could grow much more in that room than I could grow fruit... my dream would be thousands of acres of wild fruit trees and vines and other plants and creatures to help support the ecosystem, basically, I want a heavily fruited tropical forest of my own, hahaha...