Garlic: Super Food or Super Toxic? Garlic has long been touted as a miracle food, a natural medicine for high blood pressure, for lowering high cholesterol levels, a blood cleanser, an anti-fungal, an antioxidant, and a broad spectrum natural antibiotic. But did you know that along with these possible medicinal benefits come a vast number of side-effects? The side-effects of garlic can range from mild imbalances or minor symptoms to actual full-blown toxic overload or poisoning. Surprised? Garlic does have an anti-bacterial affect and is therefore used for some therapeutic ends. However, since it is a broad spectrum anti-biotic, its actions are to kill all germs in your body - including the beneficial ones. Most antibiotic compounds cannot distinguish between the good and the bad bacteria. Garlic contains about 33 different types of sulfur, including allicin and sulphon hydroxol just to mention two. Once garlic is crushed, alliin metabolizes into allicin. Allicin is the powerful sulfuric compound that is considered to have anti-microbial effects. Allicin is also what makes the garlic smell. Garlic is a very powerful herb, and it should therefore be considered medicine, but not as food or a daily supplement to your diet! Keeping in mind the ayurvedic perspective, we have another tool of discrimination that helps us understand why not everyone should be eating the same things, specially powerful herbs such as garlic. We know, through Ayurveda, that what is good for one person may harm another. Consider your ayurvedic body constitutions or type: Vata, Pitta, Kapha. A predominant Pitta (elements of fire and a little water) constitution or Pitta imbalanced individual who already may have tendencies toward a sensitive liver or stomach may experience intestinal inflammation and aggravation, bloating, upset stomach, or skin reddening, irritation, and soreness by consuming garlic. A Kapha (earth and water elements) constitution on the other hand may not experience many side-effects of garlic as their intestinal walls tend to be thicker. In times where there were no alternative medicines and a person was living in an extremely infected environment, garlic was used as a medicine to save lives.
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