For a long time, everyone has known that garlic has many benefits, but even with all its advantages, it's not suitable for everyone. These five types of people should absolutely not eat it.
When garlic is stir-fried or boiled, most of the allicin in it volatilizes or decomposes due to heat, which greatly reduces its health benefits. Therefore, it's best to eat garlic raw. If you really can't stand the spicy taste, you can mince garlic and sprinkle it just before the dish is done cooking. This way, the spiciness is reduced, and not much allicin is lost. Alternatively, you can choose to eat candied garlic or vinegar-pickled garlic.
Furthermore, you won't get any allicin from swallowing a whole clove of garlic because allicin doesn't exist directly. Instead, it is synthesized from two separate substances in garlic: alliin and the enzyme alliinase. Only by crushing or mincing the garlic can these two substances combine to form allicin. Therefore, it's best to crush or mince garlic when eating it, or chew it for a longer time, which also helps eliminate oral bacteria.
Five Types of People Should Not Eat Raw Garlic
As a common vegetable and seasoning, garlic is certainly suitable for most people's daily consumption, especially for patients with tuberculosis, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and arteriosclerosis. However, if you have eye diseases, cancer, liver disease, or diarrhea, you must not rush to eat raw garlic.
1. Patients with Eye Diseases
The ancients said: "Garlic cures all ills, but harms the eye." Long-term and excessive consumption of garlic is harmful to the eyes. Ji Kang, in his "On Nurturing Life," said: "Pungent and aromatic foods harm the eyes." Garlic is the most pungent, and it affects the orifices, reaching the eyes, which can easily cause eye damage. Therefore, one should be careful not to eat too much garlic, especially those with eye diseases, who must avoid spicy foods during treatment.
2. The Weak and Those with Internal Heat
The ancients believed that eating too much garlic would deplete a person's *qi* (vital energy) and blood. The "Bencao Congxin" records: "Garlic is pungent, hot, and toxic. It produces phlegm, stirs up fire, scatters qi, and consumes blood. Those who are weak and have internal heat must not touch it." Therefore, people who are in poor health with weak qi and blood should be cautious.
3. Patients with Liver Disease
Many people eat garlic to prevent hepatitis, and some even continue to eat it daily after contracting the disease. This is all wrong. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that garlic "harms the liver and damages the eyes with long-term consumption." Garlic is hot in nature and can stoke the fire; it is pungent and highly irritating. For those with internal liver fire, consuming it will make the liver fire even stronger, and over time, it will naturally cause damage.
4. Patients with Spleen Deficiency and Diarrhea
Raw garlic is very irritating. Eating a small amount normally can aid digestion, but if you have non-bacterial enteritis or diarrhea, eating garlic will cause the strong irritation to aggravate the congestion and edema of the intestinal mucosa, promote exudation, and worsen the condition.
5. Those with Serious Illnesses Should Consume with Caution
Garlic is considered a "trigger food." A trigger food is one that is particularly likely to induce certain diseases or aggravate existing ones. Eating pungent foods like garlic and chili can cause significant side effects for those with serious illnesses or those who are on medication. It may not only trigger a relapse of an old illness but also render the medication ineffective or cause a chain reaction with the drug, affecting health.