Eating Too Much Garlic Can Harm Your Eyes
Garlic is not only an excellent seasoning but also a great disease-fighter. However, there is a common saying, "Garlic has a hundred benefits but harms the eyes." Is there any truth to this?
"From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, eating too much garlic is indeed bad for your eyes." This is because garlic is pungent and can damage blood. Blood nourishes the liver, and the eye's ability to see primarily comes from the liver. Therefore, "the eyes can only see when they are nourished by blood."
If you experience blurred vision or frequently have eye discharge over a period of time, you should consider if you've been eating too much garlic. Furthermore, for many people with eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, conjunctivitis, styes, or dry eye syndrome, if they do not avoid eating garlic, the treatment will be less effective.
So, how much garlic is appropriate to eat?
The amount of garlic one should eat depends on the season, one's constitution, and the food it's paired with; there is no fixed quantity. In the summer, when dampness is heavy, eating more garlic can help expel it. Whether in cold dishes, stir-fries, or with dumplings and noodles, a few cloves of garlic can be added. However, eating whole raw cloves can easily lead to overconsumption. It might be better to mash the garlic and mix it with vinegar, which prevents excessive intake while still adding flavor and preventing disease. "Pickling garlic as sweet garlic means eating a few extra cloves is not a problem." However, autumn is not a good season for eating garlic, so it's best to eat less.
Additionally, people with yin deficiency and night sweats, or those with excessive liver heat, should also eat less garlic, as it can easily lead to "internal heat." A reminder: never drink tea after eating garlic, as it can easily cause stomach pain.