No Garlic and Onion Diet! Does Ayurveda Really Suggest This?
The usage of onion and garlic in Indian kitchens is indispensable.
Both onion and garlic add flavours and offer several health benefits. Yet,
according to Ayurveda you should not consume excessive amounts
of onion and/or garlic.
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Ayurveda defines nutritional properties of food
based on their six types of tastes. These include astringent, bitter, pungent,
salty, sour, and sweet. Also, the qualities namely sattva, rajas and tamas have to be taken into consideration. Although onion and garlic are considered as excellent
foods, they are not favoured by Ayurveda.
Role of Garlic and Onion in Ayurveda
Ayurveda
has nothing against you eating onion and garlic. As a matter of fact,
garlic is known to be an important medicine in Ayurveda. However, onion
is known to be tamasic causing people to become irritable. Meanwhile, garlic is
known to be rajasic causing disturbed sleep and drained energy. Hence, both
these ingredients produce excessive body heat. Even though your body
requires some amount of heat, excessive body heat leads to several health
problems.
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Confusion between Ayurveda and spirituality
In Ayurveda,
you can eat
onion and garlic but, your intake should
be in measured moderate quantities. The principles of Ayurveda are often
confused with practise of yoga and spirituality. These practises recommend
people to abstain from onions and garlic because both
distract individual’s concentration.
Health benefits of Onion and Garlic
Garlic has
been used to prevent infections due to its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and
anti-fungal properties; it also reduces chances of cancer. Onions, on the other hand,
reduces inflammation, removes toxins,
reduces cough and regulates digestion.
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Conclusion
Hence,
venture and add both onion and garlic to your foods you eat
in daily diet. Only remember that consuming any food item in excess quantities
is bad for your health. Always, limit to your intake to moderate amounts.
