When Garlic Makes you Suffer: An Alt View on a Great Healer (Part 1)

in #naturalmedicine6 years ago (edited)

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I want to get one thing straight before explaining why garlic in our house is a sore topic. I'm a garlic lover from way back - I have always chopped it up and swallowed it whole at the first sign of a sore throat, added it liberally to sauces and soups and stirfries, made tonics out of it with apple cider vinegar and we even used to pierce our ears as teenagers by rubbing garlic on the skin first to prevent infections.

I grow huge amounts of garlic and I've written about my garlic crops here on Steemit before. I'm a believer, and to reduce the use of garlic, if not stop it, in our household is absolutely devastating for me.


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However, because I love my husband far more (although he doesn't taste so good in a stir fry) I have to ban not only garlic, but onions, leeks and all the onion family from our kitchen. This is post is about explaining why that is - but I'm absolutely NOT decided on whether garlic is actually bad for everyone (though I'll explain another facet to the garlic issue in Part 2).

My darling lover suffers so every time we travel - we used to put it down the the local food, the stress of travel. We've been trying to work out for years other gut issues he's suffered - an IBS, we suspected, or a gluten allergy. It's been a matter of constant testing and figuring out what makes him worse and we've never been able to figure out what makes him better - until we discovered the FODMAP diet, accidentally, because my son's girlfriend is a coeliac, and it worked for her.

Fodmaps are types of sugars that are malabsorbed by the gastrointestinal tract or gut. They are triggers for irritable bowel syndrome and they are often poorly absorbed and fermented to produce gas - hence Jamie's stomach bloating even though he's lithe, fit and eats healthy foods. It's actually an acronym - F.ermentable O.ligo-saccharides, Di-saccarides, M.onosaccarides and P.olyols - the following video from Monash University explains it well, and Monash has done a lot of research into it which has been incredibly helpful for us.

The FODMAP app, which costs $12 for one time download, has been invaluable for us travelling - every meal we bring it out and double check whether he can eat that ingredient or not. Bananas are out. No cauliflower or broccoli. No beetroot, asparagus, mushrooms, peas, sweetpotato. No almonds, cashews, pistachios or any kind of beans, including lentils (although sprouted mung beans are fine - thank god, because that's my winter soup!) - no silken tofu, though tofu is okay. No apples, figs, watermelon.

Now some of these things in small amounts, and some folks can eat them whilst others can't at all. We spent a lot of time discussing it - can I eat bananas, he says - I've forgotten. And out comes that app.

However, by far the worst culprit is garlic and onion. In Bali, the conversation goes a little like this:

'Can I have the tuna steak with no garlic or onion?'
'Sorry sir, already in marinade'
'Okay, what about this curry, can I have it no garlic no onion?'
'Sorry sir, already cooked with onion'
'Okay, what about the chicken?'
'Yes, that's okay. Oh, no the vegetables have onion and garlic'
'Can I have it without onion and garlic?'
'Yes, of course'

Then the meal comes out with onion and garlic in it.

Or worse, after going through that entire process, we have to leave the restaurant as they're literally nothing he can eat there - this is rare as he usually will settle for a grilled fish with some fries and steamed vegies (this is while I'm enjoying a tempeh curry, or a nasi campur with an awesome onion and chilli sambal).

There's some ways we can get around the whole onion and garlic issue at home - the fructans in garlic and onion are soluble in water, so soups and sauces are out, but they're not in oil, so oil infused with garlic is okay and you can stir fry it and take it out - hence why nasi goreng (fried rice) has been okay here if Jamie picks the garlic out.


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A delicious breakfast of tempeh, mushrooms and garlic with a mild sambal and avocado and fetta - food Jamie can't eat here in Bali. But boy, did I enjoy it!

However, as inconvenient as it is, it's been so much better travelling this time because it's been so less painful for him and he's had so much more energy.

I've learnt some tricks over the last year for cooking sans onion and garlic. Here are a few:

  • Drizzle garlic flavoured oil over the spaghetti before serving up the sauce
  • Green spring onion tops are fine - we go through a lot of those!
  • Lemon juice and ACV brings out the flavour in foods - we go through a lot of lemons!
  • Nutritional yeast is so tasty in some sauces it's easily mistaken for onion powder

We've got used to this diet, although it's really disappointing sometimes when I want to eat at some raw vegan place and there's nothing but cashews in every single meal! You really begin to realise how ubiquitious it is when you can't have it. There is good news though - if he sorts all this out, he can re-introduce and possibly tolerate small amounts of FODMAP foods.

And I have never, ever seen Jamie turn down an almond croissant.

Do you follow a FODMAP diet and have some tricks for us? Do you have IBS and have never considered cutting out garlic and onion?

Please excuse any formatting issues with this post - I'm on the road and it's not easy to do on my phone!



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No way! Allergic to garlic! How terrible. I'm with you on the dosing garlic for everything. But this is very interesting. I didn't know about FODMAP. Half of my family is coeliac (brother, mom and mom-in-law, stepsons) I choose not to eat refined flour. But gluten is also in everything. You can't eat out at restaurants and it is awkward going to friends. But no onion or garlic (and so much else) that is really bad. Do you think there's a way of curing it? I know some people can now tolerate small quantities of gluten after a couple year on GAPS

I wouldn't know about the cure. For now we're doing these small things to help, and later we'll do more testing and see where to go next.

Gluten IS in everything - what a nightmare. Poor them - and poor my son's girlfriend Ella who has the same issue. We've just had a glutenfree bakery open here and it's a wild success - queues out the door! Jamie's okay with gluten, but not rye flour - my plain sourdough is fine for him thankgod.

More and more people are allergic to gluten. No wonder that bakery is a hit! I have found that the sourdough can be eaten even by some borderline coeliacs. It is the fermenting process which deals with the gluten (I believe) Sourdough is far healthier and more digestible to the gut than regularly bread.

Yes, thats my understanding too. Yay for fernented foods!! Jamie is okay with gluten but not so much with rye or soy. And soooo many bpught breads have soy in them!!!

People don't understand soy. They just hear "wierd non-meat must be healthy"

Oh yes... thats a whole other post!!

I looked into the whole sourdough thing and I am not sure where you are from but you have to be careful in the UK as the supermarkets sell 2 different types - one that is fermented and one that is a "cheat". So if you are buying it rather than making it make sure you read the label!

We're in South Africa. We are still a bit behind the times. It's make your own or do without

We have got very lazy in the UK as there is so much choice now. We can even get the same fruit all year round which just seems wrong :-)

Interesting info and i look forward to part two.

Really weird diet and living without garlic, it's a nightmare!
I'll check it out though. Thank you for all that info!

It is very weird living without garlic, but the diet itself is back by big studies, and has been life saving for coeliacs and IBS sufferers. J's been suffering for years and we've tried all sorts of things,so this is a great thing for him to finally have work for him.

I have a friend who is using the FODMAP as well because he gets bellycramps from a lot. I really hadnt heard of this at all until he told me a while back. And yes, also that randomly eating anywhere isnt really part of the deal for him.

Also buying for instance paprikapowder is difficult because in some countries it is infused with garlic and onion without mentioning it.

It sucks all the healthy stuff you cant eat ..but on the other hand...if that is what makes you feel better, lets start to adapt!

It's amazing how many things HAVE garlic and onion in it! It makes for a much simpler diet for him and it drives me crazy but then I dont want him to suffer. Funny, my son's girlfriend is also on FODMAP for her coeliac (ism??) so we swap notes alot.

I had pretty severe IBS a couple decades ago. Pain so bad I passed out from it. I was tested 100% lactose intolerant. So dairy was out, in any form, including calcium lactate. Dairy was the worst trigger.

Fast forward to 2007: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@goldenoakfarm/a-2nd-intro-or-how-i-got-started-growing-my-own-food

I had other things going on also, but kefir gave me my life back. That's just my story. Like Lyme, it's all so individual, what works, what doesn't.

Bummer about the garlic though...

So true - everyone is different. Amazing to see how much better you are now. I'm going to try Kefir - will have to check if it's fodmap, as he can't drink Kombucha either sadly!!

May I suggest for your husband to start juicing one bunch of celery every morning and drink it on an empty stomach. You can read more about the amazing benefits celery juice on this blog. I can't explain as good as the link.

My husband used to suffer every time when we travel (I really mean every time). After reading about celery juice, I started the regiment first and saw great improvement on the health problem I was experiencing. He joined in after two months. He is now the one telling other people to drink celery juice first thing in the morning. It's almost like a miracle in a way. It works in mysterious ways to help your body heal itself and improve the hydrocloric acid.

He used to get sick from eating a lot of different fruit and vegetables, but since he started on this celery juice journey (7 months now), he is able to enjoy all the food that he hasn't been able to enjoy for years!

You can find all kinds of people on Instagram swearing by the healing power of celery juice. I am one of them :)

That's amazing - I love these stories where people find something that works for them! Sadly celery is out for Jamie too... otherwise we'd give it a go!!

That sucks. Garlic is good. Are you into rife? I've recently stumbled on this and I'm a bit hooked. I really want to get the spooky2 machine. I've been watching everything on their youtube. I just need to work out the logistics of getting it to Panama.

I have access to a Rife sometimes, and it decidedly makes a difference when I have it to use.

Oh nice. Good to know.

Wow!! I've never heard of it - just had a quick google. Amazing.

Oh, well come join me down the rabbit hole! I've here several days. I keep watching the SAMA interviews on the spooky2 youtube and it's really opening my mind to just how much crap our bodies are exposed to constantly and how it fucks with us (like food intolerances for instance). I really want to get one of these machines ASAP to begin the cleanse.

Never knew that existed, interesting. I love the smell of frying garlic, though. :(

Frying gaelic and onion smells ARE THE BEST @nabithecat!! Im so sad!

Aw sad to hear about his limitations!!! Garlic and leeks and onions, what a sad thing to miss! :( luckily it sounds like you’re still a boss in the kitchen!! From everything you listed, that’s really a lot.... does sprouting or fermenting things help??

Its a complicated list!!! Fermenting is out, sprouting MAYBE.. depends what it is.

There's still so much we don't know about our bodies isn't there! I guess even reactions to foods can change depending on the make up of your gut microbiota at any given moment?

I knew about the FODMAP diet only because I am a health obsessive and veraciously consumed books and podcasts for a few years before realising it was getting a bit too much!

I went paleo after having stomach issues more and more regularly and that almost instantly sorted out the problem. I then went a bit mad and did ultra low carb for 9 months - 6 of which were great but then I went on a downward spiral until I hardly had the energy to walk up steps!!

I am similar to your husband in that I keep very fit but still get a bit of bloating although I have to say there is no real pain associated with it so I put it down to my bacteria "doing their thing" with resistant starch and other insoluble fibre.

Anyway I am glad you found the solution and it's great how one can purchase an app nowadays to tell us what we can and can't eat isn't it!

I know, the app is the best thing for us! We bring it out in the super market. Totally - it's easy to get obsessed. We followed so many diets before we finally got a solution for Jamie's problem. The bloat is real! The thing is, he's so lithe and lean, it becomes obvious, plus the pain.

I had the discomfort and pain when I just ate whatever I fancied, which included a lot of bread!

Paleo was a real eye opener for me and the funny thing was I found out about it not because I was looking for a solution to the bloating problem but because I got injured running and found out about barefoot running. I then came across a runner who was talking about paleo and that's when my obsessions started! :-)

Ah!! I like some paleo food, but harder for me with the amount of meat in the diet which I'm not uber keen on, and then hubby can't do a lot of vegie proteins like tempeh, so we have to find some balance. I always think a varied diet and moderation works for me, but I'm lucky I guess. I was raised vegetarian and very food aware, so that made a difference.

I no longer do strict paleo, just real food as much as possible now and I still feel great!

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