posted January 02, 2003 04:13 AM         

Now raw garlic and raw onion are incredibly good for you, from everything to blood pressure, to the immune system, to cholesterol, to the digestive system, to preventing cancer.

My question is how do we incorporate more of these into our diet? I drink pretty often low sodium V8 with some cayenne pepper and lime juice because cayenne is VERY good for you. SO tonight I felt like I was coming down with something so with my usual V8 drink I threw in the blender a clove of garlic and an onion. I drank it down (that was tough) and it felt awful to my tummy! I managed to stomach it and am feeling better now, but that was really tough.

I would really like to be able to include this stuff in my diet- and I already to little things like using fresh garlic for salad dressing and putting chopped onions on stuff- but it's hard to use much because it is so strong.

So with all the recommendations I read on health websites I am wondering how do they expect people to go about including raw garlic and onions in their diet. Does anyone here know a trick or two?

I know about garlic pills- but do not trust many vitamin companies, unless you all know of some good ones?

thanks guys
d

posted January 02, 2003 08:16 AM         

Garlic, I have had a positive experience with (never negative) although it can make me dizzy and lose orientation for a few seconds if I were to eat it raw by the clove. Same happens to me with ginger root. Ginger is also worth mentioning here because I have found it to be a powerful nausea fighter for motion sickness and I think it is even healthier than garlic. Garlic has been prove in innumerable studies to be healthy when eaten regularly. It even helps chelate toxic metals in the blood (like mercury...) Garlic [supposedly] retains its effectiveness even when cooked or roasted (very tasty) or made into odorless pills, so there is [supposedly] no need to eat it raw. Knowing what I do about food, I would rather eat it raw because only raw food contains enzymes and undenatured proteins, even though raw unroasted garlic smells (obviously) However you take garlic, nothing in my personal experience or anything I have read suggests that it would be anything but healthful. When I used to use my juicer (which since fell apart) I used to mix 1 or 2 cloves of garlic with carrot, parsley and beet juice. Parsley is also extremely healthy and one of, in my personal experience, the most healthful plants you can eat. The garlic adds a powerful kick to the juice and causes dizziness in me for a short time.

posted January 02, 2003 07:45 PM         

And thanks Mercury- I probably will stay away from the onions because that is what made my stomach hurt so much yesterday, and yea, you're right, I felt dizzy, it had to be from the garlic.

So I suppose I should just continue with a little raw here and there, I mean I really do include garlic in most food that I cook. I do happen to know that garlic and onion are very good for you raw they contain compounds that get broken down when cooked, like most things I guess.

I only drink the V8 as a base for my cayenne pepper because it's what my boyfriend's father stocks the fridge with. Believe me, if I could afford it I would make my own fresh organic juice. At this point in time I do what I can organic wise, which is about 60% of what I eat. Thanks for the tip though Mercury thanks everyone
d

posted January 03, 2003 07:59 PM         

now if I could get a tougher stomach like you!

posted January 04, 2003 01:46 PM         

Svirgo please tell me the benefits of that so I can try it, thanks!

posted March 07, 2003 10:37 AM         

I ADORE raw garlic and raw onion, but the bad breath afterwards is a killer, you can't eliminate it with chewing gum or washing your teeth because it comes directly from the stomach, but it helps if you drink strong coffee afterwards (I think chocolate also helps, I'm not sure) and chewing fresh parsley is supposed to eliminate the smell, but I haven't tried it yet.

Fajita, the pain that you experienced in your stomach was because raw onion is very strong and you probably aren't used to it, and onion (also garlic) gives you gas - it stimulates the digestion . But it is nevertheless very healthy, it kills all sorts of bacteria, just like garlic. It was used as a remedy for inflammations of all kinds, also pneumonia - you put it on your chest and it draws out the festering (I don't know the right word for it).
But it is strong, so you have to get used to it first. I never had any problems, I eat it raw all the time, but I'm used to eating very spicy food and onions and garlic and pepper etc. ever since I was a child, so...

posted March 12, 2003 01:25 AM         

d