National Garlic Day: Some say no way

(Photo by Lee Kindness)

Although garlic is sometimes touted as a panacea for everything from the common cold to cancer, not everyone is convinced.  In fact, there are some who think that it literally stinks to high Heaven.

Garlic (not to mention its alliaceous cousins – onions, leeks, chives and shallots) is considered to be both rajasic and tamasic, which amounts to a double whammy in certain circles.  Harmonist   reports that Aruyveda, “India’s classic medical science,” considers rajasic foods to increase passion and tamasic foods to increase ignorance.  (And Lord knows, there are few things worse than passionate ignorance…)

This same Harmonist article, titled “Why No Onions and Garlic,” goes on to explain that some “Vaishnavas – followers of Lord Vishnu, Rama and Krishna – like to only cook with foods from the sattvic [increasing of goodness] category.  Sattvic foods include the following:  legumes, grains, fresh fruits, dairy products, vegetables and herbs.

If passionate ignorance isn’t argument enough against the national celebration of garlic, perhaps this quote from the ancient poet Horace might do:  Garlic is “more harmful than hemlock.”  Harmonist theorized that Horace was referring to “the fact that garlic in the raw state can carry harmful (potentially fatal) botulism bacteria.”

What, then, were proponents of National Garlic Day ever thinking?  Holiday Insights claims that garlic has

not only “been used medicinally for thousands of years,” but is also “believed to ward off evil spirits.” Come to think of it, no one’s seen Dracula lately, have they?  Perhaps there’s something to this holiday, after all…   

Resources

http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/April/nationalgarlicday.htm

http://harmonist.us/2009/07/why-no-onions-and-garlic-2/

Copyright April 18, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved