Garlic allergy means the state in which your body reacts adversely upon consuming even the slightest amounts of garlic. Your body’s immune system identifies the garlic as a harmful foreign element. This mistaken recognition causes your immune system to produce antibodies against garlic substances to fight them off. 
Garlic is among the most used and most beneficial spices. It adds a great flavor to food. It is mostly used cooked but can also be utilized raw.
Ginger is the spice containing maximum health benefits. The health benefits include relief from digestive disorders, prevention against diseases such as cancer, and heart diseases.
If you are allergic to garlic, you may suffer severe symptoms. These symptoms may occur immediately or even after several hours of consumption.
Garlic Allergy Symptoms:
The symptoms of a garlic allergy can occur anywhere from immediately to several hours of exposure to garlic. These symptoms include:
- Sneezing
- Itching
- Skin irritations
- Heartburn
- Ulcers
- Watery eyes
- Hives
- Nausea and vomiting
- Swelling of lips and tongue
- Asthma
- Anaphylaxis
If not treated, these symptoms can become mild to severe and consequently become fatal.
Composition of Garlic:
Garlic contains many sulfur compounds. These compounds are mostly allicin, ajoene, diallyl, trisulfide, S-allylmercapocystein, and others. Garlic also contains many amino acids and their glycosides. The compound allicin is the principal constituent of garlic. It is responsible for its distinct taste and smell. It even gives it a pale yellow color. All the chemicals and compounds in garlic have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.
What is Garlic Intolerance?
Garlic intolerance occurs when your digestive system gets upset from consuming even the slightest bit of garlic. As garlic is high in insoluble fiber and has an acidic nature, it can lead to GIT disorders. Some symptoms of garlic intolerance are:
- Vomiting and nausea
- Bloating
- Intestinal gas
- Diarrhea
- Stomach acidity
- Digestion difficulty(due to presence of complex carbs)
Difference between Garlic allergy and intolerance:
Allergy is the reaction of your immune system to mistakenly identified allergens, while tolerance is just the digestive malfunctioning. Garlic leads to an allergy that can lead to heart and respiratory disorders, which may be fatal in some cases. While intolerance may not be as harmful as an allergy, yet it can severely damage the digestive tract if not treated.
In both the cases, whatever you have an intolerance or allergy to garlic, you must stop eating garlic immediately. It is essential to discontinue the use of a particular food item if your body has even the slightest malfunction with it. So a person can distinguish between allergy and intolerance by noting that; allergy leads to anaphylactic spasm or shock, while intolerance leads to digestive disorders.
Consequences of garlic intolerance:
The following are the problems caused due to garlic intolerance:
- Digestive Problems: This includes vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, acidity, ulcers, bloating, and cramping.
- A decrease in Blood Pressure: Certain compounds in garlic trigger to decrease in blood pressure.
- Fatigue: A person suffering from garlic intolerance may experience unexplained tiredness, lethargy, and weakness.
- Body Odour: A person may suffer from excessive body odor due to garlic consumption. The sulfur present in garlic is the cause of the foul smell of the body and even mouth/breath.
- Insomnia: If a person with a lack of garlic tolerance consumes garlic, the person gets bloated. Being bloated means excess of air/gas in the body; it causes many problems. The main problem is pain, cramping, and restlessness, and hence this is the leading cause of insomnia (sleeplessness).
Garlic Allergy Treatment:
The first and foremost treatment method, an allergy, is discontinuing the use of that particular item. The person prone to these kinds of issues must avoid using food or products containing garlic. However, if a person accidentally injects or inhales any form of garlic, either cooked, raw, or in powdered form, the person might be at risk of an anaphylactic shock. Auto-injectors can avoid this type of traumatic problems.
Other methods are the use of antihistamines, which reduce swelling and rash caused by histamines. Other medicine can reduce the acidity caused by garlic.
If you are prone to asthmatic attacks, then it is advised to keep inhalers and medicines which prevent swelling of the respiratory tract. This medicine will prevent from blockage of the air passageway.
The last is to consult a doctor and seek help from experts. This help is essential as the degree of an allergic reaction may vary among individuals. Some people may have a severe reaction, and even if they don’t, it is always wise to consult a doctor.
Substitute Foods which replace garlic:
Many people having a garlic allergy regret the lack of taste in their diet. As they are unable to consume garlic, they look for substitutes. the food items which can be used by people with garlic allergy are:
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Oregano
- Basil
- Ginger
- Chilli pepper
The food items add a touch of seasoning and flavoring to the food. And so people with garlic allergy can still experience a variety of flavors in their diet.
Foods to avoid during a garlic allergy:
Garlic is a vegetable and belongs to a specific kind of plant family (Allium). Hence other vegetables related to the garlic family may also cause minor allergies. In the case of other allergies, there is a specific chemical in the product. But in this case, all vegetables belonging to the same family have traces of the same chemical components. You should not consume the following products if you are allergic to garlic :
- Onions
- Shallots
- Leeks
- Chives
One must also be careful when store-bought products. Products such as canned food and curry powders may contain garlic products. Hence you should check the ingredients of store-bought products when purchasing them.
Garlic allergy is a rare condition. Not many people are allergic to garlic. The reason a person is allergic to garlic is due to excessive acidic food consumption. As the excess of everything is terrible, the increased use of garlic may lead to allergies. People with garlic allergy may regret being allergic to garlic as they become deprived of the health benefits obtained from it. But it is not a matter of worry or shame as other herbs can replace garlic in food. And it is better to consider yourself a Dracula who is deadly allergic to garlic and hence lives an immortal life.
Garlic Allergy Frequently Asked Questions:
Why does garlic make me sick?
Ans: If you consume garlic and become sick, this means that you have a garlic allergy or garlic intolerance.
Can garlic upset my stomach?
Ans: Yes, garlic can upset your stomach. This problem is because you have garlic intolerance. The symptoms include acidity, vomiting, and nausea.
What are the symptoms of garlic allergy?
Ans: The symptoms of garlic allergy are; skin irritation, ulcer, vomiting, nausea, low blood pressure, anaphylaxis, rash, tracheal constriction, etc.
Are garlic allergy and garlic intolerance the same thing?
Ans: They might be the same; the only difference is that intolerance is the case in which the body is unable to digest. This lack of digestion causes digestive disorders. While in an allergy, the food triggers the immune system, and the body tries to fight the substance. This activation of the immune system causes an adverse reaction to the body in the form of allergy.
