Does Garlic Cause Colds?

I don't like garlic very much. I don't mind small amount in pizza and pasta, but in general, I don't like it. First of all, it smells so strong. If you cook it in your home, your home smells very bad for a long time. If you meet someone who ate garlic, he/she smells so strong. I have difficulty tolerating it. For the garlic smell, no breath freshener would work.

When I was a child, I recall getting sick after eating garlic. I mean I get a cold. My mother told me that garlic is good for a cold, but when I'm a bit sick, right after eating garlic, I become a lot more sick. If you ask anyone, they usually tell you that garlic is good for a cold, but I only recall getting sick after eating garlic when I was a child. Since I don't like the smell, I don't eat much and I never get sick from garlic now, but I always wondered if I had some reaction to garlic.

So I looked up online to see if there was such thing as garlic allergy, and there was. However the symptoms described are related to skin condition or digestion, not getting a cold, except one web site. So after all, did I really have reaction to garlic?

Interesting thing about garlic smell is that it is actually not bad when cooked in food. Food itself doesn't smell bad. However if you cook it in a house, the house becomes very bad smell. Long time ago when we were looking for a house to buy, our agent took us to Italian family owned house in the evening. I believe they just had a dinner with full of garlic. When we went in, the smell of the house was just so terrible that I had to leave. I don't know why it smells so bad in people's houses but not in restaurants. When people eat garlic, they smell bad, but this smell is totally different from the walls of the house with garlic dish was prepared. Garlic smell from people are probably far worse than the smell from the walls. If the person has only smelly breath, I could tolerate by not talking to the person or stay a bit far away. However there are people who smell garlic from the body. If you had to stand or sit beside such a person in the subway, that would make your day.

So, if you love garlic, please be considerate to others and limit the amount, or eat it when you are not meeting someone. If you eat a lot, please do not take public transportation.

Image by richard_north on flickr