# if eating tons of garlic causes tons of gas - does that mean i have bad bacteria?



## Guest (Dec 31, 2003)

i'm interested in traditional-inclined folks and non-traditional inclined folks answers alike.a. is it proven that garlic kills bacteria? is that the reason why i have so much gas? i'm releasing lots of gas about every 5 minutes for 8 hours - no kidding. is this happenign b/c its killing the bacteria - i'm eating about a head of garlic (10 cloves) per day and following a fairly low - fructose diet. i normally don't have a lot of gas, but have tons of distension. i seem to be farting at nite though, so perhaps i do have gas normally. i hardly ever fart during the day. not even once, usually. now that i'm taking garlic its comign out easily - perhaps b/c i have so much. b. how does garlic affect good bacteria - does it kill that too?thx.


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## Jhouston (Nov 9, 2003)

Joan, It is an old alternative remedy FOR gas. But I have heard some say it gives them gas. My thought on the bloating is that it is gas that is not moving and maybe swelling but I am not certain. What else would cause bloating? Maybe the garlic is getting the gas to move out. I never had farts until after my colonoscopy. go figure. I think the prep may have unclogged it since now it passes. Joann


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## floridian2 (Dec 1, 2003)

> quote: Proven adverse effects included malodorous breath and body odor. Other unproven effects included flatulence, esophageal and abdominal pain, allergic reactions, and bleeding.from:Arch Intern Med. 2001 Mar 26;161(6):813-24. Garlic shows promise for improving some cardiovascular risk factors.


10 cloves a day is a fairly high dose of garlic. It may increase gas, and if nothing else, the sulfur compounds in garlic will make your gas more noticeable. Garlic and onions are also rich in fructans ... starch-like molecules that break down into fructose, possibly causing gas. Garlic does tend to kill more of the harmful bacteria than the good bacteria - the studies I saw looked at things like Streptococcus, Salmonella, and E. coli. But it doesn't eliminate the gas causing bacteria. Consider stopping the garlic for a few days, then (if you are inclined) resume garlic at 1 or 2 cloves per day.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote: i'm releasing lots of gas about every 5 minutes for 8 hours - no kidding.


For once, a bonafide gas complaint.







From what you described it almost certainly has killed off your gas-consuming bacteria. Obviously, stop taking the garlic and give the bacteria a chance to repopulate.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2004)

hmmmm - thats interesting that its such a powerful antibiotic. wow! i don't think my problem is bad bacteria in the colon (maybe in the small intestine though) but just wondered if the fact that garlic was affecting me meant i had bad bacteria....somewhere. still not sure about that - probably not. the other strange thing is i suddenly have a raging sinus infection and seems like it came about same time as i started the garlic - wonder if it screwed up my flora there too. furthermore i actually felt pretty good even though i had so much gas - i think this is because as i'm passing it contantly my colon is sort of evenly distended and moving - as opposed to being in kinks and stagnant. fiber is supposed to do the same thing, but i find that when i take fiber i poop it all out at once and then am left with part of my colon spasming and tight, and the other part bloated out with the rest of the fiber in it. mirilax did the same thing and left me physcially disabled b/c of the severe muscular spasms. and i can't ignore these sensations - they affect my skeletal muscles - i get muscles spasms and aches so bad have ended up in the hospital with severe pain from pulling tight back muscles due to days of spasming abdominal muscles. my question is WHY are my abdominal muscles so connected to my colon? wish i could do something to reduce the communication there. i feel EVERYTHING and am constantly twisting with visible spasms - even over small amounts of gas passed. ugh! what the hell?! the only thing that helps is alcohol and valium. hence wondering if this is somewhat a dystonia/stiff man problem maybe on top of or brought on by ibs. as a side note, my cat is having bad allergies and was having severe spasms in her back where she had scratched her skin a lot these spasms were so intense they would throw her to the floor. it seemed so much like what happens to me when i have ibs - i asked my doc if he thought she had epiliepsy or exposed nerve and he said no, that the skin allergies where messing with her nerves back there and it was common for cats to have what appeared like seizures when they had severe skin irritation. that seems to be what is happening to ME! my abdominal muscles are responding to messaged common from my colon b/c its so hypersensitive. but when i ask GI's about this they go - uuuuugh what are you talking about? like its unrelated or i'm making #### up!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! if i could solve this problem then maybe i could get better. ----------------------Missy Elliott rocks


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## kel1059 (Feb 28, 2003)

garlic is a decent antispasmodic. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-...c+antispasmodic garlic leaves your good bacteria intact. pay no attention to flux on this one. i believe that multiple antibiotic herbs are far superior. Pub Med abstracts are good at noting which herbs kill which microorganisms. garlic and onion oil only kill specific strains of bad bacteria. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...0&dopt=Abstract interesting that you mention your cat. if you read the book stealth virus you will see a chapter on cats and humans. the author presents some interesting information on how cats and humans can trade viruses and bacteria (one little scratch is all it takes for the person who has a little ***** in their immune system). i skimmed over it real quick but it seemed interesting. there is even a possible link to aids via feline immune deficiency..... --but the better link put forth by the doctor was to monkeys.the thing is that your symptoms started a long time ago so it may mean nothing.an allergy to garlic (the lilly family) is not rare. the fructans are minor due to low quantity, but anything is possible.


> quote: the sulfur compounds in garlic will make your gas more noticeable.


not true. everything on the planet that is alive has sulfur compounds. a piece of meat has more sulfur in it than garlic. meat is a decent source of sulfur aminos. the odor only seems to appear if the person is allergic or in the beginning of treatment. i passed bad odor for over 2 decades but after a dieoff period after using garlic and other herbs the odor disappeared. garlic --paradoxically can rid a person of odor. -- especially if it and the other herbs can wipe out the sulfur metabolizing bacteria (which i am almost positive it does).


> quote: My thought on the bloating is that it is gas that is not moving and maybe swelling but I am not certain.


sounds like a reasonable conclusion. i would eat wheat, corn, and sugar and within 1 hour my belly would blow up like a beach ball. the gas was trapped and i would suffer. the only thing that obtained symptom relief was reduction of all carbs. however, i think that dahlman is correct that some of us have too much bacteria in the upper and mid intestines. --but i think that food intolerances can also play a strong role in trapped upper gas and bloat problems (specifically certain intolerant carbs).my dieoff consisted of mostly diarrhea. for anyone trying this method, consistancy is the key. i am approaching 1 year and i think that i am only now finally able to take small breaks of a day or 2.garlic could possibly cause ulcers. one needs to be somewhat careful. when i switched to organic garlic which was about twice as strong, i got a lot of pain for about 2 weeks. then it stopped even though i continued with it. not sure what happened.


> quote: Guillain-Barrï¿½ (ghee-yan bah-ray) syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.


sometimes a person can have something on a much smaller scale than the actual disorder. my friend has MS-like symptoms. severe heaviness and numbness in her left leg. the doctor says no MS based on a test, but something immune related is going on with her based on all her symptoms put together. maybe in 10 years --after it is too late to save her-- the lesions will show up.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:not true. everything on the planet that is alive has sulfur compounds


*False*


> quote:sounds like a reasonable conclusion.


Color?









> quote: my question is WHY are my abdominal muscles so connected to my colon? w


Uh, how do you know it's your skeletal abdominal muscles that are responsible?


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## kel1059 (Feb 28, 2003)

ALL ANIMALS DEPEND UPON SULFUR WITHOUT IT DEATH IS CERTAIN. ALL PLANTS TAKE UP AND PROCESS SULFUR. MAYBE YOU CAN HUNT DOWN SOME ROGUE BACTERIA THAT IS METHIONINE FREE BUT I DOUBT IT. I SUSPECT THAT ALL VIRUSES ARE GOING TO CONTAIN AT LEAST 1 SULFUR AMINO.


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2004)

kel, thanks for the info - i wonder if the antispasmodic effect was helping me as well. i've stopped taking so much garlic and am sort of back to where i was.flux, i think my colon "speaks" to my skeletal muscles b/c you can see the way they tense when i have just a little gas. its uncontollable. when the gas passes (even if its just a little then the tensing stops - but them moves to another point where there is pressure). so i don't really think its my skeletal muscles that are the problem, probably more likely is that my colon is hypersensitive and sending out lots of messages that the rest of my body can't ignore. i'm just always surprised b/c others do'nt really complain about not being able to move b/c muscles are pulled so tightly. the other option is perhaps i have adhesions or an obstruction, but this (adhesions, atleast) would surprise me as i've had no abdominal surgeries or injuries.


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