Can I eat onions and garlic if I practice yoga and meditation?
Concerning the use of onions and garlic for food, there is indeed an opinion that eating them is unacceptable for people who practice yoga and meditation and follow spiritual ways, because these products increase irritation, anger, ignorance and sexual desire. But we can say that we are following the spiritual path in the true sense only when the principle of spirituality is observed in everything. We consciously control and protect all sense organs: eyes (vision) - from harmful and empty information (social networks, news, television), ears (hearing) - we do not participate in discussions with anyone, we do not listen to rumors and gossip, nose ( smell) and tongue (taste) - all smells and food should be of exclusively satvic nature, skin (touch) - we do not experience sensual pleasure from touching. If you are truly at this stage of spiritual development, only then should you not eat onions and garlic at all.
What does Ayurveda say about this? Ayurveda considers onions and garlic to be blood purifiers. Various Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from garlic. But Ayurveda does not support their excessive use, since it considers onions to be tamasic in nature (increases passivity and irritability) and garlic to be rajasic (promotes sleep disturbance and depletion of energy). According to Ayurveda, both these ingredients cause excessive heat in the body. It's true that our bodies need some heat, but too much heat can increase the risk of other health problems. Ayurveda recommends eating onions and garlic in small quantities.
The health benefits of onions and garlic have been proven. Thanks to its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties, garlic is known to reduce inflammation and lower high blood pressure. Onions remove toxins from the body, normalize digestion and are excellent for colds and coughs.
That is, in everything as usual, if you really follow the principles of Yoga and Ayurveda, you must maintain balance and use common sense