Can sprouted garlic and ginger still be eaten, and will eating too much cause internal heat?

Garlic and ginger are common condiments in our daily lives, so many people buy a bunch of garlic and ginger to keep at home for later use. But sometimes, if stored improperly, garlic and ginger easily sprout. So can sprouted garlic and ginger still be eaten? Will eating too much cause internal heat?

1. Can sprouted ginger and garlic still be eaten?

When plants encounter unfavorable environmental conditions during growth and development, some will temporarily stop growing. This phenomenon is called “dormancy.” For example, after sprout, bulb, and tuber vegetables mature, a large amount of nutrients has accumulated in their bodies.

The protoplasm changes, the metabolic level decreases, growth stops, water transpiration decreases, respiration slows, and all life activities enter a relatively static state in order to increase resistance to unfavorable environments. Once vegetables with a dormant period leave dormancy and encounter suitable growing conditions, they will sprout, causing their tubers to lose weight and their quality to decline.

During sprouting, ginger and garlic only consume nutrients, causing the ginger and garlic cloves to wilt and shrivel, and greatly reducing their nutritional value, but they will not produce toxic substances like potatoes do during sprouting. Therefore, sprouted ginger and garlic can still be eaten, but because their nutrients have been consumed, their edible value is greatly reduced.

Warm reminder

Garlic stored indoors in a cool, ventilated place can be eaten after sprouting, but garlic stored in a place exposed to sunlight will turn green on the surface when it sprouts, thus producing alkaloids, and it is best not to eat it.

2. How should scallions, ginger, and garlic be stored?

The storage of vegetables cannot be separated from environmental temperature, humidity, and oxygen, and the storage of scallions, ginger, and garlic is no exception.

Scallions

Scallions are mainly stored dry. Generally, scallions sold on the market have already been dried after harvest. After buying them home, first remove old leaves, diseased leaves, and diseased plants, and decide whether further drying is needed according to the degree of dryness and moisture. When about 70 percent dry, place them in a single layer in a dry, ventilated place. During storage, pay attention to preventing heat and moisture.

Ginger

Ginger is divided into old ginger and young ginger. Old ginger is not suitable for refrigerated storage and can be placed in a ventilated place or in sand. Young ginger should be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated in the refrigerator.

Garlic

Garlic can be placed in a mesh bag, hung indoors in a cool, ventilated place, or stored in a breathable ceramic jar. Some people suggest wrapping scallions, ginger, and garlic in aluminum foil for storage, which is also a very good method.

Aluminum foil can isolate external moisture and oxygen, and can also prevent the vegetables themselves from evaporating water, ensuring that scallions, ginger, and garlic do not become moldy, sprout, or dry out. It should be noted that scallions, ginger, and garlic should not be washed before being wrapped in aluminum foil, and they should be wrapped tightly.

3. The effects and functions of garlic and ginger

1. Effects of garlic

(1) The sulfur compounds contained in garlic have extremely strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and have inhibitory and killing effects on many kinds of cocci, bacilli, fungi, and viruses.

(2) Elements such as germanium and selenium in garlic can inhibit the growth of tumor cells and cancer cells. The population with the lowest cancer incidence is the population with the highest selenium content in the blood.

(3) Garlic can effectively inhibit and kill bacteria and viruses such as Helicobacter pylori that cause gastrointestinal diseases, remove toxic substances from the gastrointestinal tract, stimulate the gastrointestinal mucosa, promote appetite, and accelerate digestion.

(4) Garlic can promote the secretion of insulin, increase the absorption of glucose by tissue cells, improve the human body's glucose tolerance, and rapidly lower blood sugar levels in the body. It can also kill various pathogens that induce diabetes due to infection, thereby effectively preventing and treating diabetes.

2. Contraindications for garlic

(1) Avoid eating garlic when having diarrhea.

(2) Avoid eating garlic on an empty stomach to prevent acute gastritis.

(3) Avoid eating excessive amounts of garlic.

(4) Avoid long-term consumption of garlic.

(5) Avoid external use to prevent skin cracking.

(6) Some people have special reactions to garlic, so if there is discomfort after eating it, they should avoid eating it.

3. Effects of ginger

(1) Promotes sweating and lowers temperature

The gingerol in ginger has a certain stimulating effect on the heart and blood vessels. Eating ginger can speed up blood circulation, open pores, and increase sweating. Along with sweat, it can carry away excess heat from the body, and has a certain effect in preventing heatstroke.

(2) Removes wind-cold

In winter, the weather is cold, and wind-cold colds are hard to prevent. Ginger is a traditional Chinese remedy for dispelling cold. If the body is affected by cold, drinking some ginger sugar water can dispel wind-cold from the body, warm the body, and prevent and treat winter colds.

(3) Strengthens the spleen and stomach

In summer, people often eat cold and cool foods. Although they have the effect of dissipating heat and relieving summer heat, they can also cause excessive cold qi in the spleen and stomach, leading to symptoms such as palpitations and nausea. Eating ginger helps warm the spleen and stomach, preventing the condition from worsening seriously.

(4) Prevents and treats gastroenteritis

In summer, bacteria grow actively and easily contaminate food, causing acute gastroenteritis. Properly eating some ginger or brewing dried ginger with boiling water as a tea drink can help prevent and treat gastroenteritis. This is mainly because components such as gingerol and gingerene in ginger have sterilizing and bactericidal effects.

(5) Removes wind-cold

In winter, the weather is cold, and wind-cold colds are hard to prevent. Ginger is a traditional Chinese remedy for dispelling cold. If the body is affected by cold, drinking some ginger sugar water can dispel wind-cold from the body, warm the body, and prevent and treat winter colds.

(6) Strengthens the spleen and stomach

In summer, people often eat cold and cool foods. Although they have the effect of dissipating heat and relieving summer heat, they can also cause excessive cold qi in the spleen and stomach, leading to symptoms such as palpitations and nausea. Eating ginger helps warm the spleen and stomach, preventing the condition from worsening seriously.

(7) Prevents and treats gastroenteritis

In summer, bacteria grow actively and easily contaminate food, causing acute gastroenteritis. Properly eating some ginger or brewing dried ginger with boiling water as a tea drink can help prevent and treat gastroenteritis. This is mainly because components such as gingerol and gingerene in ginger have sterilizing and bactericidal effects.

4. What foods should ginger not be eaten with?

1. Rabbit meat

Rabbit meat is cold in nature and sour in taste, while ginger is hot in nature and pungent and sour in taste. The two differ greatly in both taste and body constitution, and eating cold and hot natures together easily causes diarrhea, so they are not suitable to be paired. Therefore, it is not advisable to add ginger when cooking rabbit meat.

2. Chives

Chives are warm in nature, can warm the kidneys, benefit the spleen and stomach, and promote qi and regulate blood. Eating more chives can nourish the liver and strengthen the qi of the spleen and stomach. There are many benefits to eating chives, but it is best not to add ginger when cooking chives, because chives turn sour when ginger is added.

3. Celery

Celery is a relatively common ingredient for us. It not only has rich nutrition but also has certain medicinal value. It can nourish essence and boost qi, enrich blood and strengthen the spleen, relieve cough and promote urination, lower blood pressure and calm the mind, and so on. It is very beneficial to health and highly praised by people. But do not add ginger when cooking celery either, because celery has a salty and bitter taste when ginger is added, affecting the flavor.

4. Raw fish

Adding ginger too early conflicts with fish. When cooking fish, adding some ginger can remove fishiness and increase freshness, but if ginger is added too early, the protein in the fish exudate will affect the ginger, preventing the ginger from exerting its fishy-removing effect.

4. Will eating too much garlic and ginger cause internal heat?

1. Garlic

Garlic belongs to the Liliaceae family, is pungent and warm in nature, and spicy in taste. Patients with liver disease should eat it cooked. It contains vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin C, etc., and its extract has antibacterial, antiviral, and blood vessel-softening effects. It helps eliminate liver fire.

2. Ginger

(1) Ginger is divided into two parts, ginger flesh and ginger skin, and their medicinal properties and pharmacology are very different: ginger flesh is hot in nature, while ginger skin is cool in nature. When stewing soup or cooking normally, try not to peel the ginger to avoid internal heat; but if you have a wind-cold cold and want to drink a cup of brown sugar ginger water to relieve the symptoms, it is best to peel the ginger.

(2) Ginger is hot in nature. For wind-cold colds or vomiting caused by stomach cold, ginger brown sugar water will have an effect; but for symptoms caused by heat colds or heatstroke, ginger can only “add fuel to the fire.”