Question
Are there any sources about eating garlic in Judaism? Is it healthy and good for health? any sources?
Answer
We know that our fore-fathers ate garlic in Egypt (Bamidbar 11, 5). The Talmud teaches (Bava Kama 82a) that garlic is healthy and: satisfies, warms the body, makes one's face happy, helps male fertility (and accordingly, should be eaten on Fri. night), kills insects in your digestive tract, and some add, that it brings love and removes jealousy. Jews were even identified as different from gentiles, as "garlic-eaters"! (Mishna Nedarim 3, 10). The Talmud also deals in several places with the unpleasant odor, that garlic causes bad breath.