Garlic is a popular plant used in cooking all over the world. It is known to have many health benefits, including improved general health and prevention of the common cold. However, when ingested in large quantities, such as through supplementation, garlic may cause some side effects, two of which are muscle aches and joint aches.
Side Effects
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, garlic typically has fairly mild side effects, including stomach ache and bloating. However, larger doses of garlic can result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headache and even muscle aches. The UMMC suggests that you determine your body's reaction to garlic before mixing it with other herbs, as herbs can interact and cause nasty side effects.
Allergies
Food allergies run the gamut from being very serious -- even deadly -- to fairly mild. Writing for Pain.com, certified naturopath Jannie Davis notes that food allergies can cause headaches, joint aches and muscle aches. If you experience otherwise unexplained muscle or joint aches after eating raw garlic, it is possible that you are allergic to it. Davis suggests that the Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique -- or NAET -- may be helpful in eliminating these aches. NAET treatment consists of applying pressure to particular acupressure points on the spine while you hold vials of a substance you are allergic to, thereby training your body to accept that it is not allergic to the substance anymore, according to Davis.
Nightshades
According to The World's Healthiest Foods website, a group of vegetables in the nightshade family are common culprits for causing muscle and joint aches. Garlic falls into this category of vegetables. Nightshades contain alkaloids known to affect nerve-muscle function, and are thought to be able to interfere with joint function. Cooking can reduce the alkaloid content of nightshade foods, so raw garlic may cause more muscle and joint aches than cooked garlic.
Determination
If you suffer from muscle and joint aches after eating raw garlic, The World's Healthiest Foods suggests that you eliminate it from your diet for two or three weeks. This will be a sufficient time to allow the alkaloids from garlic to work their way out of your system. It is also enough time for you to make a determination about whether your muscle and joint pain has gone or not. If you experience a decrease in muscle and joint pain over this time, consider eliminating raw garlic from your diet.
Tips
If you are experiencing alkaloid side effects, the World's Healthiest Foods recommends cutting green sprouts completely away from any nightshade foods you intend to eat, as these sprouts may raise alkaloid levels, and store nightshade foods in cool, dry areas, as exposure to light may increase alkaloid production in nightshade foods.
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