Thirst after certain foods

[J F]

Shelley, I did knot know where to post this, so please feel free to move it to the appropriate forum if need be.

I had a general curiosity question about certain foods I find to increase my thirst. Specifically, if I have a nice helping of lightly sauteed onions and garlic with my meal, or if I have a certain amount of tahini or sesame seeds or sesame oil at a meal, I notice a strong thirst come up 30-45 minutes after eating. This doesn't happen every time I eat these foods, just when I eat a lot of them in one sitting. I assume nothing bad from the thirst, and just drink a couple glasses of water about an hour after a meal, which seems to alleviate the issue.

Would you know what is in the foods that causes the thirst, what it means, and if it's not uncommon? I'm curious as I have really enjoyed learning about food and it's effects on the body.

[shelley]

Hi JF! I'd say this is the right forum for this question.

The thirst mechanism is interesting. It doesn't seem to work well past a certain age. You certainly cannot rely on it to tell you that you're getting enough fluids.

It makes perfect sense that garlic and onion would increase your sense of thirst because they literally pull moisture out of tissues. They are an expectorant, great for getting mucus out of the body. It doesn't take a very large amount for them to have a therapeutic affect on the body, either, which is why I encourage people to eat onion soup when they have a phlegmy cold.

but it's interesting that sesame seeds do too, because they do the opposite thing - they're a demulcate, which means they tend to coat and soothe irritated mucus membranes.

It's great that you pay attention to your body this way and notice things like that! It'll make vital health soooo much easier to maintain.

[J F]

Interesting. I should clarify that it's not necessarily a "dry thirst", just thirst, if that makes any sense. I am thinking it has something to do with the powerful flavors of sesame, garlic and onion. As in too much of a good thing. LOL If I have a balance of these foods with other flavors, particularly green leafy veggies and maybe broths, I don't notice them as much.

Well, thanks for the compliment on my attentiveness to what my body says to me. I must admit, however, that it often feels more like I'm obsessing over it involuntarily just so I can get on the right track and stay there. LOL

[shelley]

ah, now it sounds more like you're talking about the properties of taste. We tend not to feel truly satisfied with a meal unless it hits ALL of our taste buds. Bitter, sweet, sour, salty, astringent, pungent. It's one of the reasons why Kichadi is so satisfying, it has just about every taste just from the spices, grains and beans, even before you add any veggies.

[J F]

Shelley, is it possible to have too much garlic/onions? You wrote the other day:

"It makes perfect sense that garlic and onion would increase your sense of thirst because they literally pull moisture out of tissues. They are an expectorant, great for getting mucus out of the body. It doesn't take a very large amount for them to have a therapeutic affect on the body, either, which is why I encourage people to eat onion soup when they have a phlegmy cold."

I had onion and garlic at nearly every meal, yesterday. Last night I noticed an unusual dryness and resultant itching in my nose. This morning I had quinoa pancakes and spinach salad for breakfast, not unusual. I added lemon juice and salt and fresh crushed garlic to the oil for the salad. Then, about 45 minutes later I noticed a dryness in the back of my throat. My nose is a little on the dry side, but it's not a bother. The back of my throat, though, feels rough and dry and irritated. I catch myself swallowing hard. It's a bit disturbing. It's gotten dryer in my head and throat over the last 3 hours since I've eaten and I thought I'd ask you if it's possible to have too much of a good thing and react this way. I also noticed on my second visit to the bathroom, today, that it was a little on the soft side, a sign to me that I need to cut back on something.

I've made myself a cup of Yogi Tea's "Echinacea Throat Coat" to try and soothe the membranes. Any other recommendations?

Thanks!
Jelaine

[shelley]

could be you overdid and dried out bit - this is why it's important to be fully hydrated before undertaking pungent/astringent therapy. If the tea has slippery elm or marshmallow that should be fine. And a bit of dairy will help too.

[J F]

Yep, made a lot more sense to me after I typed out to you what I was experiencing. I'd had too little water, yesterday, AND I helped myself to a glass of cranberry juice in the early evening without thinking of it's astringent effects, either. LOL

While this is not a comfortable experience (almost as if you're choking, but you're not), I consider it a wonderful and valuable lesson! There have been times in the past where I feared I was allergic when I'd have sore throat reactions or get mouth sores. I'm learning trial and error that it's not necessarily either, but can sometimes be simply an imbalance in my diet over the course of a matter of days.

Adjustments to a healthier diet don't necessarily all happen in the first few weeks. It does indeed take time to read your body accurately and give it what it needs and when. I should have gone with what I was craving this morning instead of spinach salad. My body wanted steamed broccoli with a little olive oil.

When I started taking things into my own hands back in October, I determined that I was far too acidic, and that my supposed sudden allergies to acidic foods (such as tomato, beef and citrus) were possibly just not tolerable while my body was too acidic, rather than being "allergies". I could feel the over acidity in my body. So, I loaded up on extra alkaline foods for a week or two until I felt a bit more balanced. Then returned to eating the previously offending foods without issue.

As my previous posts in this thread indicate, I've been watching how I respond to expectorant foods, right down to my chicken soup. I assumed that by having a post dinner snack of avocado, I'd take care of any dryness, but I didn't allow for as much water as I'd likely need. When I woke up this a.m. my throat and nose were fine. Actually, I woke up with almost no stuffiness/puffiness/ear tickling, not that it's bad when I get it, anyway. I also slept warmer, which is good since my thyroid/adrenals have been struggling to get back to normal. But, I didn't consider that maybe I should give myself the morning off of the pungents. LOL Cuz, I love them! They really give you quite the boost. They wake you up and get your blood stirring.

Ah, well! The "Throat Coat" is helping. And, I'll have a small bowl of kefir and millet in a bit. And, more water today...........Thanks!

Jelaine