GarlicPosted 10 years ago under Food, Health, Natural ingredients, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Description

For a small vegetable, garlic (Allium sativum) sure has a huge, well-deserved reputation. And although garlic may not always bring good luck, protect against evil, or ward off vampires — characteristics to which it has been assigned throughout folklore — it is guaranteed to transform any meal into a bold, aromatic, and healthy culinary experience. Garlic is a member of the Lily family and is a cousin to onions, leeks, and chives.

Garlic is arranged in a head, called a “bulb,” which averages about 2 inches in height and diameter and consists of numerous small separate cloves. Both the cloves and the entire bulb are encased in paper-like sheaths that can be white, off-white, or have a pink/purple hue. Although garlic cloves have a firm texture, they can be easily cut or crushed. The taste of garlic is like no other—it hits the palate with a hot pungency that is shadowed by a very subtle background sweetness. While elephant garlic has larger cloves, it is more closely related to the leek and therefore does not offer the full health benefits of regular garlic.

Fresh, dried and powdered garlic are available in markets throughout the year, however, fresh varieties from California are in season from June through December.

History

Native to central Asia, garlic is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world and has been grown for over 5000 years. Ancient Egyptians seem to have been the first to cultivate this plant that played an important role in their culture.

Garlic was not only bestowed with sacred qualities and placed in the tomb of Pharaohs, but it was also given to the slaves that built the Pyramids to enhance their endurance and strength. This strength-enhancing quality was also honored by the ancient Greeks and Romans, civilizations whose athletes ate garlic before sporting events and whose soldiers consumed it before going off to war.

Garlic was introduced into various regions throughout the globe by migrating cultural tribes and explorers. By the 6th century BC, garlic was known in both China and India, the latter country using it for therapeutic purposes.

Throughout the millennia, garlic has been a beloved plant in many cultures for both its culinary and medicinal properties. Over the last few years, it has gained unprecedented popularity since researchers have been scientifically validating its numerous health benefits.

Currently, China, South Korea, India, Spain and the United States are among the top commercial producers of garlic.

What’s New and Beneficial About Garlic

You can increase the health benefits you receive from garlic by letting it sit after you’ve chopped it or crushed it. If you give your chopped/crushed garlic time to sit before changing its temperature (through cooking) or its pH (through the addition of acidic food like lemon juice), it will give the alliinase enzymes in garlic an opportunity to work on behalf of your health. For example, in the absence of chopping or crushing, research has shown that just 60 seconds of immediate microwaving will cause garlic to lose some of its cancer-protective properties. Immediate boiling of whole, intact garlic will also lower these properties, as will the immediate addition of a very low-acid ingredient like lemon juice.

Some of garlic’s unique components are most durable in food (versus processed extract) form. Allicin — one of garlic’s most highly valued sulfur compounds — stays intact for only 2-16 hours at room temperature when it is present in purified (extracted) form. But when it’s still inside of crushed garlic, allicin will stay viable for 2-1/2 days.

Garlic may help improve your iron metabolism. That’s because the diallyl sulfides in garlic can help increase production of a protein called ferroportin. Ferroportin is a protein that runs across the cell membrane, and it forms a passageway that allows stored iron to leave the cells and become available where it is needed.

In addition to being a good source of selenium, garlic may be a more reliable source as well. Garlic is what scientists call a “seleniferous” plant: it can uptake selenium from the soil even when soil concentrations do not favor this uptake.

The cardioprotective benefits of garlic may partly rest on the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. Our red blood cells can take sulfur-containing molecules in garlic (called polysulfides) and use them to produce H2S. This H2S, in turn, can help our blood vessels expand and keep our blood pressure in check. Interestingly, some processed garlic extracts cannot be used by our red blood cells in the same way and do not seem to provide the same level of cardioprotection that is provided by garlic in food form.

While still in its very early stages, research suggests that garlic consumption may actually help to regulate the number of fat cells that get formed in our body. 1,2-DT (1,2-vinyldithiin) is one of the unique sulfur compounds in garlic that has long been recognized as having anti-inflammatory properties. But only recently have researchers discovered that some of our fibroblastic cells (called “preadipocytes”) only evolve into full-fledged fat cells (called “adipocytes”) under certain metabolic circumstances involving inflammatory system activity. 1,2-DT may be able to inhibit this conversion process. Since obesity is increasingly viewed by researchers as a chronic state of low-grade inflammation, the inflammation-related benefits of garlic’s 1,2-DT may eventually be extended into the clinical area of obesity.

WHFoods Recommendations

With their unique combination of flavonoids and sulfur-containing nutrients, allium vegetables—such as garlic—belong in your diet on a regular basis. There’s research evidence for including at least one serving of an allium vegetable in your meal plan every day. If you’re choosing garlic as your allium family vegetable, try to include at least 1/2 clove in your individual food portion. If you’re preparing a recipe, we recommend at least 1-2 cloves.

Garlic is a wonderful seasoning to add aroma, taste, and added nutrition to your dishes. We often recommend using raw chopped or pressed garlic in many of our dishes to take advantage of the benefits derived from garlic. However, if you cannot tolerate raw garlic, you can add chopped garlic to foods while they are cooking. It is best to add it towards the end of the cooking process to retain the maximum amount of flavor and nutrition

Health Benefits

Whole books have been written about garlic, an herb affectionately called “the stinking rose” in light of its numerous therapeutic benefits. A member of the lily or Allium family, which also includes onions and leeks, garlic is rich in a variety of powerful sulfur-containing compounds including thiosulfinates, of which the best-known compound is allicin, sulfoxides, among which the best-known compound is alliin, and dithiins, in which the most researched compound is ajoene. While these compounds are responsible for garlic’s characteristically pungent odor, they are also the source of many of its health-promoting effects.

More recent research has identified additional sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for garlic’s star status as a health-supporting food. These sulfur compounds include 1,2-vinyldithiin (1,2-DT), and thiacremonone. The hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) that can be made from garlic’s sulfides has also been the subject of great research interest. When produced and released from our red blood cells, this H2S gas can help dilate our blood vessels and help keep our blood pressure under control.

Finally, when thinking about the sulfur compounds in garlic, it is important to remember that sulfur itself is a key part of our health. Several research studies have noted that the average U.S. diet may be deficient in sulfur and that foods rich in sulfur may be especially important for our health. In addition to all of the sulfur-related compounds listed above, garlic is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin B6, a very good source of vitamin C, and a good source of selenium.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Most of the research on garlic and our cardiovascular system has been conducted on garlic powder, garlic oil, or aged garlic extracts rather than garlic in food form. But despite this research limitation, food studies on garlic show this allium vegetable to have important cardioprotective properties. Garlic is clearly able to lower our blood triglycerides and total cholesterol, even though this reduction can be moderate (5-15%).

But cholesterol and triglyceride reduction are by no means garlic’s most compelling benefits when it comes to cardioprotection. Those top-level benefits clearly come in the form of blood cell and blood vessel protection from inflammatory and oxidative stress. Damage to blood vessel linings by highly reactive oxygen molecules is a key factor for increasing our risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and atherosclerosis. Oxidative damage also leads to unwanted inflammation, and it is this combination of unwanted inflammation and oxidative stress that puts our blood vessels at risk of unwanted plaque formation and clogging. Garlic unique set of sulfur-containing compounds helps protect us against both possibilities—oxidative stress and unwanted inflammation.

The following provides a list of sulfur-containing garlic’s constituents that help lower our risk of oxidative stress:

— Alliin
— Allicin
— Allixin
— Allyl polysulfides (APS)*
— Diallyl sulfide (DAS)
— Diallyl disulfide (DADS)
— Diallyl trisulfide (DATS)
— N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
— N-acetyl-S-allylcysteine (NASC)
— S-allylcysteine (SAC)
— S-allylmercaptocysteine (SAMC)
— S-ethylcysteine (SEC)
— S-methylcysteine (SMC)
— S-propylcysteine (SPC)
— 1,2-vinyldithiin (1,2-DT)
— Thiacremonone

* “Allyl polysulfides” is a general term that refers to a variety of compounds.

On the anti-inflammatory side of the equation, garlic’s 1,2-vinyldithiin (1,2-DT) and thiacremonone are the compounds that have been of special interest in recent research. Both compounds appear to work by inhibiting the activity of inflammatory messenger molecules. In the case of thiacremonone, it is the inflammatory transcription factor called NFkappaB that gets inhibited. In the case of 1,2-DT, the exact anti-inflammatory mechanisms are not yet clear, even though the release of inflammatory messaging molecules like interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) by macrophage cells has been shown to be reduced in white adipose tissue by 1,2-DT. The combination of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress compounds in garlic makes it a unique food for cardiovascular support, especially in terms of chronic degenerative cardiovascular conditions like atherosclerosis.

In addition to the ability of garlic to help prevent our blood vessels from becoming blocked, this allium vegetable may also be able to help prevent clots from forming inside of our blood vessels. This cardiovascular protection has been linked to one particular disulfide in garlic called ajoene. Ajoene has repeatedly been shown to have anti-clotting properties. It can help prevent certain cells in our blood (called platelets) from becoming too sticky, and by keeping this stickiness in check, it lowers the risk of our platelets clumping together and forming a clot.

Equally impressive about garlic is its ability to lower blood pressure. Researchers have known for about 10 years that the allicin made from alliin in garlic blocks the activity of angiotensin II. A small piece of protein (peptide), angiotensin II helps our blood vessels contract. When they contract, our blood is forced to pass through a smaller space, and the pressure is increased. By blocking the activity of angiotensin II, allicin form garlic is able to help prevent unwanted contraction of our blood vessels and unwanted increases in blood pressure.

More recently, however, researchers have found that garlic supports our blood pressure in a second and totally different way. Garlic is rich in sulfur-containing molecules called polysulfides. It turns out that these polysulfides, once inside our red blood cells (RBCs), can be further converted by our RBCs into a gas called hydrogen sulfide (H2S). H2S helps control our blood pressure by triggering dilation of our blood vessels. When the space inside our blood vessels expands, our blood pressure gets reduced. (H2S is described as a “gasotransmitter” and placed in the same category as nitric oxide (NO) as a messaging molecule that can help expand and relax our blood vessel walls.) Interestingly, our RBCs do not appear to use processed garlic extracts in the same way that they use polysulfides in food-form garlic.

Garlic’s numerous beneficial cardiovascular effects are due to not only its sulfur compounds but also to its vitamin C, vitamin B6, selenium, and manganese. Garlic is a very good source of vitamin C, the body’s primary antioxidant defender in all aqueous (water-soluble) areas, such as the bloodstream, where it protects LDL cholesterol from oxidation. Since it is the oxidized form of LDL cholesterol that initiates damage to blood vessel walls, reducing levels of oxidizing free radicals in the bloodstream can have a profound effect on preventing cardiovascular disease.

Garlic’s vitamin B6 helps prevent heart disease via another mechanism: lowering levels of homocysteine. An intermediate product of an important cellular biochemical process called the methylation cycle, homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls.

The selenium in garlic can become an important part of our body’s antioxidant system. A cofactor of glutathione peroxidase (one of the body’s most important internally produced antioxidant enzymes), selenium also works with vitamin E in a number of vital antioxidant systems.

Garlic is rich not only in selenium but also in another trace mineral, manganese, which also functions as a cofactor in a number of other important antioxidant defense enzymes, for example, superoxide dismutase. Studies have found that in adults deficient in manganese, the level of HDL (the “good form” of cholesterol) is decreased.

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits Across Body Systems

Our cardiovascular system is not the only body system that may be able to benefit from garlic’s anti-inflammatory properties. There’s preliminary evidence — mostly from animal studies and mostly based on garlic extracts rather than whole food garlic — that our musculoskeletal system and respiratory system can also benefit from anti-inflammatory compounds in garlic. Both the diallyl sulfide (DAS) and thiacremonone in garlic have been shown to have anti-arthritic properties. And in the case of allergic airway inflammation, aged garlic extract has been show to improve inflammatory conditions — once again in animal studies.

Even more preliminary is research evidence showing that some inflammatory aspects of obesity may be altered by sulfur-containing compounds in garlic. Specifically, there is one stage in development of the body’s fat cells (adipocytes) that appears to be closely related to status of our inflammatory system. Fat cells cannot become fully themselves unless they are able to progress from a preliminary stage called “preadipocytes” to a final stage called “adipocytes.” One of the sulfur compounds in garlic (1,2,-vinyldithiin, or 1,2-DT) appears able to lessen this conversion of preadipocytes into adipocytes, and the impact of 1,2-DT appears to be inflammation-related. Even though very preliminary, this research on 1,2-DT is exciting because obesity is increasingly being understood as a disease characterized by chronic, low level inflammation and our inflammatory status is precisely where garlic’s 1,2-DT has its apparent impact.

Antibacterial and Antiviral Benefits

From a medical history standpoint, the antibacterial and antiviral properties of garlic are perhaps its most legendary feature. This allium vegetable and its constituents have been studied not only for their benefits in controlling infection by bacteria and viruses, but also infection from other microbes including yeasts/fungi and worms. One particular disulfide in garlic, called ajoene, has been successfully used to help prevent infections with the yeast Candida albicans.

Very recent research has shown the ability of crushed fresh garlic to help prevent infection by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa in burn patients. Also of special interest has been the ability of garlic to help in the treatment of bacterial infections that are difficult to treat due to the presence of bacteria that have become resistant to prescription antibiotics. However, most of the research on garlic as an antibiotic has involved fresh garlic extracts or powdered garlic products rather than fresh garlic in whole food form.

Overgrowth of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori in the stomach — a key risk factor for stomach ulcer — has been another key area of interest for researchers wanting to explore garlic’s antibacterial benefits. Results in this area, however, have been mixed and inconclusive. While garlic may not be able to alter the course of infection itself, there may still be health benefits from garlic in helping to regulate the body’s response to that infection.

Cancer Prevention

While not as strong as the research evidence for cruciferous vegetables, research on the allium vegetables — including garlic — shows that these vegetables have important anti-cancer properties. Interestingly, high intake of garlic, roughly translated as daily intake of this food, has been found to lower risk of virtually all cancer types except cancer of the prostate and breast cancer. However, moderate intake of garlic, roughly translated as several times per week, has been repeatedly found to lower risk of only two cancer types — colorectal and renal cancer.

This difference between “high” versus “moderate” garlic intake may be a real difference that suggests we all need to eat more garlic if we want to maximize its cancer-related benefits. Or it may be a difference that is more related to research complications involving the options given to research participants when reporting their food intake. Still, garlic has a consistent track record with respect to general anti-cancer benefits, and there are good research reasons for classifying garlic as an “anti-cancer” food.

The allyl sulfides found in garlic may play a key role in its cancer-prevention benefits. These garlic compounds are able to activate a molecule called nuclear erythroid factor (Nrf2) in the main compartment of cells. The Nrf2 molecule then moves from the main compartment of the cell into the cell nucleus, where it triggers a wide variety of metabolic activities. Under some circumstances, this set of events can prepare a cell for engagement in a strong survival response, and in particular, the kind of response that is needed under conditions of oxidative stress. Under other circumstances, this same set of events can prepare the cell to engage in programmed cell death (apoptosis).

When a cell recognizes that it has become too compromised to continue functioning in a healthy manner with other cells, it stops proceeding through its own life cycle and essentially starts to dismantle itself and recycle its parts. It’s critical for a cell to determine whether it should continue on or shut itself down, because cells that continue on without the ability to properly function or communicate effectively with other cells are at risk of becoming cancerous. The ability of garlic’s allyl sulfides to activate Nrf2 suggests that garlic may be able to help modify these all-critical cell responses and prevent potentially cancerous cells from forming.

One especially interesting area of research on garlic and cancer prevention involves meat cooked at high temperatures. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are cancer-related substances that can form when meat comes into contact with a high-temperature cooking surface (400°F/204°C or higher). One such HCA is called PhIP (which stands for 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazopyridine). PhIP is thought to be one reason for the increased incidence of breast cancer among women who eat large quantities of meat because it is rapidly transformed into DNA-damaging compounds.

Diallyl sulfide (DAS), one of the many sulfur-containing compounds in garlic, has been shown to inhibit the transformation of PhIP into carcinogens. DAS blocks this transformation by decreasing the production of the liver enzymes (the Phase I enzymes CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1) that transform PhIP into activated DNA-damaging compounds. Of course, your best way to prevent the formation of PhIP is not to bring your meat into contact with a 400°F/204°C cooking surface in the first place. But this area of research still bolsters our view of garlic as an allium vegetable with important cancer-preventive properties.

Garlic and Iron Metabolism

Recent research has shown that garlic may be able to improve our metabolism of iron. When iron is stored up in our cells, one of the key passageways for it to be moved out of the cell and returned into circulation involves a protein called ferroportin. Ferroportin is a protein that runs across the cell membrane, and it provides a bridge for iron to cross over and leave the cell. Garlic may be able to increase our body’s production of ferroportin, and in this way, help keep iron in circulation as it is needed.

How to Select and Store

For maximum flavor and nutritional benefits, always purchase fresh garlic. Although garlic in flake, powder, or paste form may be more convenient, you will derive less culinary and health benefits from these forms.

Purchase garlic that is plump and has unbroken skin. Gently squeeze the garlic bulb between your fingers to check that it feels firm and is not damp.

Avoid garlic that is soft, shriveled, and moldy or that has begun to sprout. These may be indications of decay that will cause inferior flavor and texture. Size is often not an indication of quality. If your recipe calls for a large amount of garlic, remember that it is always easier to peel and chop a few larger cloves than many smaller ones. Fresh garlic is available in the market throughout the year.

Store fresh garlic in either an uncovered or a loosely covered container in a cool, dark place away from exposure to heat and sunlight. This will help maintain its maximum freshness and help prevent sprouting, which reduces its flavor and causes excess waste. It is not necessary to refrigerate garlic. Some people freeze peeled garlic; however, this process reduces its flavor profile and changes its texture.

Depending upon its age and variety, whole garlic bulbs will keep fresh for about a month if stored properly. Inspect the bulb frequently and remove any cloves that appear to be dried out or moldy. Once you break the head of garlic, it greatly reduces its shelf life to just a few days.

Tips for Preparing and Cooking

The first step to using garlic is to separate the individual cloves. An easy way to do this is to place the bulb on a cutting board or hard surface and gently, but firmly, apply pressure with the palm of your hand at an angle. This will cause the layers of skin that hold the bulb together to separate.

Peel garlic with a knife or alternatively, separate the skin from the individual cloves by placing a clove with the smooth side down on a cutting board and gently tapping it with the flat side of a wide knife. You can then remove the skin either with your fingers or with a small knife. If there is a green sprout in the clove’s center, gently remove it since it is difficult to digest.

Chopping or crushing stimulates the enzymatic process that converts the phytonutrient alliin into allicin, a compound to which many of garlic’s health benefits are attributed. In order to allow for maximal allicin production, wait at least 5 minutes before eating or cooking the garlic. Also observe this 5-minute “time out” period before adding any high acidic ingredient to the garlic (for example, lemon juice). Ingredients with a pH below 3.5 can also deactivate the enzymatic process.

Since crushing and chopping are the food preparation steps that activate garlic’s enzymes, these steps can help you obtain many of garlic’s special benefits. For example, research has shown that microwaving or boiling garlic in uncrushed, whole clove form will deactivate its enzymes, preventing these enzymes from working. For this reason, we recommend that you chop or crush the garlic cloves prior to heating. According to research on garlic preparation methods, it only takes 60 seconds of microwaving whole cloves to lessen some of garlic’s health benefits. By contrast, many of garlic’s health benefits (including its anti-cancer properties) are preserved if the whole cloves are crushed and allowed to sit for 10 minutes prior to cooking.

The Healthiest Way of Cooking Garlic

We recommend using raw garlic in many of our recipes. If it is a cooked dish you are preparing and you cannot tolerate raw garlic, add chopped garlic towards the end of the cooking time to retain maximum flavor and nutrition. Too much heat for too long will reduce the activity of the health-promoting sulfur compounds that have formed by letting it sit for 5-10 minutes; it will also make garlic bitter. Therefore expose garlic to heat for as little time as possible (5-15 minutes).

If you would like to combine garlic with oil, we recommend that you avoid high-temperature heating of this oil-garlic mixture. Keeping the heat at 250F/121C or lower will help preserve the health benefits of both the garlic and the oil. This same principle applies to the oven roasting of garlic bulbs themselves. We do not recommend the 350F/177C temperature range that you will find in many recipes and on many websites. Once again, a lower temperature is needed to help preserve health-protective compounds in garlic.

How to Enjoy

— Purée fresh garlic, canned garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice to make quick and easy hummus dip.
— Healthy Sauté steamed spinach, garlic, and fresh lemon juice.
— Add garlic to sauces and soups.
— Purée roasted garlic, cooked potatoes, and olive oil together to make delicious garlic mashed potatoes. Season to taste.

Individual Concerns

Garlic is not a commonly allergenic food, is not known to contain measurable amounts of oxalates or purines and is also not included in the Environmental Working Group’s 2010 report “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides” as one of the 12 foods most frequently containing pesticide residues.

The Johns Hopkins Lupus Center has recently listed garlic as a food to be avoided by persons diagnosed with lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE). While we have not seen any published research documenting lupus flare-ups with garlic intake, and while the Lupus Foundation of America has suggested on its website that “occasional use is cooking is not likely to cause significant problems for most people,” we have heard directly from website visitors who have experienced problems in this area. If you are a person diagnosed with lupus, we recommend a consult with your healthcare provider to decide about inclusion or avoidance of garlic in your meal plan.

Do not store garlic in oil at room temperature. Garlic-in-oil mixtures stored at room temperature provide perfect conditions for producing botulism, regardless of whether the garlic is fresh or has been roasted.

Nutritional Profile

The sulfur compounds in garlic are perhaps its most unique nutrients. There are literally dozens of well-studied sulfur molecules in garlic, and virtually all of them have been shown to function as antioxidants. In addition, many provide us with anti-inflammatory benefits. The very presence of sulfur in some many different garlic compounds may also play an important role in our nourishment.

Additionally, garlic is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin B6. It is also a very good source of vitamin C and copper. In addition, garlic is a good source of selenium, phosphorus, vitamin B1, and calcium.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our rating chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Garlic is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Nature’s antibiotic

Specifically, it’s the allicin in garlic that makes it function as an antibiotic. Garlic has been proven to kill a broad spectrum of bacteria while keeping the friendly bacteria in your intestines intact. Viruses susceptible to allicin include herpes simplex type 1 and 2, human rhinovirus type 2 and parainfluenza virus type 3, among others.

Another notable use of garlic is its effectiveness in removing parasites. While there are many kinds of pharmaceutical drugs used to remove parasites, they are not always 100% effective. Additionally, they have harmful side effects, and each drug is specific to the type of parasite being treated for. Garlic, however, can be used to treat many types of parasite infections. It helps boosts the immune system, helps cleanse the lymphatic system, has no harmful side effects and is very inexpensive.

More common uses for garlic are for treating bug bites, scrapes, cuts, acne, colds, athlete’s foot and cold sores. Garlic can even be used as a bug repellant. If you don’t mind the scent, make your own bug repellant by pressing some garlic. Add the garlic oil and juice to a spray bottle and fill with water. This mixture can be used as a bug repellant for you as well as in your garden. The garlic concoction will be gentle on your plants but will keep plant-eating bugs away.

All the benefits, no side effects

An additional benefit of using garlic as a natural remedy is there are no damaging side effects. You may experience mild effects such as bloating, abdominal pain and bad breath, but these simply indicate that the garlic is working. These “side effects” are not harmful; they’re just a little annoying. Beware of garlic marketed as “odorless.” Allicin gives garlic it’s potent scent and is also its active ingredient. Manufacturing odorless garlic greatly reduces the amount of allicin, making the garlic of little to no use.

Garlic can be consumed in many forms. It’s best to incorporate it into your lifestyle; this way you’ll reap the health benefits of garlic for a lifetime. Chopped garlic sprinkled over a salad is a great way to consume it raw while adding major flavor your food. Get creative with it and challenge yourself to find ways of eating it raw, so you can experience all the health benefits.

List of health benefits

Rich in allicin

Most of garlic’s greatest health benefits stem from its allicin content. Allicin, which is the origin of garlic’s strong odor, is a sulfur compound that was discovered in 1944 by an Italian chemist named C.J. Cavallito. Countless studies have shown that this compound is a potent antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal and antioxidant, which is why it’s so good at preventing and treating disease. A study published in Nutrition and Cancer in 2010, for example, found that allicin, derived from fresh garlic cloves, could kill colon cancer cells. Moreover, a review published in Leukemia Research found that garlic-derived allicin can treat breast, bladder, colorectal, hepatic, prostate cancer, lymphoma and skin tumor cell lines.

Additional disease prevention

Allicin is also known to prevent countless other diseases. A classic example is the common cold, which remains the world’s most widespread viral infection. Researchers at the Garlic Centre in the United Kingdom found that volunteers who took an allicin supplement daily for 90 days were almost three times less likely to catch a cold in the wintertime when compared to those participants who took a placebo.

Moreover, a review published in Natural Product Communications in 2004 noted that allicin has been “employed to treat infections, wounds, diarrhea, rheumatism, heart disease, diabetes, and many other disorders” and that it has been “evaluated for a number of conditions, including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, intermittent claudication, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, common cold, as an insect repellent, and for the prevention of arteriosclerosis and cancer.” The paper admitted, however, that the clinical evidence is “far from compelling.”

Cardiovascular benefits

The sulfur compounds in garlic have been proven to be effective at boosting heart health. For example, a review published in Current Pharmaceutical Design in 2010, which evaluated the findings of 53 clinical trials that investigated the effects of herbal remedies on hyperlipidemia, noted that garlic was one of the 22 remedies that worked against the condition. Hyperlipidemia, which usually indicates high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, is a major contributor to heart disease and strokes. Therefore, eating more garlic is a great way to protect one’s heart from these serious vascular conditions.

The best way to consume garlic

Since excessive heat can damage the sulfur compounds responsible for garlic’s main benefits, it’s important that the herb isn’t overcooked. The World’s Healthiest Foods website recommends that garlic is eaten raw when possible, but, if that’s not possible or desirable, avoid heating it for longer than five to 15 minutes. Moreover, chopping or crushing the garlic cloves stimulates their allicin production. Some people love to mix crushed garlic with apple cider vinegar since the vinegar reduces its sharpness without compromising its beneficial qualities.

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