Garlic

Garlic is one of the most diverse ingredients in the culinary world. Garlic is featured in many types of cuisine, from Chinese to Italian to Indian. There are more than 600 varieties of garlic, which can be categorized into 17 subgroups. Garlic tastes great and is great for your health. Garlic was used for healing by the Egyptians and was cherished by the Romans.

Garlic is a way to add flavor to food without adding calories or fat. One clove of garlic has only 4 calories. It's also very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Garlic is a good source of calcium, phosphorus and selenium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6 and manganese.

Garlic helps reduce inflammation in the body and lowers blood pressure. It's also loaded with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, is a natural blood thinner and has a dilating effect on blood vessels.

Garlic has the ability to activate liver enzymes that helps your body flush out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that aid in liver cleansing.

Take whole bulbs of garlic and bake them until they soften like butter. It is delicious on whole grain bread. Add fresh garlic to stews and bean dishes.

While it has experienced overwhelming popularity in kitchens throughout the world, garlic bulb extracts may also help calm the stomach, improve circulation, and support healthy cardiovascular function. In fact, more than 250 publications have shown that garlic supports and strengthens the cardiovascular system.

A flavorful shield against infection, colds, and heart disease, this herb is well worth its lingering aroma (reason why when using uncooked garlic for health benefits to only use a clove you just cut, crushed, diced etc. & not use older garlic or jar minced garlic, or garlic powder etc.)

A piece of garlic with its mesmerizing aroma and the enticing flavor has very impressive health benefits too. It’s all because of a sulphur component that garlic contains called allicin which is a very powerful antibiotic and an extra effective agent to increase the immunity in the human body.

When a garlic clove is cut, the exposure to air releases 200 compounds with myriad medicinal abilities. The compound, allicin, is responsible for garlic’s legendary antibacterial properties. Allicin also keeps fungus and yeast infections in check and significantly increases immunity to the common cold. More important, the stinking rose reduces risk for atherosclerosis, the cause of most heart attacks and strokes, and evidence suggests that it may impede hypertension and cancer. Garlic contains high levels of selenium, which has anticancer efficacy, and components that form glutathione, the most powerful antioxidant the body manufactures, which thwarts cancer and diabetes. (How to save some of the health benefits of garlic during cooking, but you still only use a garlic clove).

CHOOSE IT & USE IT

Use garlic liberally, aiming to consume several cloves a day. Excessive heat destroys allicin, but letting freshly chopped garlic sit for 10 minutes before cooking helps retain allicin’s healing powers. To eat a lot at once, slice the top off of a head of garlic and set it aside for 20 minutes. Then roast it for 30 minutes in a 350° oven, and spread the softened cloves on whole-wheat bread.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT GARLIC:

• April 19th is National Garlic Day.
• Garlic has been used to prevent tick bites.
• The Spanish have long used garlic as a preservative.
• Hippocrates, Aristotle and Pliny cited numerous therapeutic uses for garlic.
• Research has proven that garlic can suppress the growth of unhealthy cells.
• Builders of the ancient pyramids were said to eat garlic daily for enhanced endurance and strength.
• Garlic provides sulfur compounds that are beneficial to the circulatory system and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
• Roman emperors couldn’t eat enough garlic, as it was considered an antidote to poisons which were very popular in certain political circles of the time.
• Garlic is regarded as one of the most effective remedies to maintain a normal blood pressure. It also calms the pulse, supports normal heart rhythm, and relieves symptoms such as: dizziness, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
• Recently, researchers have published summaries of some of the positive data on garlic. They found that garlic is able to stimulate T-lymphocyte and macrophage action, promote interleukin-1 levels, and support natural killer cells. Strong activity of these key cells promotes healthy immune system function, and strengthens the body’s defenses.

ODORLESS GARLIC CAN HELP:

• Support healthy blood pressure & cholesterol levels
• Fight infections
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Purify the blood
• Fight various illnesses
• Boost energy levels
• Regulate and improve intestinal health
• Fight and expel parasites and worms
• Maintain a healthy blood sugar level
• Reduce sensitivity to allergens and strengthen the body’s defenses against allergies
• Boost the immune system by supporting the body’s “natural killer” cells.

AMAZING FACTS

• Garlic is considered both a vegetable and an herb and is a member of the lily family.
• Garlic has been used medicinally for thousands of years since ancient Greek and Roman times.
• Garlic contains 17 amino acids. Amino acids are essential to nearly every bodily function, and make up 75% of the human body. Every chemical reaction that takes place in your body depends on amino acids and the proteins that they build.
• Fresh garlic is an excellent source of allicin, a compound that causes blood vessels to open up so they can carry greater amounts of blood and oxygen to the heart.
• There are over 300 varieties of garlic grown worldwide. One of the most common varieties is American garlic, with white, papery skin and strong flavor. Italian and Mexican garlic have a pinkish-purple skins and slightly milder-flavored varieties.
• Compounds found in garlic also help to prevent platelet clumping. In this way, garlic acts as a natural blood thinner. This is why garlic compounds should be used with caution in people who are taking prescription blood thinners or aspirin.

LET’S LOOK AT THE ADVANTAGES OF GARLIC:

*GARLIC SHEDS CHOLESTEROL FROM YOUR BODY:

Studies around the world says that Dietary garlic in reasonable doses may reduce the high levels of “bad cholesterol” from human body.

* GARLIC IS AN APHRODISIAC:

Generally a mouthful of fresh garlic might not sound like the best start to a romantic evening, but garlic had a reputation as anaphrodisiac (the food of love). This is connected with its classification as a "hot" herb. Tibetan monks were forbidden from entering the monasteries if they had eaten garlic. It stirs up passions due to its ability to increase the circulation.

* GARLIC IS AN ANTIOXIDANT AND POWERFUL ANTIBIOTIC:

Garlic is probably nature's most potent food. It is one of the reasons people who eat the Mediterranean diet live such long healthy lives. A literature search on garlic and its antioxidant potential churned up a surprisingly large amount of data, some of it good, some bad and some of its definitely ugly. Various preparations of garlic, mainly aged garlic extract (AGE), have been shown to have promising antioxidant potential.

So, readers, make your lives extraordinary with slight changes in your diet. Add garlic and feel the change. Be healthy.

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Got info from other sources...some from here:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/healing-foods-garlic-2/

http://www.myhealthtips.in/2013/05/the-healthy-miracles-of-garlic.html