sam sall
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoThe Health Benefits of Garlic (besides the tantalising aroma...)
September 21st 2006 04:33
Category: Nutrition
I dedicate this blog to my pain in the booty little sister who just ADORES garlic. I know what you’re thinking, “Great! Garlic is good for you! What’s wrong with that?” Well I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that: whatever she cooks has to have immense amounts of garlic and she doesn’t even care about her stench afterwards. No worries, she’ll just go straight to work. Forgot to brush her teeth? ‘Who cares’ - she says. I feel so sorry for her boss who has to put up with her in that cosy little gift shop. Could you just imagine the smell!?
But if you eat garlic in moderation (like most sane people) you shouldn’t absolutely reek of it afterwards. But you definitely shouldn’t avoid garlic because of the smell. It has been known to be very good for you in a number of ways. (Besides, if you really think the smell is a problem, opt for the garlic tablets instead!)
Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic is a member of the onion family and is nature's most versatile medicinal plant. Garlic has been used all over the world for thousands of years for a wide range of conditions. It has been prized since the first records of civilization for its uses in treating wounds, infections, tumours, and intestinal parasites.
(1) Garlic has been known to have antibiotic properties and is effective against many bacteria, fungi and viruses. Garlic can be considered a broad spectrum antibiotic and may fare better than prescription antibiotics in fighting ailments. Although, if a particular illness can be targeted with a particular antibiotic, taking the medicine is probably a good idea too. One significant advantage of garlic is that the body does not seem to build up a resistance to it as it does to many modern antibiotics.
The antibiotic properties of garlic are a direct result of the allicin produced from raw, crushed garlic. Apparently, this is destroyed by age and cooking, and cooked garlic has virtually no antibiotic value. Allicin does not occur in "ordinary" garlic, it has to be finely chopped or crushed. The finer the chopping and the more intensive the crushing, the more allicin is generated and the stronger the medicinal effect.
(2) Garlic may also be able to lower blood pressure. This benefit comes more from the garlic sulphides than from allicin. Unlike allicin, garlic sulphides are not destroyed by cooking. Garlic might also assist blood pressure indirectly by helping to manage cholesterol levels.
(3) Garlic can also assist in thinning the blood as it can decrease platelet aggregation. As such, it shouldn’t be taken excessively by those who are already on prescriptive blood-thinning medication such as warfarin, and is recommended not to be taken weeks prior to and following surgery (due to the blood not being able to clot in the event of a haemorrhage).
So get into the garlic health-readers! It has a range of health benefits (only some of which I have listed here), and most of all, it gives a lovely taste to many dishes and compliments a spaghetti Bolognese of pizza like nothing else. And you don’t have to be a Mediterranean food lover to enjoy it – bake it with hearty vegetables such as pumpkin and sweet potato, or fry it with shallots and ginger for the perfect seasoning to fish. YUM!
Image 1 & 2 part of GNU Free Documentation License
References - http://www.garlic-central.com
http://www.primary.net/~gic/herb/garlic.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic
Garlic, broken into its littlle bulbs of joy..
Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic is a member of the onion family and is nature's most versatile medicinal plant. Garlic has been used all over the world for thousands of years for a wide range of conditions. It has been prized since the first records of civilization for its uses in treating wounds, infections, tumours, and intestinal parasites.
(1) Garlic has been known to have antibiotic properties and is effective against many bacteria, fungi and viruses. Garlic can be considered a broad spectrum antibiotic and may fare better than prescription antibiotics in fighting ailments. Although, if a particular illness can be targeted with a particular antibiotic, taking the medicine is probably a good idea too. One significant advantage of garlic is that the body does not seem to build up a resistance to it as it does to many modern antibiotics.
The antibiotic properties of garlic are a direct result of the allicin produced from raw, crushed garlic. Apparently, this is destroyed by age and cooking, and cooked garlic has virtually no antibiotic value. Allicin does not occur in "ordinary" garlic, it has to be finely chopped or crushed. The finer the chopping and the more intensive the crushing, the more allicin is generated and the stronger the medicinal effect.
Crushed garlic brings out the antibiotic properties of allicin.
(2) Garlic may also be able to lower blood pressure. This benefit comes more from the garlic sulphides than from allicin. Unlike allicin, garlic sulphides are not destroyed by cooking. Garlic might also assist blood pressure indirectly by helping to manage cholesterol levels.
(3) Garlic can also assist in thinning the blood as it can decrease platelet aggregation. As such, it shouldn’t be taken excessively by those who are already on prescriptive blood-thinning medication such as warfarin, and is recommended not to be taken weeks prior to and following surgery (due to the blood not being able to clot in the event of a haemorrhage).
So get into the garlic health-readers! It has a range of health benefits (only some of which I have listed here), and most of all, it gives a lovely taste to many dishes and compliments a spaghetti Bolognese of pizza like nothing else. And you don’t have to be a Mediterranean food lover to enjoy it – bake it with hearty vegetables such as pumpkin and sweet potato, or fry it with shallots and ginger for the perfect seasoning to fish. YUM!
Image 1 & 2 part of GNU Free Documentation License
References - http://www.garlic-central.com
http://www.primary.net/~gic/herb/garlic.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic
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u always have such interesting things to say
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