Garlic… it may be known for keeping Dracula away, but it also keeps the common cold away! Why is this stinky food used as a remedy for many body ailments? Garlic is one of the oldest medicinal foods known to man and have been used by our ancestors in some form or another to cure illnesses. I used to think my mother was crazy for eating raw garlic to stay healthy, but she was definitely on to something!
A study done by St. Joseph Family Medicine published in American Family Physician July 2012 , reported that taking garlic (180mg as “acillin” – which is the organo-sulfer compound produced when garlic is finely chopped or crushed) for prevention against the common cold, may indeed decrease the frequency of colds in adults. In addition, according to the National Library of Medicine, garlic is widely used for its heart health benefits as well. This includes conditions like atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high cholesterol, heart attack, coronary heart disease and hypertension.
Garlic is also used today by some people for the prevention of several types of cancer which include lung, prostate, breast, stomach, rectal, and colon. According to a study done by the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Chin, they noted that people who ate raw garlic at least twice a week had a 44% lower risk of developing lung cancer. Garlic has also fought brain cancer too as the Acilliin form has been identified to be effective in destroying the cells in glioblastomas, a type of deadly brain tumor.
Because of its antibacterial properties, garlic is also a powerful natural antibiotic. According to a study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Diallyl sulfide, another helpful compound found in garlic, was 100 times more effective than two popular antibiotics in fighting the Campylobacter bacterium which is the cause of many intestinal infections.
So how are you supposed to eat garlic to get the most potency? Studies have shown that even short-term heating reduces the anti-inflammatory effects of fresh raw garlic extracts. For those sensitive to the smell and taste or garlic should ask their pharmacist for garlic supplements or oil which have not been exposed to too much heat.
Check out my favorite garlic juicing recipe from a great juicing blog!
Mega Green and Garlic Juice
Ingredients:
1 Tomato
8 Leaves Swiss Chard
5 Kale Leaves
1 Cup Spinach
5 Stalks of Asparagus
2 Stalks of Celery
1/2 of a Cucumber
1 Clove of Garlic
Handful Fresh Basil Leaves
Send everything through your juicer and enjoy what comes out the other end! A tip for juicing greens, I use a Breville Juicer and I find that if I bunch the greens up and send them through first, the more juicy veggies like the cucumbers and celery and tomatoes will then help push the rest of the nutrients through afterward. I also send my garlic through in a big wad with swiss chard, otherwise it’ll just shoot out the back of the juicer, unjuiced. I also like to sprinkle this juice with some fresh ground black pepper and a tiny bit of olive oil. Yum!
Author: The Pescetarian and the Pig