I don't know about you, but one of my very favorite aromas is garlic wafting
through a kitchen, especially when it's in a great tomato sauce or stir fried
with some vegetables. Whether it's in a pan with olive oil or roasting in the
oven, the smell of garlic sets my appetite on overdrive!
While not everyone shares my predilection for this odoriferous herb, there
can be no denying that its appeal extends far beyond its smell or taste.
Time and again, garlic has come through as one of the most versatile healing
herbs known to humans.
The value of garlic (Allium sativum) has been recognized since ancient Egypt,
when slaves went on strike to increase their garlic rations. In the 1950s, the
great Albert Schweitzer, M.D., used garlic in his African clinic to treat
dysentery, typhus and cholera.
During the Second World War, garlic was used as a disinfectant for wounds and
as protection against gangrene in injured soldiers.
Now, research is showing that it protects against two of the most dreaded
diseases of our time: heart disease and cancer.
Some have even argued that since our ancestors ate a diet rich in a variety
of plants and herbs now missing in modern diets, we should consider
phytonutrient-rich plants such as garlic to be essential nutrients!
I think this is a great idea, and you can easily incorporate into your own
personal diet plan just by taking aged garlic supplements.
Garlic Basics
Garlic is a member of the lily family. Its genus (Allium) also includes
onions. When a clove of garlic is crushed or chewed, an odorless
sulfur-containing compound, alliin, is transformed to allicin, which gives
garlic its characteristic odor. Allicin is the element of garlic that has been
most intensively studied and which appears to have the most medicinal value.
Allicin naturally breaks down to other compounds, including daily sulfide and
ajoene, which are thought to have unique healing effects on the body.
Garlic Keeps Your Blood Vessels Clear
While early studies on the heart-protective effects of garlic showed that
garlic supplementation tended to decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol and raise "good"
HDL, more recent research has conflicted with those results.
Whether garlic affects blood cholesterol levels or not, it still dramatically
reduces the buildup of plaque (the fatty deposits that clog blood vessels) in
the arteries.
In one study from the journal Atherosclerosis, 152 subjects had the amount of
plaque in two major arteries measured, and then took garlic powder for 48
months. The results showed that the growth of the plaques was slowed by five to
18 percent, and that in some subjects the plaques actually became smaller.
Several studies on non-human subjects show the same trend. It appears that
garlic protects the heart by way of its potent antioxidant effects. Oxidized
LDL, not just LDL, is what causes plaques to grow. In study after study garlic
has shown itself to be a superior preventative against LDL oxidation. Garlic
also protects against clogged blood vessels by decreasing the tendency of blood
to clump or clot.
Garlic Protects Against Infections Of All Kinds
Whether you want to stave off bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic
infections, garlic is good protection. Garlic has been shown in test-tube
studies and animal studies to be deadly to Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria
that causes ulcers, and to the dreaded food-borne bacteria Salmonella, E. coli,
Staphylococcus and Listeria.
Bacteria do not develop resistance to garlic—a good reason to favor garlic
over antibiotics!
Phytochemicals in garlic are also effective at stopping
cold, flu and herpes viruses in their tracks. The growth of Candida albicans,
the fungal yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections and intestinal
candidiasis, is slowed by garlic. Garlic kills parasites such as Giardia and
Entamoeba, both common causes of chronic diarrhea.
Cancer Prevention With Garlic
Studies on gastrointestinal, colon, and breast cancer show that in
populations that consume more garlic, cancer risk is significantly lower. It
appears that phytochemicals in garlic interfere with the growth of several kinds
of cancer cells.
Garlic is also rich in selenium, the cancer-fighting mineral, and in sulfur,
which supports the detoxification process. Several studies have shown that
carcinogenic chemicals are detoxified more efficiently throughout the body when
garlic is added to the mix. It also helps control the production of free
radicals, which have been strongly implicated as a cause of cancer.
Can Garlic Prevent "Senior Moments?"
One interesting study in the journal Experimental Gerontology described the
effects of garlic extract on learning and memory impairment in aging mice. Mice
specially bred to age more rapidly than their normal counterparts were used.
About half of the mice were fed a 2 percent garlic diet for eight to nine
months. It was found that the garlic-supplemented mice better retained their
ability to learn and remember than their counterparts who didn't consume
garlic.
I believe that everyone can benefit from adding garlic to their diets. Cook
with it whenever you can. Fresh and powdered are both beneficial. I also
recommend you take supplemental garlic. The aged garlic extracts, containing at
least 0.6 percent allium, have been the most thoroughly studied.
Margie – “The Arthritis Lady” http://www.yoursuccesslinks.com
