Garlic has been used for thousand of years as a food medicine in many cultures. Garlic has a reputation in folklore for preventing everything from the common cold and flu to the Plague!
Something of wonder vegetable, garlic lowers cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease, fights infection and boosts immunity. It also provides a unique flavor to food and is considered indispensable to many styles of cooking.
It was Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, who first isolated garlic’s antibacterial properties, and garlic juice was used as a common treatment for gangrene during the First World War.
Modern science has shown that garlic is powerful antibiotic, albeit broad-spectrum rather than targeted. The body does not appear to build up resistance to garlic, so its positive health benefits continue over time. As more and more antibiotics are becoming useless due to over-prescription and side effects, garlic could have a role to play in modern medicine.
The antibiotic properties of garlic are a direct result of the allicin produced from raw, crushed garlic. As well as its antibiotic effect, allicin is an excellent anti-fungal and has been used to treat skin infections such as athlete’s foot.
Allicin is destroyed by age and cooking- cooked garlic has virtually no antibiotic value although it still retains other benefits. Regular garlic consumption appears to prevent the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries and may even shrink exiting plaque.
Additionally, garlic is also considered an effective antioxidant that can boost the body’s immune system and may even help prevent certain cancers such as stomach and colon cancers.
Garlic is powerful and needs to be treated with respect, eating too much could produce problems, for example irritation of the digestion tract. Some people prefer to take garlic supplement. Garlic can interfere with operation of anti-coagulants.
If you enjoy the taste of it, use garlic liberally in your food. If the taste and odour turn you off, opt for deodorized garlic capsules. Either way, garlic is good for your health.
Something of wonder vegetable, garlic lowers cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease, fights infection and boosts immunity. It also provides a unique flavor to food and is considered indispensable to many styles of cooking.
It was Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, who first isolated garlic’s antibacterial properties, and garlic juice was used as a common treatment for gangrene during the First World War.
Modern science has shown that garlic is powerful antibiotic, albeit broad-spectrum rather than targeted. The body does not appear to build up resistance to garlic, so its positive health benefits continue over time. As more and more antibiotics are becoming useless due to over-prescription and side effects, garlic could have a role to play in modern medicine.
The antibiotic properties of garlic are a direct result of the allicin produced from raw, crushed garlic. As well as its antibiotic effect, allicin is an excellent anti-fungal and has been used to treat skin infections such as athlete’s foot.
Allicin is destroyed by age and cooking- cooked garlic has virtually no antibiotic value although it still retains other benefits. Regular garlic consumption appears to prevent the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries and may even shrink exiting plaque.
Additionally, garlic is also considered an effective antioxidant that can boost the body’s immune system and may even help prevent certain cancers such as stomach and colon cancers.
Garlic is powerful and needs to be treated with respect, eating too much could produce problems, for example irritation of the digestion tract. Some people prefer to take garlic supplement. Garlic can interfere with operation of anti-coagulants.
If you enjoy the taste of it, use garlic liberally in your food. If the taste and odour turn you off, opt for deodorized garlic capsules. Either way, garlic is good for your health.
Vampires be ware: protects against a host of ills
From SE-Globe Cambodia’s English Magazine.
