Sunday, 28 June 2009

• A Clove of Garlic a Day Keeps The Doctor Away?

  
  

  
  I love garlic, probably because as an Italian  my mother has been cooking with it since I could eat spaghetti, but I never realized its health benefits.

  Garlic is one of the oldest known medicinal plants, and it's been credited with fighting heart disease, lowering blood pressure and helping to fight off colds.

  The therapeutic qualities of garlic are nothing new. Sanskrit records reveal that garlic remedies were pressed into service in India 5,000 years ago, while Chinese medicine has recognized garlic's powers for over 3,000 years.

  Although Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 largely took over from garlic, World War One overwhelmed the capacity and garlic was again, the antibiotic of choice.

  So, what is it about garlic that makes it such a boon to our health? When cloves are chewed, crushed or cut, they release a sulphur-bearing compound called allicin the chemical that gives garlic its pungent taste and smell. And it's the allicin that scientists have discovered is the magic ingredient thought to be responsible for garlic's therapeutic qualities.
  

  Most of the modern research on garlic has concentrated on its ability to lower cholesterol and blood pressure as well as offering protection against strokes and heart disease.

  When the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians reviewed data on cholesterol in 1993, it found that after just four weeks there was a 12 per cent reduction in cholesterol levels in the research groups that had taken garlic.

  Regular amounts of garlic seems to also help the body fight off infections. These antibacterial effects were first discovered in the early 19th century during an outbreak of infectious fever. English priests caught the fever but the French priests, who ate garlic every day, remained healthy.

  Don’t wait to have fever to reap the benefits of garlic.

  A recently published study found that a daily garlic supplement reduced the risk of the volunteers catching a cold by half. The researchers also discovered that even when those taking the supplement did develop a cold they were more likely to make a speedier recovery than the non-garlic taking volunteers.

  If that's not enough, just one clove a day will top up your body's supplies of vitamins A, B and C, as well as a vast array of minerals including selenium, iodine, potassium, iron, calcium, zinc and magnesium.

  There is little doubt that a little garlic, every day, can go a long way in helping to protect, as well as boost, your health.

  How much garlic do you eat on a regular basis?  Do you put whole garlic cloves in your food or have the groudn up garlic?

  ZT
  

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