The Mighty King of All: Garlic
Written by Asinus Asinum Fricat on May 15, 2008 – 7:52 am -A diet rich in garlic can have a significant positive effect on your health, according to the New York Times. Really? I could have told you that a thousand times! It seems that garlic increases the production of hydrogen sulfide in your blood, which - in the short term - relaxes your blood vessels and increases blood flow.
The power to boost hydrogen sulfide production may help explain why a garlic-rich diet appears to protect against various cancers, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer, say the study authors. Higher hydrogen sulfide might also protect the heart, according to other experts. Did I mention it tastes great in sauces like Aioli?
Garlic evolved as a wild plant in Asia thousands of years ago. It is now found all over the world and is widely used in cooking for its unique flavor. Garlic also has a reputation as a curative for a number of medical problems, hence my good health!
It has been taken therapeutically and nutritionally. Folklore contributes garlic with good luck and protection against evil. The smell was said to ward off werewolves, warlocks, and-of course-vampires.
Benefits from garlic consumption in studies required an equivalent of two medium-sized cloves of garlic per day, and while some countries—namley Italy, Korea, and China—average as high as eight to twelve cloves a day—it may be a lot of garlic by your standards. Then again, if two cloves a day keeps the doctor away, I can deal with the bad breath in other ways.
And here’s a little trivia for you:
An Egyptian papyrus from 1,500 B.C. recommends garlic for 22 ailments. The Egyptians fed it to slaves building the pyramids, to increase their stamina. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was claimed to have more uses; repelling scorpions, treating dog bites and bladder infections, curing leprosy and asthma. In the Middle Ages it was thought to prevent the plague. Research in 1858, by Louis Pasteur, documented that garlic kills bacteria. During World War II, when penicillin and sulphur drugs were scarce, garlic was used as an antiseptic to disinfect open wounds and prevent gangrene.
Tags: Aioli, Condiment, Food, Garlic, Health, Sauce, Spice
Posted in Diaries |
6 Comments
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I eat a lot of garlic, and I’m not afraid of vampires!
Isn’t garlic one of the Necessary Food Groups? I use it in everything, almost - one of my favorite quick dinners is pasta with just olive oil and garlic…lots of garlic. Even my dogs get a little bit of garlic every morning, fresh-pressed over their food, and they love it. With the garlic we don’t have as much of a flea problem, and their coats are glossy, even if their breath is garlicky.
No vampires in this house!
LOL! My partner uses up to 3 heads of garlic when she makes a simple garlic pasta! No vampire need apply either!
I was in the garlic capitol of the US in December, Gilroy, CA and EVERYTHING is garlic. It even smells like garlic. I love it. Couldn’t find any garlic ice cream there though. I hear it’s really good. I would think roasted garlic ice cream would be nice.
Have any of you made the 50 garlic chicken?
No but my partner does the 100 plus gasrlic cloves pasta pesto, which is, well, garlicky.
There’s a garlic festival up on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington (state)–Oysterville, or thereabouts, I believe–where garlic ice cream is served. I’ve never tried it, but I must admit, it’s an intriguing idea.