Susan Branson - 101 Amazing Uses for Garlic

INTrODUCTiON

GARLiC, THE BELOVED HERB

Garlic is an herb closely related to onions, chives, leeks, and shallots. It grows underground as a bulb and is covered in papery skin; the bulb is divided into sections called cloves. The cloves are creamy yellow in color, and they are the part of garlic used in cooking and for medicinal benefits. You cant mistake the odor of garlic, and once you smell it, you never forget its uniquely wonderful aroma. When chopped, minced, or pured, the essence is strong, pungent, and spicy. When cooked, the flavor mellows and sweetens.

Garlic contains over two thousand biologically active compounds, but its flavor and aroma come from the sulfur compound alliin. This compound constitutes up to 1.15 percent of whole, fresh garlic cloves, but dried garlic can contain even higher amounts. Alliin is unstable, so as soon as the garlic clove is cut or crushed, the enzyme allinase is released from cells and acts on alliin to convert it to allicin, the odor-forming compound. The characteristic garlic odor can linger on the breath for hours. To reduce the intensity of the odor, immediately consume mint leaves, raw lettuce leaves, or raw apples. These foods have chemicals that can neutralize the odor-causing compounds in garlic.

The sulfur-containing compounds and their derivatives are thought to be primarily responsible for garlics array of biological activity, but other compounds present may also have therapeutic functions. Garlic exhibits antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity. It improves circulation, lowers blood glucose levels, targets cancer cells, and protects the liver and nervous systems. Garlic has been and continues to be extensively researched in the hope of determining the full and far-reaching potential this herb has on human health.

THE UNiVErSAL APPEAL OF GARLiC OVER TiME

Garlic is one of the oldest cultivated plants and originated in Siberia or central Asia more than five thousand years ago. After discovery, its popularity quickly spread to different lands and cultures. Over the centuries, it was used as food, medicine, and money. It even turned up in mysticism and enchantment practices. Egyptians placed clay garlic bulbs in tombs, presumably to be used as gifts for the gods or as funds for the afterlife. This was done in the tomb of King Tutankhamen, for instance. These slaves ate the garlic, believing it gave them strength and sustenance. Not so for the upper class. They preferred to use garlic for medicinal and mystical purposes. One of the oldest Egyptian medical documents, Codex Ebers, mentions using garlic for general malaise, parasites, and circulation disorders.