Garlic is Great!

Garlic has been proclaimed a healthful food for quite some time now. It's benefits for a wide range of ailments, from heart disease to being a natural anti-biotic, have been known for at lease 20 to 30 years. But in all that time it's never been really clear why. But now, new research is beginning to discover the scientific secrets of this amazing bulb.

In a study published a few weeks ago in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that eating garlic appears to boost our body's own natural supply of something called "hydrogen sulfide". Our body makes its own supply of the stuff, which acts as an antioxidant and transmits cellular signals that relax blood vessels and increase blood flow.

In this study, performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, researchers extracted juice from everyday garlic purchased at the local supermarket then added small amounts of the juice to human red blood cells. The cells immediately began emitting hydrogen sulfide, the scientists found.

This ability of garlic 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. Other experts beleive that higher hydrogen sulfide might also protect the heart. Used to lower cholesterol levels, garlic has not been consistant in this respect... it seems to work for some, and not for others. But researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine earlier this year found that injecting hydrogen sulfide into mice almost completely prevented the damage to heart muscle caused by a heart attack.

"People have known garlic was important and has health benefits for centuries," said Dr. David W. Kraus, associate professor of environmental science and biology at the University of Alabama. "Even the Greeks would feed garlic to their athletes before they competed in the Olympic games."

But there are a few unfortunate cavets to the use of garlic: The concentration of garlic extract used in the latest study was equal to an adult eating about two medium-sized cloves per day. In the typical American diet, that is an enormous amount. And considering the... ahem... "odeferious" quality of garlic, it could become a social issue for many. In other countries, as Italy, Korea and China, where a garlic-rich diet seems to be protective against disease, per capita consumption is as high as eight to 12 cloves per day.

While that may sound like a lot of garlic, Dr. Kraus noted that increasing your consumption to five or more cloves a day isn’t hard. Chop and use it every time you cook. It can also be easily consumed in snacks like hummus with vegetables.

Home chefs should note however, that immediately cooking the garlic after crushing or chopping it eliminates many of the benefits. To maximize the health effects, you should crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. That triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic.

Unfortunately for some, garlic can cause indigestion. But as noted before, for many the big concern is that it can make your breath smell. In addition, like many strong herbs, the smell will also come out of your sweat glands as well. While individual reactions to garlic vary, eating fennel seeds like those served at Indian restaurants does help to neutralize the smell.