The Smell That Keeps
Vampires, Witches, and Maybe
Even Loved Ones Away!
Food Chatter, Kansas
University Medical Center,
August 1995
Garlic, a member of the lily
family, has been used
throughout the centuries to
treat everything from
toothaches to evil demons.
The Egyptian slaves ate
garlic to prolong their
physical strength while
building the pyramids.
Garlic sales have
skyrocketed as garlic has
been associated with disease
prevention from heart
disease, diabetes,
infection, and cancer. In
1953, the United States
produced about 35 million
pounds of garlic. Today,
approximately 500 million
pounds of garlic are grown
in California per year!
Q. Why should I eat
more garlic?
A. Garlic contains
many active compounds,
scientists theorize. It may
take years of research to
uncover all the useful
properties in garlic.
Allicin, the antibacterial
component of garlic, has
received the most press at
this point in the research.
Cutting or crushing a clove
of garlic results in the
release of allicin.
Q. Should I eat
cooked or raw garlic?
A. If you eat garlic
for its antibacterial
properties from allicin,
cooked garlic will not help
you. Allicin is destroyed by
heat. It would be wise to
eat cooked as well as raw
garlic. Researchers aren't
sure which substances in
garlic promotes health.
Q. Should I take
garlic supplements?
A. Garlic supplements
are food supplements and are
not regulated by the Food
and Drug Administration
unless the manufacturer
petitions FDA to review the
product. There can be
tremendous variation in
composition of garlic pills,
processing techniques used,
and price. 6 Kwai TM tablets
= 1 clove of fresh garlic.
Q. How much garlic is
beneficial?
A. The evidence
available suggests that one
half to one clove of garlic
daily reduces blood
cholesterol levels by about
9 percent.
Q. What can be done
about the odor of garlic?
A. Garlic lovers
beware - the strong
chemicals in garlic always
end up on your breath! Even
if you rubbed garlic on your
foot, it would still end up
in your mouth. (The
chemicals in garlic travel
through the blood stream.)
* Try deodorized garlic. Dr.
Sakai GarlicTM,
1-804-890-0100, and KyolicTM
are brands of odorless
garlic which may be
available in your
supermarket.
* Chew on a sprig of fresh
parsley with lemon squeezed
on it, or eat strawberries
to cleanse your breath.
* Rub your fingers with
toothpaste to remove the
odor.
Q. How should garlic
be stored?
A. Garlic is best
stored in a cupboard or
pantry in a terra-cotta jar
with holes in the sides.
Stored this way it can last
six months. If you prepare a
garlic in oil mixture, be
sure to refrigerate it
shortly after the garlic has
flavored the oil
(overnight). Keep
refrigerated; use within ten
days (or throw away) to
prevent the risk of
botulism.
GARLIC IS BEST USED AS AN
ADDITION TO, RATHER THAN A
SUBSTITUTE FOR, A HEALTHY
DIET!
-
Add a whole uncut clove
of garlic while you
saute onions. When the
onions are tender, use a
fork to mash the garlic.
If the garlic burns
while cooking, it will
have a bitter flavor.
-
Rub the inside of your
salad bowl with a garlic
clove before adding
salad ingredients.
-
Look for cookbooks with
a variety of recipes
using garlic.
-
Write Christopher Ranch,
P.O. Box 2410,
Sausalito, Calif. 94966
and ask for information
and recipes with garlic.
Perfect Roasted Garlic
(recipe courtesy of
Christopher Ranch)
Remove the outer layer of
skin from 1 to 6 garlic
cloves. Cut 1/2 inch off
each head straight across
top and arrange in shallow
baking pan. Drizzle 2 tsp.
olive oil over each head of
garlic. Cover with foil.
Bake 30 minutes at 350
degrees. Remove foil. Bake
30 to 45 minutes longer.
Squeeze onto veggies or
bread.
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