Enhance Your Food & Health With Garlic May 9, 2024 It’s a humble little bulb vegetable, but capable of making a sauce sparkle with flavor to fighting bacteria and disease. Garlic has been a food-superhero for centuries for many cultures around the world. Long before the advent of antibiotics and other pharmaceutical products, garlic was widely recognized for its ability to stave off bacteria, virus, fungi and parasites. It was even used to fight disease during epidemics for typhus, dysentery, cholera and influenza. Garlic’s Benefits “In more recent years, garlic has been shown to offer protections to the heart and can play a role in reducing some cancers. Garlic also can serve as a boost to the immune system,” Robert “Bob” Gleason, PA-C, Main Street Family Medicine. Studies have found that garlic can: Reduce blood pressure by minimizing the constriction of blood vessels. Reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels. Relieve inflammation in muscles and joints. Reduce the itch and swelling of certain fungi like athlete’s foot. Fight intestinal parasites. Minimize some cold symptoms. Prevent or lessen skin conditions like acne, cold sores, psoriasis, rashes and blisters. Ways To Use Garlic Garlic’s antimicrobial properties stem from a component called allicin, which is released when the garlic bulb is crushed. Research found that consuming raw garlic as close to the moment it is crushed is best, because the beneficial allicin compound can lose effectiveness the longer it is cooked. While raw garlic can be added to foods, the cloves can also be eaten like other raw vegetables or crushed and lightly steeped in hot water for tea. “An easy approach to begin adding more garlic to your diet would be to cook with it,” Gleason said. “Consider adding fresh garlic at the end of a recipe rather than at the beginning. This will help the garlic retain its more essential health benefits.” If the taste of raw garlic is too strong for you, you may find garlic supplements to be a better option. Supplements like aged garlic extract have similar health benefits to the actual garlic clove. The amount of garlic per day a person needs to experience its benefits depends on the individual and their specific health conditions. One or two cloves per day (or the supplement equivalent) seems to be an effective dose for most. Problems With Garlic There are drawbacks though. “Garlic serves as a blood thinner, so those already taking anticoagulants or blood thinning medications should avoid quantities of garlic. And garlic can cause gas and acid reflux. Eating too much can upset the intestinal tract and cause painful flare-ups for those with digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD),” Gleason explained. Garlic can also react negatively to some medications and can cause allergic reaction. “As with adding anything to one’s diet, moderation is key,” Gleason added. Plus, garlic causes bad breath and bad body odor, especially when eaten raw, but even cooked garlic and some supplements can affect breath and body odor. “Because everyone is different, I suggest talking with your health care provider about how best to add garlic to your diet,” said Gleason. Try Cooking With Garlic More Often If cooking with fresh garlic is new to you, consider adding finely chopped garlic to a meal or two a week to see how you like it. The addition of minced fresh garlic to soups, sauces, meat dishes and casseroles can add a complexity of flavor to meals and can make eating healthier ingredients like vegetables and legumes more appealing. You might also try recipes that call for raw garlic. For best benefits, chop garlic, let sit for a few minutes and then add it to your meals each day. Marinades and salad dressings commonly call for raw garlic as do dips like hummus, salsa, guacamole or tapenade. Add it to buttered toast, or mashed potatoes, or toss it into pasta sauce just before serving to add extra flavor and nutrition. “When adding garlic and other herbs to your meals, you may find you can reduce the amount of salt you need, which is also a healthier option,” noted Gleason. Robert “Bob” Gleason, PA-C, sees patients at Main Street Family Medicine. He can be reached by calling (541) 451-7940.
