101 Foods That Could Save Your Life

Garlic is a member of the lily family and is closely related to the onion, shallot and leek. There are two common classifications of garlic: hardneck and softneck. Wild garlic is of the hardneck variety; domestic garlic may be either hardneck or softneck. Popular hardneck varieties include Roja, German Red and Valencia. Silverskin, artichoke and Italian are the most popular “softneck” varieties.

Although there isn’t a lot of information about garlic’s history of domestication, inscriptions on the Cheops pyramid in Egypt told of the wonders of garlic. Indians referred to garlic some 5,000 years ago and Babylonians used it 4,500 years ago. Ancient writings tell of garlic’s use in China as far back as 4,000 years ago. The centre of origin for garlic is thought to be a region that stretches from China to India.

China and the United States lead in domestic production. Garlic grows wild in central Asia, predominantly in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Gilroy, California is often referred to as the garlic capital of the world and every year it celebrates by hosting an annual garlic festival.

Though garlic contains many nutrients, you’d have to eat quite a bit to achieve an appreciable level of nutrition. But what garlic lacks in nutritional value, it more than makes up with phytochemicals attributed to protecting your body from harm, such as allicin, a bacteria killer; saponin, a cholesterol soaker-upper; and coumaric acid, a cancer-fighter, to name a few.

Garlic is the original crime fighter! It battles villains inside and outside the body from vampires to the dreaded “evil eye” (malocchio in Italian) to the common cold.

Egyptian slaves were fed garlic to keep their strength up. Roman soldiers ate garlic to inspire them and give them courage.

ANTIMICROBIAL/ANTIFUNGAL AGENT: Louis Pasteur demonstrated how, under laboratory conditions, garlic killed bacteria and acted as an effective antibacterial. The amount of allicin produced in one clove of garlic after chopping was found to be effective against killing vancomycin-resistant Enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in two recent studies.

HEART HEALTH: A randomized, double-blind human study found that after 12 weeks of garlic supplementation, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was reduced by 11 per cent. In another study involving 261 patients, those taking garlic extract for sixteen weeks had lowered their cholesterol levels by 12 per cent and their triglycerides by 17 per cent. A ten-month study evaluated the effect of aged garlic extract (AGE) on the lipid profiles of men with moderately high cholesterol. Platelet adhesion and fibrinogen (makes blood sticky, increasing risk of clotting) was reduced by approximately 30 per cent in subjects taking AGE.

REDUCED RISK OF PREECLAMPSIA DURING PREGNANCY: Researchers in London found that garlic may help to boost the birth weight of babies and decrease preeclampsia complications at birth.

CANCER: Nearly thirty studies have shown that garlic has some cancer-preventive effect. The evidence is particularly strong for a link between garlic and prevention of prostate and stomach cancers.

• A “bulb” usually contains between ten and twenty individual cloves of garlic. Fresh garlic should be plump and firm with tight skin.

• Garlic is also available in powder, flakes and oil form, as well as chopped and puréed versions.

• Store in a cool, dark place—do not refrigerate!

• Frozen: Garlic can be peeled, puréed and frozen for longer storage.

• Peeling, crushing and cutting garlic increases the number and variety of active compounds including an enzyme called allinase that produces diallyl disulphide (DADS). Don’t cook with it right away! Scientists recommend waiting 15 minutes between peeling and cooking garlic to allow the allinase reaction to occur.

• Garlic can burn easily, so brown it carefully.

• Make peeling easy: press a clove with the broad side of a large knife until the skin splits and then it can be pulled off.

• Roasted: simply put unpeeled heads of garlic in a roasting pan, sprinkle with olive oil and rosemary, and roast at 350°F/180°C for 30 to 40 minutes. Elephant garlic is delicious prepared this way.

• Garlic and salads: rub the salad bowl with a cut clove of garlic before putting in the salad greens.