As a kid, one of my favourite smells to drift out from my mom's kitchen was the garlic aroma sizzling in hot oil. The smell whetted my appetite and assured me that dinner was on its way. Back then I never knew that this wasn't just an ordinary flavourful ingredient.
Garlic is a rich source of health protective capabilities, thanks to the presence of sulfur-containing compounds known as thiosulfinates. These active compounds are found to exhibit anti-bacterial, anti-frugal and antioxidant properties.
No wonder from centuries past it had been well used to heal various diseases and today there is an extensive medical literature highlighting garlic's goodness.
When you crush or cut a garlic clove, the odorless amino acid alliin, one of the thiosulfinates, is metabolized by the enzyme allinase to produce allicin and other thiosulfinates that give the characteristic odor of garlic. These sulfur compounds are known to lower high blood pressure and protect the heart by unclogging platelets in the artery.
How To Make The Best of Garlic
Crush It
To reap the wonderful health benefits of eating garlic, the best way is to crush them then baked slightly.
A team of scientists in Argentina wanted to know if cooking will reduce its blood-thinning effects and if crushing the garlic before cooking will make a difference. After boiling, baking and microwaving both crushed and uncrushed cloves of garlic, it was found that when lightly cooked, crushed garlic provides most of the health benefits found in raw garlic. The only exception was microwaving, which stripped garlic almost all of its blood-thinning effects.
It is believed that the crushing enables the beneficial compounds to be released from garlic.
Marinate With Garlic
Cooking food at high temperatures increases its levels of chemical compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which can cause cancerous tumours. Frying and grilling meat is particularly dangerous, because the intense heat turns the sugars and amino acids of muscle tissue into high levels of the HCAs. However there is evidence that by marinating meat before cooking can lower HCAs.
It has been found that marinating steak overnight with barbecue sauce increased HCAs while soaking in a standard teriyaki sauce or a turmeric-garlic marinade cut the HCA formation during grilling. Depending on the cooking time, those reductions ranged from 40 to 65 percent.
To learn more about cancer preventive strategies, head over to the health journal Tips Of All Sorts. To jump-start on a full dietary and lifestyle plan, check out the Total Health Breakthrough.
Garlic is a rich source of health protective capabilities, thanks to the presence of sulfur-containing compounds known as thiosulfinates. These active compounds are found to exhibit anti-bacterial, anti-frugal and antioxidant properties.
No wonder from centuries past it had been well used to heal various diseases and today there is an extensive medical literature highlighting garlic's goodness.
When you crush or cut a garlic clove, the odorless amino acid alliin, one of the thiosulfinates, is metabolized by the enzyme allinase to produce allicin and other thiosulfinates that give the characteristic odor of garlic. These sulfur compounds are known to lower high blood pressure and protect the heart by unclogging platelets in the artery.
How To Make The Best of Garlic
Crush It
To reap the wonderful health benefits of eating garlic, the best way is to crush them then baked slightly.
A team of scientists in Argentina wanted to know if cooking will reduce its blood-thinning effects and if crushing the garlic before cooking will make a difference. After boiling, baking and microwaving both crushed and uncrushed cloves of garlic, it was found that when lightly cooked, crushed garlic provides most of the health benefits found in raw garlic. The only exception was microwaving, which stripped garlic almost all of its blood-thinning effects.
It is believed that the crushing enables the beneficial compounds to be released from garlic.
Marinate With Garlic
Cooking food at high temperatures increases its levels of chemical compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which can cause cancerous tumours. Frying and grilling meat is particularly dangerous, because the intense heat turns the sugars and amino acids of muscle tissue into high levels of the HCAs. However there is evidence that by marinating meat before cooking can lower HCAs.
It has been found that marinating steak overnight with barbecue sauce increased HCAs while soaking in a standard teriyaki sauce or a turmeric-garlic marinade cut the HCA formation during grilling. Depending on the cooking time, those reductions ranged from 40 to 65 percent.
To learn more about cancer preventive strategies, head over to the health journal Tips Of All Sorts. To jump-start on a full dietary and lifestyle plan, check out the Total Health Breakthrough.