What is that wonderful smell?

I chose garlic for the fall post because the season is for savory cooking and it is near Halloween and we can all use some defense from the wandering vampires. I admit 85% of my meals include garlic, it is one of my go to spices that I know everyone in my family likes, not to mention the aroma when it is cooking is spectacular.

Garlic is part of the onion family, now the breath smell factor is explained. Garlic is native to central Asia, WHAT? It’s not from Italy? Seriously!! Just kidding, I would hazard a guess that there are more Asian dishes that have garlic in them than Italian. In the ancient times the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Egyptians used garlic for medicinal purposes rather than for flavor in food, which makes sense considering the cooking methods of those times and that cooking garlic can reduce some of the medicinal properties.

The skinny on garlic is that 1 clove (3 grams) is 4.5 calories, .20 grams of protein, 1 gram of the good carbohydrate, and all these beauties…manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Selenium, Fiber and trace amounts of calcium, copper, potassium phosphorus, iron and Vitamin B1.

There have been studies that hint to the fact that garlic can boost your immune system, nothing is concrete but, when garlic is crushed it creates a sulfur compound…do you want to know the names? Diallyl Disulfide and Sallyl Cysteine…you have been educated, LOL. Seriously, these compounds have been researched and may reduce inflammation and increase immune system function, again I say nothing is concrete and proven just some research had shown the benefits of these compounds.

There is so much more to explain about garlic and the numerous health benefits…Cholesterol, blood pressure, fatigue, estrogen (seriously!), and a study showed that elephant garlic was more effective than antibiotics in killing e.coli. I would need a large blog and a really good attention span to hit on all of them. If you want more information about garlic and the awesome health benefits it provides contact me and we can talk about it and probably some other wonderful items to include in your lifestyle.

I wish you good health, happiness and peace!!