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Garlic Rules

I’ve discussed garlic on these pages in the past, but you can never know too much about this miraculous vegetable. Yes, it is a vegetable in the allium family along with leeks and onions.

The most beneficial way to consume garlic is by crushing it. The crushing action creates a cascade of chemicals activating what is believed to make up the medicinal benefits that include protection against bacterial and fungal infections, blood clots and high blood pressure.

Research at the University of Alabama (UA), published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported that after exposing human red blood cells to crushed garlic, the cells converted garlic-derived components called organic polysulfides into hydrogen sulfide, a molecule that protects blood vessels by reducing inflammation and relaxing vessel walls, thus making this a heart helper.

David Kraus, Ph.D., the lead UA researcher, reports that if garlic is not prepared properly its benefits are negligible or lost altogether. It’s all in the crushing!

According to the textbook "Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy", by Simon Mills and Kerry Bone " when garlic is dried in powered form at low temperatures, the garlic enzyme allinase and the active compound alliin remain intact, converting to allicin in the digestive tract, which is the same chemical chain of events that follows the crushing of a garlic clove. "

So crush your garlic or look for a good natural supplement. I like the brand Kyolic Garlic because its ingredients are organic and they have multiple products for specific conditions. Go garlic!

For more info click on http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729103739.htm

Sources:
"Hydrogen Sulfide Mediates the Vasoactivity of Garlic" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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