For a life full of quality and health, we should include garlic in our vegan diet. This ancient herb with multiple uses and medicinal properties. The bulb contains more than 500 different substances, most of them extremely valuable for our body, and difficult to find anywhere else.

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General information - Description

Garlic is a herbaceous plant originating in India but has been adapted and cultivated all around the world. It is used in almost every traditional and modern cuisine, as it is widely used in Mediterranean, Chinese, and Latin American cuisine. It is also one of the ingredients that the vegan cuisine particularly honors, as it adds intensity, flavor, but also has a beneficial effect on our health.

It consists of bulbs that, when blooming in the spring, reach about half a meter (1.6 ft). It is harvested in the summer, when we unroot it and let it wither to maintain it for longer.

In Greece, about 20,000 tonnes of garlic are produced annually, most of which are of excellent quality.

It has been cultivated since ancient times and people were familiar with its medicinal properties. Excavations in various parts of the world have revealed records of its use since 4000 BC!

It is also known for its use in the tradition of many countries, for protection against vampires, the "evil eye", the Dracula and all kinds of demons. People attributed such power to it, because of its beneficial properties, that superstitions turned it into a magical weapon against imaginary enemies!

Nutrients

Garlic is extremely rich in a wide range of nutrients that are beneficial to our health, and that are not easy to find in foods, such as:

  • Vitamins (A, B, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, and E)
  • Minerals (selenium, iodine, calcium, manganese, iron, phosphorus, sulfur)
  • Essential oils (allicin, alliinase)

Particular reference should be made to the rare substance "allicin" it contains. Allicin is released when cutting the garlic and has a strong bactericidal effect, even if the bacteria are protected by a layer that makes them very resistant to antibiotics. Allicin can easily dissolve the protective layer and stop the development of bacteria.

Garlic - the ultimate medicine

Garlic is considered a superfood, and it has a prominent position. We cannot easily find any other food that contains such a high concentration of nutrients. One of the greatest researchers, Louis Pasteur, was the one who recorded its antibiotic effect in 1858.

Another doctor - researcher, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, used garlic to cure dysentery in Africa and as antiseptic to prevent gangrene in World War II.

In fact, the National Library of Medicine of Maryland has about 125 garlic-related scientific reports, published since 1983.

Summarily, its positive effects on our body are:

  • Antiseptic and antimicrobial activity, protection and treatment against infections (influenza, colds, bronchitis, digestive system infections, tuberculosis, arthritis, typhoid fever, pleurisy, pharyngitis, and laryngitis). Many studies have shown that volunteers taking allicin supplements daily, for 90 days, were almost three times less likely to get colds in the winter, than the ones taking a placebo.
  • Lowering blood pressure and uric acid.
  • Adjustment of lipids and sugar in blood (three cloves of garlic per day can lower cholesterol levels by 10-15%).
  • Helps the development of normal microflora of our body.
  • There are strong anti-cancer indications (stomach, esophagus, and colon). A research published in 2010 in the journal "Nutrition and Cancer" showed that allicin contained in fresh garlic cloves can kill colon, breast, bladder, liver, prostate, lymphatic system, and skin cancer cells. The American Cancer Society includes garlic in foods with anti-cancer properties.
  • Anti-aging action.
  • Protects the nervous and circulatory system, while acting against atherosclerosis.
  • Improves bone health.
  • Helps digestion and protection of the intestines from pathogenic parasites.
  • It improves mood, it has antidepressant action, it reduces stress, and boosts libido.
  • Contributes to good liver and lung function.

Caution: when cooked, garlic loses its amazing substance allicin, and therefore its germicidal effect. Its other properties remain almost unaffected.

Over-consumption and negative effects

Its distinctive flavor and smell make it a very special food. Those who really like it are advised to be careful, as over-consumption of it, raw or cooked, can have some negative effects on their health.

Specifically:

  • It can cause diarrhea and vomiting, bloating, bad breath. It can cause intestine and stomach inflammation, a condition that could later cause stomach ulcers.
  • It can be harmful to the kidneys and destroy the blood cells.
  • It can cause allergic reactions, just like a lot of other foods.
  • It can affect sperm production in men. Eating garlic in normal amounts, as mentioned above, helps to increase sperm motility. However, excessive consumption can have the opposite effect.
  • Prolonged contact of garlic with skin can cause irritation, rashes, eczema, etc.

It should be noted that these negative effects are extremely rare and occur after consuming much greater amounts of garlic than the recommended dose (4 cloves per day), in a minimal sample of humans. The intense flavor and smell of it make most people love it, but they cannot consume large quantities.

Recommended dose

So, we can eat a safe dose, up to 4 cloves of garlic per day, which is a lot for most of us, but not for garlic lovers. Alternatively, we can get garlic oil softgels (the dose depends on the manufacturer), which have the advantage that, if they are of good quality, they provide us with several of the beneficial nutrients, without the strong scent and flavor. Garlic supplements do not contain allicin, which is destroyed during their production.

Maintaining garlic

Garlic should be stored in a cool, dry place away from the direct effect of bright sunlight. It's better to keep it in a closed jar with openings, that allow the air to refresh. Even if it sprouts, it is suitable for consumption and you don't have to throw it away, like many people do (on the contrary, sprouts increase their antioxidant activity).

Other uses

  • Antiseptic preparation: mash 25 garlic cloves and dissolve them in 200 ml/6.7 oz of alcohol. From this mixture, take 30 drops and mix with one liter/33.8 oz of vinegar. That way, you'll have a strong antiseptic for the hands, but also for house cleaning.
  • Asthma medicine: mash a clove of garlic and dissolve it in a liter/33.8 oz of coconut milk. The taste will be just as you imagine it. Very strong. If you can tolerate it, it's certain that it will do you good.
  • Food conservation: garlic makes food safer. We can use it as a preservative in potatoes, in cabbage salads, etc., as it makes them microbially safe.
  • For vampires: mash it and dissolve it in holy water. Throw it on the vampire, before you cut its head off.
  • For the evil eye: we wear as much garlic as we can like a necklace, around our neck and under our clothes. The smell will drive away the evil eye, along with people, and whatever sense of reason and rationality humanity has conquered over the last 1000 years.

Tips to get rid of its strong smell

We can remove its green sprout which contains most of the sulfur compounds, responsible for its characteristic smell or chew gum, parsley, mint or coffee beans after eating it. Apple is also considered the fruit that can almost neutralize the sulfur compounds that cause this odor.

Also, to remove the garlic smell from our hands, we can clean them with lemon or wash them with cold water, rubbing them with salt, then rinse with lukewarm water and soap.

In conclusion

Garlic is the ultimate antimicrobial ingredient. Its action against many microbes is 100 times stronger than the corresponding antibiotics. It is regarded as a panacea, in addition to its antimicrobial and proven anti-cancer action, it repels evil, such as demons, vampires and the evil eye, as the ultimate weapon against imaginary enemies.

In the context of vegan cuisine, we can use it in almost all recipes, as long as we like its distinctive taste and smell.

 

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