It’s no secret that garlic can add awesome flavor to almost any savory dish- and it’s a good thing that the boyfriend likes garlic because I almost always smell like it after being in the kitchen. (Eau de Ggarlic is one of my signature scents. )
One day in the kitchen, prepping garlic, my boyfriend, Aaron saw me cutting the bulbs and removing the little green stem in the middle. “Why are you doing that?” he asked. “Well,” I said, “when my sister lived in France, one of her chef friends told her to remove the stem and it helps in reducing indigestion caused by garlic.”
“That’s a load of crap,” he said, or something along those lines-and of course he is always right so we left it at that. A few days later, watching Avec Eric, (an awesome food adventure and cooking show with world renown Eric Ripert and chef/owner of Le Bernadin) he was prepping garlic in the kitchen, the same way I do and explained the same thing. (If you love cooking shows- Eric Ripert’s is one of my favorites- he not only travels to the source of the food, but also gives little tips and tricks in the kitchen that us normal, non-chef folk might not have known. Check it out!)
“HAAAAA!” I shouted, ” I TOLD YOU SO!” It feels so good to be right some times.
So prepping garlic in the kitchen the other day, I got to thinking. . .I know garlic is good for you, and there are even garlic supplements. But what exactly are the health benefits of garlic? So, I looked it up. Below are my findings. Who knew?
Garlic helps to:
- Treat Hair Loss and reduce blood pressure. Garlic has high levels of allacin, a sulfur compound also found in onions and found to effectively treat hair loss and reduce blood pressure.
- Clear Acne. Garlic has high antibacterial properties. Rub a raw slice on problem spot.
- Prevent and treat colds. Garlic is full of antioxidants. Steep crushed garlic in hot water and make a tea. (Doesn’t sound too good, does it?)
- Remove splinters. It’s an old fold remedy- place a slice of garlic over splinter and cover with bandage or duct tape.
- Sooth psoriasis. Garlic’s anti-inflammatory properties help sooth the affected area. The recommendation I saw said to use garlic oil.
- Athlete’s foot. Again, the anti-inflammatory properties help to sooth the feet. Soak in warm water with crushed garlic.
- Keep mosquitoes at bay. Rub a little on your hands, and neck. (In comes the Eau de Garlic)
- Sooth Cold Sores. Rub a bit on the affected area to help with pain and swelling.
- Treat Garden Pests. Use as a natural pesticide in your garden- mix crushed garlic, mineral oil, water and liquid soap in a spray bottle and mist your plants with it.
And last but not least, my favorite garlic fun fact:
Athletic Performance Can be Improved With Garlic Supplementation
- Garlic was one of the earliest “performance enhancing” substances.
- It was traditionally used in ancient cultures to reduce fatigue and enhance the work capacity of labourers.
- Most notably, it was administered to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece .
- Rodent studies have shown that garlic helps with exercise performance, but very few human studies have been done.
- Subjects with heart disease that took garlic oil for 6 weeks had a reduction in peak heart rate of 12% and improved their exercise capacity.
(Resources- Reader’s Digest and Authority Nutrition)
So, keep using garlic y’all!
xo Kelli
