Garlic is a root vegetable that has been attributed to the prevention and treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. Classified in the same family as onions and shallots, garlic is also an extremely powerful antibiotic with antifungal and antiviral properties that have been found to be even more effective than prescription drugs in some instances. The compounds and amino acids that are found in garlic are extremely complex, so you will have to familiarize yourself with exactly what these compounds are and how they react with your body, as well as how they react with food and other substances if you wish to use garlic to it’s highest potential.
Can I just Eat Roasted Garlic? It Tastes Better
Although the resulting flavor goes great with so many different dishes, you can’t expect the health benefits derived from roasted garlic to be anywhere near as healthy as that of a fresh garlic clove. This is because of the way the compounds in garlic react to heat, and in order to fully understand this process you will have to first understand what these compounds are, what they do and why the changes they make may or may not benefit your body.
Simple Chemical Breakdown of Garlic
Alliin and alliinase are the two key compounds found in garlic. Alliin is an amino acid, while alliinase is a separate enzyme. When these two compounds come into contact via slicing, crushing or otherwise damaging their cellular walls that keep them at arms length, sulfenic acid is immediately formed. This acid immediately begins to react within itself, forming another chemical known as alliicin.
Alliicin is perhaps the compound that has been most directly attributed to garlic’s health benefits chemically, but it is an unstable chemical and the majority of it’s benefits come from various compounds that it breaks down into as it reacts with your blood stream. When garlic that has been crushed or finely chopped is immersed in water, the alliicin that has formed immediately begins to break down into a fat-soluble polysulfide known as DATS or DADS – these compounds are easily absorbed into the walls of your stomach and travel straight to your bloodstream.
Do Garlic Pills and Extracts Really Work?
If you are considering using garlic pills, oils or extracts to provide your body with an increased amount of the healthy chemicals that are found in garlic, you should first know that any product that uses irradiated garlic will be completely worthless for this purpose. This type of garlic is almost always found in garlic seasonings that come in a powdered form, but you should inspect the contents of any garlic product to determine if it has been irradiated or not before purchasing.
The unavoidable result of any research into garlic thus far has pointed towards raw garlic being the absolute best way for it to be ingested. Still, alliicin, the ‘celebrity compound’ of garlic, has been proven to kill cancer if direct contact is made. Unfortunately, the extremely short half-life of this chemical in your bloodstream makes it nearly impossible for the two to ever meet.
Actual Health Benefits
A few cloves of garlic a day has been proven to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. The chemicals found in garlic also greatly help to cleanse your organs of plaque and other build-ups. Heavy metals that can cause damage to the body in large amounts such as lead and mercury are carried out of the body by garlic, and it is also a powerful antibiotic that can successfully combat many viruses that have grown immune to prescription drugs. Experiments also lead scientists and doctors to believe garlic helps in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
The results you receive can be very different depending on the way you choose to eat your garlic, so remember that you might not wake up feeling like a new person after eating a few rolls of garlic bread. It works great with almost all things BBQ and can be a secret ingredient in your homemade barbecue sauce recipe. Still, any amount of garlic is usually a good thing, so there is really no reason to ever avoid this amazing vegetable.
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