Garlic
Before you start on Garlic, “If we were to design a drug that had perfect properties according to what we know about heart disease and associated risk factors, we couldn't improve on Garlic ,” says Amanda McQuade-Crawford 
Regular use of this herb is associated with the prevention of cardiovascular disease, she explains. It raises protective HDLs (high-density lipoproteins), while it lowers harmful LDLs (low-density lipoproteins) and triglycerides (blood fats). It is also known to help lower high blood pressure, she says. It aids in cancer prevention by raising the body's level of glutathione transferase, a liver enzyme known to detoxify the body of carcinogens, says McQuade-Crawford. In China, researchers found gastric cancer was reduced where the intake of this herb was high. Other researchers have noted improved helper/suppressor ratios of T-cells in AIDS patients who take it regularly. Proven to work against various micro-organisms including bacteria resistant to antibiotics, it is known to be antifungal and antiviral, she adds. To cook it or not to cook it? That's the question. There's a lot of controversy about whether or not the therapeutic properties of this herb keep their full potency when it is cooked. Most people cannot eat very much of the raw stuff. Although I have known two people in my life who could do it. The husband of one of them told her that she smelled like old bologna. And the other one almost always smelled like an Italian restaurant. Not a bad thing if you're a cook but not so good if you're not. Anyway, even though it probably does lose some of its therapeutic value when you cook it, you can certainly eat a lot more of it when it's cooked. So I think maybe you can make up for in volume eaten what you lose because you've cooked it. You could take it in capsules and I know there are many good garlic supplements on the market. But garlic pills just don't compare to the flavor that comes from baking it in the oven or sauteing it in some olive oil and then adding some spaghetti. So if I want to keep my cholesterol and blood pressure low and my heart strong, if I want to keep my colon healthy, if I want to imitate the ancient Egyptians who, even way back then, knew the value of this herb, if I want my house to smell like a home, I'm going to cook my garlic and eat it frequently and in great volume and I invite you to do the same.
Return to Spirituality and The Many Faces of God
|
Growing your own garlic is one the easiest ways to enjoy the fruits of your labor each and every day and keep yourself radically healthy in the process. Take a couple of buds and break them down into cloves. Then, probably in the fall, plant the larger cloves with the pointy end up and at least two inches below the surface. Eat any small cloves you didn't plant. Don't worry about peeling the papery skin off the ones you plant. Mother Nature will take care of that in short order. You'll have to be patient during the winter and early spring but before you know it, you'll have your own supply of the best herb you could possibly use. I invite you to join me in this little experiment and see just how easy it to "grow your own."
