Garlic!
In Part I of this series we looked at the actual current situation with health care in America, the impossibility of purchasing usable health insurance by increasing millions of citizens barely getting by, and what regular people can do to help themselves. Now that increasing inflation is fully evident – mostly due to $100+ a barrel oil – more and more people whose incomes are not increasing as fast as the costs of living will find themselves beneath the floor after “falling through the cracks.”
Thus it is increasingly important for people living on a shoestring budget to take care of themselves – to do what they can to prevent disease from striking, which translates directly into less need for expensive treatment after the disease has them in dire straits. And the best way to do this is to make the healthiest affordable choices for the food you and your family consumes on a daily basis.
If anyone reading has seen the documentary film Supersize Me they are already aware of the outrageous damage to one’s health that consuming a steady diet of good ol’ American Fast Food will do to even the young and healthy among us. The dangers of a high-fat, red meat, white bread and indestructable fries diet provide already rich doctors with a never ending stream of obese, seriously health-challenged patients. Direct contributions of such a diet to liver and kidney disease, diabetes, obesity (and all its accompanying problems), high cholesterol, high blood pressure and other general metabolic disorders should be telling us something about the connection between diet and health that too many in the modern world ignore.
Basically, if your diet can kill you, it can also enrich your life by maintaining your health – You Are What You Eat. One of the oldest, most welcome healthy diet staples is the humble garlic. Recent research has established some of the details about why garlic is so good for us, as reported in the New York Times Health Blog. Seems that eating garlic increases the body’s supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as a potent antioxidant and helps transmit cellular signals that relax blood vessels and increase blood flow.
Boosting the body’s production of hydrogen sulfide could explain why a diet rich in garlic appears to protect against such ailments as breast, colon and prostate cancer and heart disease. It may also help control cholesterol levels as well as boost the efficiency of other metabolic functions. Ancient Greek athletes would eat garlic before participating in Olympic games, and garlic was a staple for warriors preparing for battle.
What’s the optimum health maintenance dose? Well, in some parts of Italy where heart disease is rare, the per capita consumption of garlic is as high as 12 cloves a day. Yet even the consumption of 2-5 cloves a day has significant health benefits in easy reach of the average consumer. The trick is to learn how to use garlic whenever you prepare a meal. If your family is worried about “garlic breath” from such a steady intake, chewing on a sprig of parsley or some fennel seeds after dinner neutralizes that problem. Or your basic mint gum after dinner works as well.
Research hasn’t shown that taking garlic oil or powder as dietary supplements provides the same health benefits, and it isn’t very hard to become a garlic-lover. Below I list some of my favorite ways of getting ample garlic in our diet, I’m sure there are others that readers can provide. All garlic recipes welcome!
Some Ways to Serve Garlic
Roast cloves. This is an easy way to serve garlic as a snack or accompaniment to any meal or all by itself. Just break the cloves off a head of garlic and put into a little oven bowl or pan. Don’t peel those cloves, leave the skin on. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to thoroughly coat the cloves (stirred or rubbed) and bake at 350º for 10-15 minutes. Just let the cloves cool a bit (they’ll be slightly brown) and serve in a bowl from which your family or guests can serve themselves. The roasted cloves squeeze out easily from their skin wrappers and are delicious. I have friends who fully expect me to roast up at least 2 whole head’s worth of cloves whenever they visit, and they’re more popular as a snack item than peanuts or chips!
Roast whole heads. For this one you simply rub off the outer paper skin until the head’s cloves are revealed. Pull them slightly apart without separating them from the base connection, cover with olive oil and roast at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until slightly golden. Serve these whole on the side. Delicious!
Garlic hummus. Hummus is garbanzo bean mush with lemon juice, olive oil and spices added, that is best dipped or spread on whole wheat or multi-grain pita bread, melba toast or crackers. You can buy it already mixed (and add some extra garlic from roast cloves squeezed and mixed in) or purchase hummus powder that is easily prepared any way you like it. We like it strongly garlic flavored and I also add dried chili peppers (high vitamin C and A content).
I also add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic to soups, stews, homemade veggie-burgers and chili. Garlic bread is always a treat, and for this I add large chunks of chopped cloves to my sourdough bread and bake it right in. Wonderful with beer-cheese dip or hummus!
Let’s hear some favorites from the readership!
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