by Susan Pierson, President
Get the maximum health benefits from garlic!
Now is the time to both enjoy this year’s harvest and plant garlic for next year.
One of my favorite books is Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson which goes into detail about how to select and prepare fruits and vegetables for maximum health and nutrition. You’ll find lots of great information in the well-researched and written book.
In 2001, Israeli researchers discovered that cooking destroys most of its health benefits. Raw garlic contains the ingredients needed to make allicin, its most active ingredients but not the compound itself. The allicin is created when two substances in garlic come in contact with each other when the garlic is sliced, grated or even chew the garlic.
The researchers discovered that heating the garlic immediately after crushing or slicing destroys the heat sensitive enzyme that triggers the reaction and no allicin is created. Only two minutes in a frying pan makes the garlic no more than a flavor, the same as with microwaving for only 90 seconds. But chop, mince, slice, or mash and then keep it away from the heat for ten minutes. During this time, the maximum allicin is created so there is no need for the enzyme.
Using the garlic raw will give its full health benefits.
*Most of the above words are Robinson’s
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