Garlic - Benefits of Garlic in Home Treatments

Administration of garlic has been shown to be involved in counteracting the carcninogenic effects of acrylamide, a by-product formed during normal cooking processes. The influence of garlic (and onion) as an inhibitor on the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines, which are carcinogenic products formed during cooking and browning of meat, has also been reported. Scientists have long suspected that the active ingredient in garlic is a substance called allicin which provides garlic with its odour and flavour and often described as an antioxidant. "Garlic breath" is an unavoidable consequence of consuming garlic but is one way of knowing the garlic components are circulating in your body. Like Dr. Paul Wargovich of Houston's M.D. Anderson cancer hospital says "If it doesn't stink, it doesn't work."

Home grown garlic, will usually store 4 to 8 months at room temperature and that makes it best for emergency use. Garlic is fairly easy to grow. Garlic can be grown all year round in mild climates. In cold climates, you should start growing garlic in the autumn. To grow garlic, place separated cloves, top side up, six to eight inches apart into the ground anytime after September. This allows the garlic to sprout roots and develop for a little while before the cold winter temperatures force it to curtail its growth and rest. During the resting period it establishes its root system. When warmer weather comes, it then explodes with growth in the spring. Hot weather then forces the garlic to mature. This is the time to harvest your garlic. Pull the bulbs out of the ground and store it in a cool, dry place. The real secret to knowing when to harvest the garlic is to watch the leaves and they'll tell you when to harvest. Garlic leaves signal maturity by beginning to turn brown and dying. The lowest (and outermost) leaves die first and then the rest die from the ground up. The separated cloves can be used for further growth. Garlic likes to be planted in fertile, well drained raised beds so that the bulb itself is up out of the water level and the roots are down in the water. It will grow in flat ground or in pots as long as it is protected from water log and as long as it has enough space to mature.

Although garlic has been shown to provide anticarcinogenic effects to individuals with regular intake of high amounts of garlic, currently there is no claim about garlic intake and cancer risk reduction in food labelling. In countries as Italy, Korea and China, where a garlic-rich diet seems to be protective against disease, per capita consumption is as high as eight to 12 cloves per day. There are too many variables that can affect the chemical composition of garlic, such as the preparation method used (e.g., whether the garlic is raw or cooked, whole, or extracted) and the conditions of cultivation. By knowing a little bit about how Mother Nature designed the human body, you can use your inside knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of your garlic.

To benefit from garlic's health properties, be it anticarcinogenic or antiseptic, the best way is to crush or chop garlic into fine pieces, leave for a few minutes for the enzymes responsible for the formation of allicin to work and then for allicin to decompose to 2-propenesulfenic acid and possibly some of the other decomposition products, then either cook the garlic lightly (heat further stimulates production of 2-propenesulfenic acid) or add garlic towards the end of the cooking stages. Garlic can be added to almost any dish although caution should be exercised as some people can be allergic to too much garlic in the diet. It also beneficial to consume garlic raw and this can be done in dips as done in the Mediterranean diet where garlic oil is used as a dip for bread. Roasted garlic may be delicious but whole bulbs of roasted garlic have little or no health benefits because the garlic was not crushed and so no allicin is formed mainly because the enzyme was deactivated by the roasting heat. You can still make delicious Roasted Garlic by correct preparation and baking at the correct temperatures.