Benefits of eating garlic

Garlic is a spicy vegetable that is not originally produced in China. In fact, there are many benefits of eating garlic. Let us introduce to you the benefits of eating garlic one by one.

garlic

The origin of garlic

Garlic is a spice vegetable native to Sicily, Italy. According to historical records, wild garlic was introduced 3,000 years ago in the Xia and Shang dynasties. It was not until 2,000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty that envoy Zhang Qian brought it from Central Asia via the "Silk Road" to Dayuan in the Western Regions. Because it came from the Hu land, it was also called "gourd garlic", which can be regarded as an "imported product" in vegetables. It can be seen that the "gourd" was called garlic in Tao Hongjing's "Compendium of Materia Medica" in the Liang Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which is the origin of garlic.

If we trace back the history of garlic consumption, we will find some interesting stories. In ancient Sanskrit, it was recorded that garlic was used as medicine. This was attributed to the father of ancient Greek historiography, "Theiad", who described that the ancients knew that eating garlic could strengthen the body and eliminate plague. 5000 years ago, the King of Babylon loved garlic so much that he ordered his subjects to pay tribute to the palace kitchen for cooking various dishes. The whole country was proud of eating garlic. In 4000 AD, the ancient Egyptian King Kufu, in order to build his own mausoleum "The Great Pyramid" to prevent 360,000 slaves from being infected with plague, he had to eat several raw garlics when eating to eliminate plague and poison. In the tomb of the Egyptian King Carmen in the 14th century, garlic burial objects were found, proving that the ancient Egyptians had long known how to use garlic to treat diseases and prevent decay. Ye Mengde of the Southern Song Dynasty in my country once discussed the interesting story of using garlic to treat diseases in his "Bishu Luhua": "Someone was riding a horse in the hot summer and fell to the ground, almost dying. He ordered someone to pour garlic juice on him, and he woke up in an instant..." Therefore, during the Tang and Song dynasties, officials and messengers must bring some garlic with them when they traveled far away to drive away diseases, eliminate disasters and strengthen their bodies. Using garlic to treat diseases has also been discussed in traditional Chinese medicine. In "Sui Xi Ju Diet", it is said that it is "spicy in raw, sweet and warm"; "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that it is "warm in nature, spicy in taste, has the functions of dispelling cold, warming, killing insects, detoxifying, treating colds, nasal congestion, lung deficiency, chronic cough, antibacterial, and stopping dysentery". In addition, books such as "Tang Materia Medica", "Diet Therapy Materia Medica", and "Famous Doctors' Records" all have discussions on this aspect of medicinal effects. According to data, Scandinavians always brought garlic when sailing to strengthen their bodies and eliminate diseases, and to be energetic. Therefore, garlic was also brought to Europe during the Crusades.

The benefits of eating garlic

Garlic belongs to the Liliaceae family. Its skin comes in two colors: purple and white. Both are spicy and fragrant and contain high nutritional value and more minerals. It is measured that 100g of green garlic contains 30mg of calcium, 41mg of phosphorus, 18mg of magnesium, 19mg of sodium, and 0.6mg of iron. If calculated based on 100g of fresh garlic cloves, it contains 4.4g of protein, 3.3g of carbohydrates, 2mg of fat, 0.9mg of niacin, 0.03mg of riboflavin, 3.7mg of thiamine, 10.24mg of VB1, 3mg of Vo and 18 kinds of amino acids. What is more important is that garlic also contains a white oily liquid "propylene sulfide" [（CH2CH2H2）2S] and allicin, which have extraordinary inhibitory and killing effects on a variety of harmful bacteria and fungi, such as Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Vibrio cholerae, and even Staphylococcus aureus. This is because the "alliin" in the garlic body plays a strong enzymatic reaction under the activation of the unique "alliinase", decomposing alliin into allicin, killing harmful bacteria and fungi. According to the latest reports from abroad: The sulfur and double-chain compounds in propylene sulfide are extremely active in chemical properties and are the deadly "nemesis" of many pathogens. This is because it has a unique cell penetration function that can interfere with the normal metabolic function of the bacteria and cause them to lose their activity.

In recent years, medical research shows that the oxygen atoms in the allicin molecule can be firmly combined with the "sulfhydryl" of the cysteine molecule necessary for bacterial reproduction, becoming inactive substances, interfering with the normal metabolic activity of the bacteria, thereby killing the bacteria. Therefore, garlic is called "natural broad-spectrum bactericide" and "penicillin grown in the ground". Clinical trials show that 1 part of allicin can kill staphylococci, typhoid bacillus, etc. to 85,000 to 1,250,000 parts of water. In addition, although the "germanium" element contained in garlic accounts for only 7.5/10,000, it can inhibit the carcinogen "nitrosamine", play a role in cancer prevention and anti-cancer, and also have anti-aging effects. The "selenium" element contained in garlic is the main component of "glutathione peroxidase" (GSH-PX), and its antioxidant capacity is hundreds of times higher than VE, which can prevent excessive oxidation of cells, protect cell membranes, enhance "immunity", and inhibit cancer. According to data from Shandong Medical University: people who eat more than 3 kg of raw garlic per year have a gastric cancer rate that is 1/3 lower than those who eat less than this number. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to call germanium and selenium in garlic the "main force" in anti-cancer in today's world.

Garlic Beef Porridge

Ingredients: 100 grams of fresh beef, 50 grams of raw garlic cloves, a little coriander, 50 grams of rice, and appropriate amount of salt.

practice:

1. Cut the fresh beef into strips; wash and chop the garlic and coriander, and wash the rice;

2. Add appropriate amount of water into the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat. Add shredded beef and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add minced garlic, coriander and salt and serve.

This porridge can assist in treating allergic rhinitis.

Special Warnings

1. Allergic rhinitis is more effective in summer

Allergic rhinitis, which often occurs in spring and autumn, is characterized by cold symptoms such as clear nasal discharge, sneezing, paleness and nasal mucosal edema, and is known as a "winter disease." In summer, the symptoms of coldness and deficiency will basically temporarily "hide."

Summer is not the season for allergic rhinitis, but a remission period. According to the TCM treatment theory of "treating the symptoms in the acute phase and treating the root cause in the delayed phase", to treat allergic rhinitis in summer, you only need to find the right method and the treatment can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

2. Three dietary taboos for allergic rhinitis caused by air conditioning in summer

Allergic rhinitis usually causes sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion when encountering cold air. Although summer is not a high-incidence season, the frequent use of air conditioning in life leads to summer allergic rhinitis.

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