Katarina Rogers is a dietetic student at the University of Nevada, Reno and is our guest blogger this week.
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Garlic is a popular ingredient used in many dishes. In fact, it is a staple flavor for many cultures all over the globe, and it has been for over 5,000 years. It was referred to by the ancient Egyptians, ancient Indian and Chinese cultures, as well as Babylonians. It makes sense that garlic would travel across the globe because of its long life, portability, and resilience to cold. For as widespread as garlic may seem, it can actually only truly grow in the wild in specific parts of Asia. Other varieties of Alliums grow all over, however, true garlic can only grow without human assistance in Central Asia (1).
So why am I talking about garlic today? Not only because I love it and I need to talk about why, but also because so many of us humans on this planet love it. We do! It is in so many staple dishes and can truly define many of the international cuisines. Garlic brings powerful flavor and completeness to a dish: it can be roasted in oil, sauteed with soy sauce and honey, or mixed into a stew.
Garlic is not just an ingredient for flavor and nothing more, it also has a few pretty impressive properties that can affect our health. Garlic contains bioactive molecules that can have a significant cholesterol lowering effect as well as antioxidant, anti inflammatory, procirculatory, and antiplatelet (anticoagulant) properties. There is preliminary evidence showing garlic supplementation can help reduce atherosclerosis, however further research is needed (2).
The myriad health benefits of garlic have been widely thought to be true throughout time and have been used in different folk medicines for millennia. With modern science, researchers have been able to confirm these beliefs but it remains a mystery as to the mechanisms at work to give us all of garlics’ health advantages.
One way to maximize the benefits of garlic in your diet is to add crushed cloves to simmering dishes in the last 6 to 10 minutes of cooking. Doing this releases H₂S donors which are antioxidants your body uses to bind up free radicals (3). Garlic is a great example of using flavor diversity to positively impact overall health. Try this recipe for perfect roasted garlic cloves.
Roasted Garlic
By: Alfred Portale from Bon Appetit, October 2006
Use roasted garlic to make fresh spinach and roasted-garlic custards . Any leftover roasted garlic will keep in the fridge for up to four days. It’s a great addition to mashed potatoes, soups, and salad dressings.
Ingredients
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20 large unpeeled garlic cloves
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1 tablespoon water
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Coarse kosher salt
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Freshly ground white pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place garlic in single layer in small ovenproof dish. Drizzle oil and 1 tablespoon water over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Cover dish with foil. Bake garlic until tender, about 50 minutes. Uncover dish and cool garlic. Peel cloves and mash as needed.
Enjoy a healthy dose of garlic today!
Karen Fisher, MS, RD, LDN, CDE is a dietitian in Reno, Nevada, happily promoting the benefits of healthy foods at her nutrition consulting firm, Nutrition Connection. Find her website at www.NutritionConnectionNV.com
1.https://www.ars.usda.gov/midwest-area/madison-wi/vegetable-crops-research/docs/simon-garlic-origins/
2. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015358
3. https://link-springer-com.unr.idm.oclc.org/article/10.1007%2Fs11886-018-0994-7
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