Garlic should be a staple in your yearly fight against colds and flu. Its miraculous properties are known to almost everyone, and yet we still do not appreciate it as much as we should. Even if we do not like its specific smell, it is worth breaking through and introducing garlic to your daily diet. Two cloves a day are enough to survive autumn and winter in good health!
Of course, the best results are obtained in the raw form, which retains the most beneficial properties. Of course, not everyone likes to eat it in this form, but there is a way to make it a pleasant ingredient in many dishes – marinating. Here are the benefits of garlic:
- It is rich in B vitamins and vitamin C, as well as mineral salts (chromium, copper, iron, selenium).
- It has bactericidal, fungicidal and anti-inflammatory properties. So it will be helpful with a runny nose, colds and sore throat.
- Valuable properties appear after garlic is crushed – then allin turns into allicin, i.e. juice – a very strong ingredient that, according to research, could destroy an entire colony of bacteria in vitro. It is allicin that is “to blame” for the sharp smell of garlic, which for some is very pleasant, for others even unbearable.
- It has natural antioxidants.
- It prevents cancer by slowing down the time of cell multiplication.
- It works like an antibiotic.
- Eating two cloves of garlic daily helps reduce the risk of bowel, prostate, esophageal and breast cancers.
- It lowers blood pressure and the level of bad cholesterol (although, of course, it will not replace drugs for hypertension).
- Lowers blood sugar.
- It reduces headaches and helps you fall asleep.
The pickled version of garlic is just as effective as freshly peeled garlic. To make the consumption of this intensely aromatic plant more enjoyable, it is best to prepare a tasty marinade:
- Prepare over 20 garlic cloves, 4 kaffir leaves, rosemary needles, chili pepper, 125ml. of water, a teaspoon of mustard, a tablespoon of honey and 5 grains of allspice.
- First, scald the jar and peel the garlic.
- Finely chop the chili pepper.
- Put half the garlic in the jar along with allspice, kaffir, chili. Cover everything with the second part of the garlic.
- Prepare water with honey, vinegar and mustard in a pot.
- Fill the jar with hot liquid.
- Turn it upside down and wait for it to cool down.
- Store an open jar in the refrigerator.
There are many ways to eat garlic – if you are put off by the strong smell from the mouth that will appear after eating garlic, you can try to replace it with garlic tablets, but they do not always contain enough allicin. There are also ways to get rid of the intense smell:
- Drinking yogurt or milk.
- Eating an apple, a spoonful of honey or a grain of roasted coffee.
- Chewing cloves or green parsley.
- Drinking red wine.