The Wonders of Garlic
The Wonders of Garlic
The history of garlic and its usage goes back thousands of years for a variety of purposes. The health benefits of garlic for boosting strength, healing and medicinal purposes are well known, well documented and well utilized. Garlic is derived from the old English term garleac, meaning “spear leek” and may be the number one healing plant known to human, dating back to several ancient civilizations.
The botanical name of garlic is Allium sativum, which belongs to the Allium genus of the Alliaceae family. Throughout the history of garlic, the herb has been popular across many cultures throughout the world for various reasons. It is also known by several names, such as: alho, knoblauch, toi, bawang, poondoo, ail, aglio, katiem, thum, knoflook, lasun, chesnok, gratiem, sarmisak, and lehsun. Garlic is also referred to in slang terms as
Here is the skinny on garlic and it’s composition:
· A good source of protein
· Contains minerals, such as calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and selenium
· Contains vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
· Garlic also contains good levels of antioxidants.
· A major importance with garlic is that it contains eighty powerful sulfur-containing compounds. One particular type of such substances is thiosulfinates, which are used consistently in health based and scientific studies.
· For the optimum health and medicinal purposes, raw garlic is the best.
· Besides garlic’s many health benefits, its powerful odor has proven beneficial in repelling and keeping away insects like mosquitoes, fleas, etc.
by Margie Bates