The Health Benefits of Garlic - Guest Blogger, Katie Howard

Hi!  I’m Jon’s wife, Katie, and I’m super excited to be guest blogging for him today because I have a “stay healthy” tip I want everyone to know!  

It’s that time of year… the kids are back to school, germs are spreading like wild fire (I teach Kindergarten, so believe me, I know!), and lots of us are coming down with colds and coughs and all sorts of not fun stuff.  

Is there anything you can do to avoid the bugs besides washing hands and getting enough rest?  YES!  Let me introduce you to a super cheap, 4 calorie, immunity-boosting superstar… garlic!

One clove contains 5 mg of calcium, 12 mg of potassium, and over 100 sulfuric compounds powerful to destroy infections, viruses, fungus, and bacteria.  People have been using it for thousands of years… and maybe this is YOUR year to try it out!  I first learned
about it about a year ago and this is crazy, but I haven’t had a cold or anything since then because every time I feel something coming on (you know the feeling- like a little sore throat or a few sneezes), I eat my garlic and lo and behold, I’m fine!

In fact, I know people (and I’m one of them this time of year) who eat a clove (or more!) a day, even if they feel perfectly healthy.  Garlic has other health benefits besides being antibacterial and antifungal - it seeks and destroys free radicals in the body, helps prevent cancer, and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol.  And as if it couldn't get any better- it's so cheap!  you can get an entire clove for less than $1.

When to Eat It

SOOOO with all those benefits, why not give it a try?!  Oh, wait… the smell…  you feel like you’ll be seeping garlic out of every pore in your body?  Okay, I get it.  True, when I eat garlic during the day I do smell it later on (and Jon can say he smells it on me), BUT when I eat it before I fall asleep, I don’t smell or taste anything in the morning.  So there ya go- eat it late at night!

How to Eat It

Listen up, this is important (sorry, the Kindergarten teacher in me is coming out)!  It must be eaten raw, chopped up and fresh!  The special compound in garlic (allicin) that produces all the wonderful benefits is destroyed by heat, so cooking it into things might not be very helpful.  Allicin is released when the garlic is chopped or chewed up… so don’t try to swallow a clove or you’ll be missing out.  

Here are a couple tried and true ideas for making raw garlic easier to take:

You can mince it or chop it in a food processor or with a knife (see below)… and then mix it with hummus or salsa or a spoonful of honey (as long as you chop it up, you could even just swallow it down like medicine), maybe spread it on buttered toast, hide it between 2 apple slices, or create your own interesting way!  I’m a busy working wife and mom to 3 little kids and I don’t even always feel like I have time to chop and do anything fancy so I just peel a clove, dip it in peanut butter and chomp it up in my mouth!  Whew!  It’s hot, but it only lasts a few seconds.  Peanut butter, olive oil, or anything oily like that takes a little bit of the edge off the heat. It’s not always the most pleasant thing, BUT here’s the little saying I made up and say to Jon (cause he’s not always a garlic fan): “Would you rather have a moment of ICK or weeks of SICK?!”  I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the fleeting “ick” any day!

Hope that helps!  Wishing you all a HEALTHY and HAPPY year!  Now go eat your garlic!