Garlic, Onions and Smelly Immune-Boosting Foods By Lynda Goldman My grandmother lived to 101. She didn’t know much about nutrition or have a particularly healthy diet. The one thing she did every day was to eat some garlic and onions, probably because she had eaten them as a child in Russia. Maybe her mother knew folk wisdom and gave them to her family to ward off disease; most likely, they were just cheap and available items. I avoided kissing my grandmother because of her “garlic breath”, and pulled the onions out of the salads she served us, because they tasted too strong. Little did I know that I was removing the most immune-boosting foods on the plate. Fast forward to several weeks ago, when I came down with the flu for the first time in 10 years. While lying in bed unable to do much, I checked many of my health and nutrition books, searching for any way to heal more quickly. I rediscovered Shane Ellison’s book, “Over-the-Counter Natural Cures”, and read that when his pregnant wife came down with strep throat, he didn’t want her to take antibiotics. He gave her crushed garlic 3 times a day, and within two day her fever was gone. Encouraged, I decided to try it (maybe my grandmother knew something I didn’t!). I took one spoonful of crushed garlic with food at suppertime, and a second dose at bedtime. As I settled back on my pillow, my nose suddenly unblocked and I started to breathe more easily. I also felt cooler, and took my temperature. I was surprised to see that it had dropped a degree. Normally, temperature goes up at night, and only drops if you take medication. Eating on the Wild Side”, by Jo Robinson, confirmed my experiment. This excellent book is called “the missing link to optimum health.” I found it fascinating because it tells you which foods have the maximum nutrients in any category (eg. what kind of lettuce to buy). Robinson also explains how to store and cook fruits and vegetables for the most nutritional value, so you don’t waste all those valuable vitamins and minerals….or your money! Here’s some fascinating information about garlic, onions, and other smelly foods, from “Eating on the Wild Side”: Lifesaving medicine: Garlic, onions, shallots, scallions, chives and leeks are called “alliums” and have been celebrated throughout history as condiments, and as lifesaving medicine. They were used to treat infected wounds, boost energy, relieve colic and croup, lower fevers, and as a general tonic for colds, sore throat, and earache. Pungent! Wild alliums were more pungent than the ones we eat today. To tame their sharp bite, people mixed them into foods or cooked them in soups and stews, as we do now. Social issues: Even “back in the day” people worried about “onion and garlic breath” and some tribes advocating eating them “only when travelling alone!” Protection against the plague: Alliums were used as medicine around the world. During the Black Death in the Middle Ages in France, French priests who ate onions and garlic were more resistant to the plague than English priests, who turned up their noses at these the bad-smelling peasant foods. Russian penicillin: Garlic was called “Russian penicillin” before penicillin became widely available during World War II. It seems that one milligram of alliums, the active ingredient in garlic, is equivalent to 15 international units of penicillin, and three garlic cloves contain the antibacterial activity of a standard dose of penicillin! No antibiotic resistance: Eating garlic doesn’t produce exactly the same results as a penicillin injection, but it has the edge in one important aspect. Bacteria are much more likely to become resistant to antibiotics than to garlic. Protects from H1NI: In 2009 a small country in Eastern Europe, the Republic of Maldova, issued one onion and several cloves of garlic to each army member to protect against H1N1 flu. Later, a test-tube study showed that quercetin, the main phytonutrient in onions, killed a type of flu virus better than Tamiflu, the main prescription drug for flu! Performance-enhancing substance. Garlic and onions build energy and endurance. Slaves building the great pyramid at Giza were fed onions and garlic to increase their strength. Before the early Olympic Games around 700 BC, athletes were reported to consume pounds of onions, drink onion juice, and rub olive oil and cut onions all over their bodies to increase their endurance and strength. Eat raw, not cooked: You have to eat garlic raw to get the ingredients needed to make allicin, the most active ingredient. The compounds in a clove of garlic are not readily available until you slice, press or chew the garlic. Heating it, including frying or microwaving the garlic, destroys the heat-sensitive enzyme that has all the health benefits. Give it 10 minutes: There’s one way to cook garlic and reap the rewards. You have to chop, mince, slice or mash it and then let it rest for 10 minutes before frying it. This allows time for the maximum amount of allicin to be created, so the heat-sensitive enzyme is no longer needed. Now you can sauté, bake or fry with garlic, and still get all the health benefits. Spice up your foods: Raw garlic is wonderful in salad dressings, dips, salsas and spreads, or any homemade food that you don’t cook, and sliced red onions also add a tang of flavor. Onions should make you cry. Over the year, breeders have developed onions that are sweeter, but the new varieties such as Vidalia and Walla Walla have fewer nutrients. Red onions are generally more nutritious. If you find yourself crying as you slice your onions, you know you’ve made a nutritionally sound choice! One thing for sure: I now incorporate onions and garlic into my diet every day. I also invest in a mint-flavored natural toothpaste, which I use frequently! Want to learn more? Get the free report “50 Shades of Organic” by Lynda Goldman, publisher of Healthy Organic Woman newsletter. The free report and newsletter are waiting for you at HealthyOrganicWoman/go. Lynda Goldman is the publisher of Healthy Organic Woman, a leading newsletter and website for inspiring women to take control of their health. As a copywriter in the natural health industry, Lynda’s clients include integrative and alternative health doctors, nutritionists, naturopaths, health coaches and natural health companies, giving her access to the latest information from experts in the field. Lynda is the author of 32 books by 3 major publishers. Her latest book is called Fresh Customers Daily: 50 Secrets to Marketing and Selling Supplements and Natural Products.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:26:08 +0000
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