Maybe you’ve been on a plane. Or in a restaurant or mall. The sound in the air isn’t music playing. It’s the never-ending hacking of those, who are suffering with colds.
Unfortunately, for the past two weeks, I’ve been recuperating from my own monstrous, end-of-winter upper respiratory bug. (That’s why I had to take time to recuperate and therefore haven’t posted lately. There’s nothing like getting sick to make you do lots of planning. So I’ve laying the groundwork for some exciting programs. Stay tuned for details.)
[shareable cite=”Connie Bennett, The Cravings Ninja™”]Garlic is a powerhouse that’s packed with antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.”[/shareable]Lately, since I eat so healthily, I’m trying to figure out what I could have done differently (other than those couple of nights when I didn’t get enough sleep). Oops. I overlooked garlic. I just couldn’t follow my friend’s advice to inhale it before catching a plane. (No one would have wanted to sit near me!)
Now I want to share some fascinating facts about this powerhouse, which I’ve been putting into in soups for the last couple of days.
Indeed, garlic is a great way to avoid your dripping nose and loud cough in the first place.
Indeed, according to a study done by British scientists who tracked 146 healthy adults over 12 weeks, those who selected to receive a daily garlic supplement came down with 24 colds during the study period, compared twitch 65 colds in the placebo group.
Here are some juicy tidbits about garlic and why it’s one of your best stay-healthy weapons:
- Garlic is a superfood, along with onions, scallions, chives and leeks.
- Garlic is considered one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, and it was once thought to have both sacred and healing properties. Slaves who built the Egyptian pyramids were even given garlic to keep up their strength and endurance, as were ancient athletes and soldiers.
- Garlic is packed with antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties, which is what you need to turbo charge your immune system. Science hasn’t pinpointed why garlic interrupts colds and flus (more on that later), but it has to do with its vitamin C, enzymes and minerals (sulphur and selenium) and other properties.
- Garlic is loaded with things your body might be lacking such as manganese, calcium, phosphorus, selenium and vitamins B6 and the above mentioned C.
- Make sure not to overcook garlic, because doing so can destroy important compounds and enzymes.
- When you crush fresh garlic (chopping or mincing is fine, too) or bite into it (wow, what a potent thing to do!) releases allicin, a powerful antibacterial that’s present right afterwards.
- It’s best to eat garlic raw, crushed, diced or minced, but not cooked.
- You also can sprinkle garlic on your veggies or other cooked dishes.
- You can even choose to just peel and eat raw garlic.
So what do you do if you already have the flu?
Let’s say you’re around someone, who has the flu and you’re worried about catching it. Doctors say that eating garlic can help you destroy the flu virus before it turns into a full-blown body attack.
In this case, chew a raw clove every three or four hours. If you can’t stand the taste, you can cut the garlic into small pieces and swallow them down like pills.
If you already have a cold, garlic can still help you. Add two or three cloves to every meal during your cold. An easy way to do this if you don’t feel good is to add it to soups or broths as I’ve been doing. Or crush it and use it to season meats or veggies.
In short, garlic can help avoid or deal with a nasty cold or flu bug.
I’m off to go nosh on some garlic now?
Talk to us. What do you think of this tip? Have you used garlic lately? How did it work?