A Healing Herb - Garlic (Allium sativum)
A Scientifically-Proven Medicinal Treasure Trove
Jul 12, 2009
Garlic contains protein, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamins A, B, B2, and C, calcium, sulfur, selenium, germanium, alliin, aluminum, chlorine, manganese, zinc, copper, and iron. When broken down by the enzyme alliinase, alliin becomes the active ingredient allicin, an amino acid. Crushing or chopping garlic releases the enzyme.
Good for What Ails You
Garlic's volatile oil is composed of sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for its strong odor. Recent studies indicate that some of these sulfur compounds are powerful cancer-inhibitors, preventing cells from turning cancerous by augmenting the body's mechanisms for removing toxic substances and enhancing immunity. The National Cancer Institute has reported that people who ate the greatest amount of onions and garlic had the lowest incidence of stomach, intestinal and colorectal cancers.
Clinical trials have proven that it lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, thins blood to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, and is antibiotic. It's considered as potent as penicillin, but without the side effects.
Garlic is a powerful antioxidant that protects cell membranes and DNA. It enhances activity of white blood cells and T-helper cells, the body's natural killer cells, which are essential to the entire immune system. Studies have shown it stimulates the liver's detoxifying enzymes, which neutralize carcinogens and other environmental toxins.
Garlic increases the flow of blood and lymph, promotes perspiration, expels phlegm and otherwise makes the body unfriendly to harmful micro-organisms. It's regarded as a preventative for colds, flu and other infectious diseases. Recent studies indicate that certain compounds prevent blood clot formation.
Medicinal activity is highest in fresh garlic or garlic oil with a high allicin content.
About the only thing garlic can't do is ward off vampires. It does, however, repel mosquitoes.
Growing Garlic Organically
There are two basic types of garlic: hardneck and softneck, which is the kind that can be braided. Hardneck varieties have fewer bulbs and don't store as well. Don't use garlic purchased at a grocery store; get it from a reputable source or a farmer's market.
Garlic needs full sun and well-drained soil high in organic matter. For the best production, garlic should be planted in the fall. In the spring, bulbs will resume growth and will have larger bulbs when harvested than bulbs planted in the early spring.
Separate the cloves and plant them 2 to 3 inches deep, spaced 6 inches apart, with the tips pointing up. Use only the largest cloves, to produce the largest bulbs.
Garlic bulbs are heavy feeders. Use a nitrogen fertilizer at planting and again when the stalks reach 6 inches. Its shallow root system makes it sensitive to moisture stress, especially from the end of May to mid-July when the bulbs are forming. Water-stressed garlic will mature earlier and produce small bulbs. Stop watering when the foliage begins to wither to avoid stained bulbs and diseases.
Mulch with 3 to 4 inches of any pesticide- and weed seed-free material like grass clippings or clean straw. In the spring, remove the mulch after the last frosts to allow the ground to warm up. Replace the mulch when plants are about 6 inches high to help retain moisture.
Be vigilant with weeding. Garlic can't compete well with weeds and will produce smaller bulbs. Garlic has few insect or disease problems, although various fungi can cause decay in the ground or in storage.
Harvesting and Storing Garlic
Harvest garlic when half the leaves have turned brown. Loosen the soil underneath the bulb and carefully pull up the entire plant by the shoot. Knock off the soil and allow to dry in a well-ventilated room. Leave the tops intact. After curing for 3 to 4 weeks, the roots should be dried. Cut the tops to an inch above the main bulb and trim roots close to the base of the bulb.
Clean by removing the outermost skins and brushing away any remaining soil. Don't wash the bulbs, as the moisture could encourage disease. Garlic stores best as whole bulbs.
Store in a cool place. Hardneck garlic can be stored for 3 or 4 months at room temperature, while softneck garlic can be kept at room temperature for 6 to 8 months. Storing hardneck garlic at 32 degrees F will extend storage life up to 7 months. If the garlic will be used for seed to replant in the garden, store at room temperature until planting.
Proponents advise eating a clove of fresh garlic daily. Heating or cooking garlic inactivates the enzyme, but chopping 10 minutes before cooking will allow allicin to form.
Contraindications
Some people are allergic to garlic. People using anticoagulants or who are scheduled to have surgery should avoid garlic. Pregnant and breast-feeding women shouldn't use garlic in medicinal doses. For diabetics, it can interfere with insulin therapy in medicinal doses.
Otherwise, garlic is one of the healthiest things you can eat and is generally considered safe even in medicinal amounts.
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