The Therapeutic Benefits Of Garlic For The Heart

There are about 20 different names for garlic as a supplement, and there are probably even more therapeutic uses for this popular herb. Though it is most widely known for its use in cooking, it has also been used in the prevention and treatment of a wide array of health conditions. Both the fresh clove itself and/or supplements created from the clove have been used therapeutically for years.

How Garlic Works

The garlic herb produces allicin, a natural chemical that gives garlic its smell and is also what is thought to make it work therapeutically for certain health conditions. There are some garlic products that age garlic in order to make it odorless, however, the process of doing so can take away from its overall potency and lessen its therapeutic effects. Many experts recommend the use of garlic supplements with enteric coating because this ensures that the herb is dissolved in the intestine instead of in the stomach.

Why Fresh Garlic Is Best For Your Heart

Since at least 1500 B.C., garlic has been used by many Chinese and Indian healers for its blood thinning benefits. More recently, experts have confirmed that fresh garlic can help protect your heart because it releases a short-lived gas called hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide in small amounts functions as “an intracellular signaling compound” which helps to protect your heart, but when garlic is cooked, processed, or dried, the hydrogen sulfide gas disappears.

The Heart Health Benefits Of Garlic

Prevention Of Heart Disease And Lowering Cholesterol

The garlic clove can play a significant role in the reduction of risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and even heart attacks. Cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, which causes more American deaths than any other medical condition. Because garlic is effective at lowering cholesterol levels, it can help lower your risk of developing heart disease.

A study done by the Mayo Clinic revealed these benefits of garlic:

• Decrease of LDL cholesterol levels by up to 10 mg/dL


• Decrease of triglyceride levels can by up to 20 mg/dL.


• HDL cholesterol levels are not significantly affected

Antioxidants

Other than cholesterol lowering benefits, garlic also contains powerful antioxidants that can further help heart health. Garlic naturally contains a number of powerful antioxidants, which are compounds that help prevent oxidation. Oxidation is a potentially harmful process in your body.

One of the antioxidants contained in garlic is selenium. Selenium is mineral that is also a component of glutathione peroxidase. This powerful antioxidant is made by your body in order to defend itself. The glutathione peroxidase works with the vitamin E in your body to help form an “antioxidant defense system.” This helps to keep to your blood clean.

Quercetin

Garlic also offers other antioxidants such as vitamin C, which can reduce damage caused by high cholesterol, and the phytochemical quercetin. Phytochemicals are important chemical substances found naturally in certain plants and hold significant health benefits for humans.

In 2004, British researchers found that subjects who took quercetin supplements had reduced platelet aggregation, which suggests that quercetin, could reduce the risk of blood clotting.

Greek cardiologists provided evidence that a polyphenol extract rich in quercetin improved endothelial health due to the quercetin’s ability to increase flow-mediated dilation of major arteries, which is evidence of improved endothelial health.

A study conducted at the University of Utah in 2007 used 19 test subjects with pre-hypertension and 22 with stage 1 (early) hypertension. Some subjects received a placebo while the others took 730 mg quercetin per day for 28 days. No effect was seen with the pre-hypertensive patients, but those with hypertension had meaningful reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Another randomized study conducted in 2008 that included a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 12 healthy men showed biochemical evidence of improved endothelial function with the intake of as little as 200 mg per day of quercetin.

Garlic Usage Tips

A lot of evidence exists as to the therapeutic benefits of garlic for heart health. Remember that fresh garlic is the best form of garlic to use if you want to receive the maximum heart health benefits.

Consume garlic soon after peeling in raw form. Fresh raw garlic can be used and enjoyed in various recipes. It can be sprinkled over scrambled eggs, steamed vegetables or pasta. When ground to paste form it is even more versatile and can be spread on whole grain bread as a super healthy condiment.

Mushrooms and garlic go great together. Bake your mushrooms with a little olive oil and capers, and then once out of the oven sprinkle fresh garlic, chopped parsley and a dash of fresh lemon juice, mix it up and enjoy!

Supplementation is always an option, ask your doctor about its benefits for you.

Source by J Russell Hart

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Rhubarb Fool with Strawberries

A fool is a classic British dessert that’s usually made with whipped cream and cooked fruit. Try my quick version with rhubarb and berries. —Cheryl Miller, Fort Collins, Colorado







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Your Microbiome and Obesity

There has been a plethora of interest in the human microbiome as of late. In fact, barely a week ago, a new study was published, which showed that mice who drank water (laced with huger-suppressing bacteria) ate less, had lower body fat, and staved off diabetes – even when consuming a poor diet.1 This is […]

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1000 Paleo Recipes

1000 Paleo Recipes

http://ift.tt/12GMAhk – 1000 Paleo Recipes book 1000 Paleo Recipes



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Best Chest Exercises for Women: Lift Breasts Naturally

Best Chest Exercises for Women: Lift Breasts Naturally

Nikki has three exercises for your to help tone, firm and lift your chest, the natural way. Subscribe to our newsletter for behind-the-scenes updates on our participants' pain and gain http://goo.g…



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[Recipe] I just saw a request for a Japanese curry recipe, and provided my paleo version. Here it is for you guys, too!

I'm going to copy/paste from an email I sent to my family about my basically Paleo Japanese curry recipe. It's awesome (to me), and it's at least a great starting point. Feel free to adapt and change however you want.

N.B. The Amazon links are all non-ref, but they are Smile links.

---

Hey all,

I feel like I've finally hit on a good way to make curry and I'd like to share the recipe. Obviously, this is highly configurable as far as what main ingredients you add, but the first part (the roux) is absolutely critical foundation to making it "right" and shouldn't be modified too much.

TO make the roux:

• curry powder (I use S&B spicy curry powder, see P.S.) (side note: I've only ever used the dark red tin and I don't know if the yellow tin is the same stuff or not)


• coconut flour (or regular wheat flour, but amounts will prob be different) (I'm pretty sure it's not Red Mill, but I can't remember brand)


• soy sauce (I use Tamari, which is gluten-free)


• butter or oil (I use coconut oil)


• (optional) shaved/grated 1/2 apple (many Japanese people add this to give a slight sweetness to the roux)

The amounts that I use are hard for me to say exactly, but I'll ballpark it. I use between 4 and 6 tablespoons of curry powder, the amount affects the heat, and a little less than (or about) half a teaspoon of coconut flour. (Coconut flour is much finer than regular wheat flour, so I don't need much of it at all; if you used regular wheat flour, you'd maybe want to use a bit more, but I couldn't tell you how much exactly.)

Put the curry powder in a large-ish skillet, add the coconut flour to it, pour just enough soy sauce over top to surround the dry ingredients, then add butter or oil (just enough to start browning the flour and make a paste, not enough to make a sauce).

Once you've made a thick, gooey, play-dough looking roux, and it's been cooked a bit and the flour is browned, you can start adding other ingredients like chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, onions, beef, peas, potatoes, honey, broccoli, spinach, squash, cheese, etc.

Key Point: You also want to add water, to convert the roux into a sauce, however much you want for making your sauce as thin or thick as you like it; I add it at the beginning of adding the main other ingredients.

This is the way I've made it the last few times, and it's been absolutely perfect. If you're interested, I could try making a video, but I won't go to the trouble if you're not interested.

P.S. For reference, the ingredients of S&B Curry Powder are: Ingredients Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic

submitted by naery

[link] [comment]







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[Recipe] I just saw a request for a Japanese curry recipe, and provided my paleo version. Here it is for you guys, too!

I'm going to copy/paste from an email I sent to my family about my basically Paleo Japanese curry recipe. It's awesome (to me), and it's at least a great starting point. Feel free to adapt and change however you want.

N.B. The Amazon links are all non-ref, but they are Smile links.

---

Hey all,

I feel like I've finally hit on a good way to make curry and I'd like to share the recipe. Obviously, this is highly configurable as far as what main ingredients you add, but the first part (the roux) is absolutely critical foundation to making it "right" and shouldn't be modified too much.

TO make the roux:

• curry powder (I use S&B spicy curry powder, see P.S.) (side note: I've only ever used the dark red tin and I don't know if the yellow tin is the same stuff or not)


• coconut flour (or regular wheat flour, but amounts will prob be different) (I'm pretty sure it's not Red Mill, but I can't remember brand)


• soy sauce (I use Tamari, which is gluten-free)


• butter or oil (I use coconut oil)


• (optional) shaved/grated 1/2 apple (many Japanese people add this to give a slight sweetness to the roux)

The amounts that I use are hard for me to say exactly, but I'll ballpark it. I use between 4 and 6 tablespoons of curry powder, the amount affects the heat, and a little less than (or about) half a teaspoon of coconut flour. (Coconut flour is much finer than regular wheat flour, so I don't need much of it at all; if you used regular wheat flour, you'd maybe want to use a bit more, but I couldn't tell you how much exactly.)

Put the curry powder in a large-ish skillet, add the coconut flour to it, pour just enough soy sauce over top to surround the dry ingredients, then add butter or oil (just enough to start browning the flour and make a paste, not enough to make a sauce).

Once you've made a thick, gooey, play-dough looking roux, and it's been cooked a bit and the flour is browned, you can start adding other ingredients like chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, onions, beef, peas, potatoes, honey, broccoli, spinach, squash, cheese, etc.

Key Point: You also want to add water, to convert the roux into a sauce, however much you want for making your sauce as thin or thick as you like it; I add it at the beginning of adding the main other ingredients.

This is the way I've made it the last few times, and it's been absolutely perfect. If you're interested, I could try making a video, but I won't go to the trouble if you're not interested.

P.S. For reference, the ingredients of S&B Curry Powder are: Ingredients Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic

submitted by naery

[link] [comment]







Source link

via Paleohacks Paleo Cookbook Review http://ift.tt/1aioTRt