As the summer approaches and the temperature rises, it’s time to shed your cloves.
Each year, on April 19th, National Garlic Day celebrates a vegetable so mighty, that we openly embrace the pungent “after-aroma” under our masks. Garlic is noted to be incredibly versatile and has long been used for much more than seasoning in cuisines. For thousands of years, garlic has been utilized for its therapeutic and medicinal properties in the treatment and prevention of many conditions. These range from boosting immunity and clearing clogged arteries, to warding off vampires and werewolves. Garlic is even believed to have significant meaning in our dreams. It has been suggested that dreaming about garlic may symbolize upcoming good luck and positive life changes. It is no surprise that a whole day is dedicated to the celebration of this superfood! [1]
Types of Garlic:
It may surprise you to know that there are hundreds of different varieties of garlic that fall under two broad classifications, softneck and hardneck. Varieties may vary based on the location and climate of the area in which it is being grown.[2]
Hardneck varieties have sturdier stalks, larger cloves, more brightly colored pigments on the skin and offer a wide range of flavors from mild to spicy. [2] Softneck varieties are the types you will most likely see in the produce section of the grocery store. These varieties have multilayered and papery white skin and layers of cloves in varying sizes surrounding the bulb. [3]
Acclaimed Health Benefits:
Garlic certainly does its reputation justice, offering an array of health benefits, especially in supplement form. Some of these most notably include: [4, 5]
Inhibits and kills bacteria and fungi
Aids in the lowering of blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar
Prevents blood clotting (If you're taking anticoagulant medications, you need to be cautious about over-consumption of garlic)
Effective antioxidant offering protection from free radical damage
Anti-inflammatory
Possesses chemicals that may prevent diseases such as forms of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and viral infections
References:
[1] National Garlic Day - April 19. (2021). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-garlic-day-april-19/
[2] Cornell Cooperative Extension. (2019). New York State Varieties of Garlic. Retrieved from http://cceonondaga.org/resources/garlic-varieties
[3] Gebreyohannes, Gebreselema & Tedla, Mebrahtu. (2017). Medicinal values of garlic: Review. 5. 401-408. 10.5897/IJMMS2013.0960.
[4] Tattelman E. (2005). Health effects of garlic. American family physician, 72(1), 103–106.
[5] Ansary, J., Forbes-Hernández, T. Y., Gil, E., Cianciosi, D., Zhang, J., Elexpuru-Zabaleta, M., Simal-Gandara, J., Giampieri, F., & Battino, M. (2020). Potential Health Benefit of Garlic Based on Human Intervention Studies: A Brief Overview. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 9(7), 619. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9070619