Good Ol’ Garlic
Warding off vampires may be one of the most famous benefits to consuming garlic, but this cousin of the onion carries many more (non-myth-based) benefits as well. It is one of the boldest flavors in the culinary world, and considered a staple among most chefs. While the quality of garlic can vary depending on where you get it and how it’s treated, the Henry Blake Spice Companyuses the finest ingredients in all of their spices. Garlic is used in most of their seasonings, but their Poultry Herb and Spice Blend has the most (highest amount in the ingredients list).
So what benefits are there to cooking with Garlic, aside from keeping the vampires at bay? Like most herbs, it’s chocked full of vitamins and minerals, and some of the major health benefits include: reducing hypertension, lowering unhealthy cholesterol levels, bolstering heart health, assisting with eye health, and even boosting the immune system.
Hypertension is often a side effect of consuming too much sodium, so if you’re living the salt-free lifestyle to avoid or eliminate hypertension, garlic should be one of your closest friends. Garlic can reduce inflammation, which can be a contributor and aggravator of hypertension. One way garlic is able to reduce inflammation because it contains a sulfur compound called thiacremonone. Check out this article for more information on the anti-inflammatory properties of garlic, as they go well beyond thiacremonone.
There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, and garlic specifically targets bad cholesterol. It contains a bioorganic compound allicin, which prevents the bad cholesterol from oxidizing. When bad cholesterol, or LDL, oxidizes, it becomes harmful to your health (causes inflammation) . So, even if you have LDL in your blood, if it can’t oxidize due to garlic, it is less likely to seriously harm you.
One way garlic helps your heart is through its anti-inflammatory properties, but garlic does so much more. It also helps prevent blood clots from forming (which can lead to heart attacks), promotes better blood flow, and provides a boost of antioxidants. When taken together, most of the other benefits of garlic support healthy body functionality which in turn leads to a healthy heart.
One of the less talked about but still important benefits of garlic is its ability reduce swelling in the eye, as well as prevent infections there. Eyes are the gateway to the soul, and nutrients like selenium, vitamin C, and quercetin help keep your gateway healthy and clear. Check out these articles on eye care discussing selenium and quercetin.
Similar to the heart health, your immune system is helped by most of the other benefits of garlic, but there are a few key things that are specific for immune health. There are a number of phytonutrients (plant nutrients) in garlic that help reduce oxidative stress (linked to ADHD, cancer, Alzheimers, etc), prevent DNA damage (can reduce effects of aging), and keep fatigue away.
So whether you’re a vampire hunter or just a person trying to be the best that you can be, garlic is a good way to get the results you’re looking for. You can find garlic virtually anywhere and everywhere, but one of the better seasonings containing it can be found at the Henry Blake Spice Company’s website. All but one of their current seasonings have garlic in it, and the Poultry Herb and Spice Blendhas the most. As the name suggests, the Poultry Herb and Spice blend goes best with chicken. So grab some garlic, get to cooking, and start going against the grain today.