Top medicinal benefits and history of garlic wey go help your health

Garlic don dey appreciated for millennia, not only for di intense and characteristic taste, but also for im medicinal properties.

E dey recognised for im antimicrobial and antiviral effects.

Garlic for long don be essential ingredient both in cooking and in traditional remedies.

Native to Central Asia, garlic spread to Europe and di United States thanks to migrant populations.

Today, China na di world leading producer of garlic.

Di BBC international service "Food Chain" program explore di rich history of garlic, di cultural significance, and ask di following question: garlic really dey good for your health?

Must-have for kitchen

Garlic na one essential ingredient for countless kitchens.

Danish chef Poul Erik Jenson, wey dey teach students from di United States, Australia, di United Kingdom and Asia for im French gastronomy school wey dey located in northwestern France, say im neva meet single student wey no know garlic.

E believe say garlic na im dey enhance dishes and wonder wetin French cuisine go be like without am.

"I no think say dem [di French] go fit imagine a savoury dish without gill," e tok.

"Froths to soups, thru vegetable or meat dishes, dia must be a clove of garlic somewia. E dey unimaginable not to put any. ”

Howeva, wen e grow up for one rural area of Denmark in di early 1970s, garlic bin virtually dey unknown.

E remember say garlic bin dey distinguished by di strong odour, but as Turkish workers begin to immigrate to Denmark, e come make di preparation of garlic-based dishes more common.

Jenson also come dey used to garlic thanks to Italian pizzas, and now, e also dey benefit from am as a winter remedy.

"My partner and I dey drink a cup of broth in di morning, with a whole head of garlic pressed in each cup," e tok.

"We neva get a single cold or a single serious flu, and I dey sure say na thanks to garlic. ”

A long journey

Di cultural and spiritual significance of garlic date back several millennia.

Di Greeks of antiquity bin dey put garlic cloves for crossroads as an offering to Hekate, goddess of spells and protector of homes. In Egypt, dem find garlic for di tomb of di famous Pharaoh Tutankhamun, wey dem think say garlic protect am in di afterlife. In Chinese and Filipino folklore, e get legends wia pipo use garlic to hunt vampires. "Di oldest recipe in di world na one Mesopotamian stew, about 3,500 years old, wey contain two cloves of garlic," na so Robin Cherry, author of di book "Garlic: An Edible Biography" explain. "Di oldest mention [of garlic] also date back about 3,500 years. Dis na di Ebers papyrus, wey contain many references on di use of garlic to treat evritin from stomach aches to parasites, thru heart or respiratory problems,” she explain. Cherry emphasise say di famous Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates use garlic for various medical treatments. In addition, prominent thinkers and writers such as Aristotle and Aristophanes also mention di medicinal properties of garlic.

From slave food to royal food

Garlic bin dey very popular for ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India.

Roman soldiers believe say garlic dey give dem courage and strength, and dem spread am throughout Europe during dia conquests.

Although garlic bin dey used both as food and as a remedy, di culinary use bin once dey reserved for di working classes.

"Na really ogbonge food for for poor," Robin Cherry tok. "Dem even think say e dey give strength to pipo like di slaves wey build di pyramids in Egypt, or to Roman sailors.

E dey cheap and dey used to mask di bad taste of foods wey don spoil. So dem diafor consider am as a food for di poor. ”

Di reputation of garlic begin to change during di Renaissance, a crucial period for European history wey extend from di 14th to di 16th centuries, and e dey marked by di renewal of classical education and a rise in di arts and sciences.

"Dem baptize Henry IV of France with garlic and e chop plenti of am, wey come make am popular," Cherry tok, come add say garlic also gain popularity for Victorian England in di 19th century.

Garlic arrive di United States much later, in di 1950s and 1960s, and na migrants bring am. Dis don help to reverse negative stereotypes.

"Indeed, garlic bin dey used in a very insulting way against Jews, Italians and Koreans. Dem bin dey call dem "garlic eaters", wey bin get a negative connotation," Robin Cherry tok.

Garlic as a remedy

Currently get about 600 varieties of garlic around di world.

Some, such as di ones for Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and Georgia, di Caucasus, only recently dey available worldwide.

Beyond di leading role in modern cuisine, garlic commonly dey used to treat or alleviate cold symptoms.

Clinical trials don dey study im effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and even cancer, but di results dey mixed.

A small study wey dem conduct for Iran show say garlic combined with lemon juice dey help to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure in six months.

However, a larger-scale study wey dem conduct for Stanford University for di United States with 200 pipo wey dey in good health for six months no show any significant decrease in cholesterol levels.

A 2014 study for di University of Sydney, Australia, confam di powerful antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties of garlic.

"Gallic contain high levels of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and sulphur, as well as moderate amounts of magnesium, manganese and iron.

Na real miracle vegetable,” na so Bahee Van de Bor, di tok tok for di British Association of Dietetics and Paediatric Dietician tok.

"E contain charming suphric compounds dem call allicines. E dey rich in prebiotic fibres, wey dey very good for di intestine, and make am a great food for our digestive health.

E also get antimicrobial properties," she explain, come add say garlic fibres dey help to feed digestive bacteria and fit help to fight constipation and bloating.

Consuming one or two cloves of raw garlic per day dey considered to dey good for di health of adults.

However, according to one article wey dem publish for di medical journal American Family Physician, too much consumption, especially on a fasting stomach, fit cause gastrointestinal disorders, flatulence and changes in di intestinal flora.