Forget the flu
shot. A soup based on more than 50 cloves of garlic,
onions, thyme and lemon will destroy almost any virus that
enters its path including colds, flu and even norovirus.
As we sneeze and cough our way through these dark
months of contagious nastiest, garlic is being hailed for its
powers to halt viruses in their tracks.
It has gained its reputation as a virus buster
thanks to one of its chemical constituents,
allicin.
A recent and significant finding from
Washington State University shows that garlic is 100
times more effective than two popular antibiotics at fighting
disease causing bacteria commonly responsible for food-borne
illness.
When the garlic is crushed, alliin becomes allicin.
Research shows that allicin helps lower cholesterol and blood
pressure and also helps prevents blood clots.
Garlic can also reduce the risk of developing
atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
Compounds in this familiar bulb kill many
organisms, including bacteria and viruses that cause earaches,
flu and colds. Research indicates that garlic is also effective
against digestive ailments and diarrhea.
What's more, further studies suggest that this
common and familiar herb may help
prevent the onset of cancers.
'This chemical has been known for a long time
for its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal powers,' says Helen
Bond, a Derbyshire-based consultant dietitian and
spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.
'Because of this, people assume it is going
to boost their immune systems. Lots of people are simply
mashing up garlic, mixing it with olive oil and spreading it
on bread.
'But how or whether it may actually work has
still not been proven categorically.'
Indeed, scientists remain divided on garlic's
ability to combat colds and flu.
Last March, a major investigation by the
respected global research organization, the Cochrane Database,
found that increasing your garlic intake during winter can cut
the duration of cold symptoms - from five-and-a-half days to
four-and-a-half.
But the report, which amalgamated all previous
scientific studies on garlic, said it could not draw solid
conclusions because there is a lack of large-scale,
authoritative research.
The problem is that pharmaceutical companies are
not interested in running huge, expensive trials - as they would
with promising new drug compounds - because there is nothing in
garlic that they can patent, package and sell at a profit.
Modified Garlic Soup
Recipe
Serves 4
-
26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
-
2 tablespoons olive oil
-
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) organic butter
(grass fed)
-
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
-
1/2 cup fresh ginger
-
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
-
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
-
26 garlic cloves, peeled
-
1/2 cup coconut milk
-
3 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
-
4 lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 350F. Place 26 garlic cloves in
small glass baking dish.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with sea
salt and toss to coat.
Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake
until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool.
Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer
cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over
medium-high heat. Add onions, thyme, ginger and cayenne powder
and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add
roasted garlic and 26 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add
vegetable broth; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender,
about 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender until
smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add coconut milk and bring to
simmer. Season with sea salt and pepper for flavor.
Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and
serve.
Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and
refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
If
garlic were found to be
a wonder drug, consumers could simply buy
it in the supermarket for 30p a bulb or grow their own in the
garden.
Nevertheless, garlic has a long and proud
tradition as a medicine. The Ancient Egyptians recommended it
for 22 ailments. In a papyrus dated 1500BC, the labourers who
built the pyramids ate it to increase their stamina and keep
them healthy.
The Ancient Greeks advocated garlic for everything from curing
infections, and lung and blood disorders to healing insect bites
and even treating leprosy.
The Romans fed it to soldiers and sailors to
improve their endurance. Dioscorides, the personal physician to
Emperor Nero, wrote a five-volume treatise extolling its
virtues.
One of the most interesting of the recent
findings is that garlic increases the overall antioxidant levels
of the body. Scientifically known as Allium sativa,
garlic has been famous throughout history for its ability to
fight off viruses and bacteria. Louis Pasteur noted in 1858 that
bacteria died when they were doused with garlic.
From the Middle Ages on, garlic has been used to
treat wounds, being ground or sliced and applied directly to
wounds to inhibit the spread of infection. The Russians refer to
garlic as Russian penicillin.
More recently, researchers have unearthed
evidence to show garlic may help us to stay hale and hearty in a
number of ways.
Last June, nutrition scientists at the University
of Florida found eating garlic can boost the number of T-cells
in the bloodstream. These play a vital role in strengthening our
immune systems and fighting viruses.
And pharmacologists at the University of
California found that allicin - the active ingredient in garlic
that contributes to bad breath - is an infection-killer.
Allicin also makes our blood vessels dilate,
improving blood flow and helping to tackle cardiovascular
problems such as high cholesterol.
An Australian study of 80 patients published last
week in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that
diets high in garlic may reduce high blood pressure.
In 2007, dentists in Brazil found that gargling
with garlic water (made by steeping crushed garlic cloves in
warm, but not boiling, water) can kill the germs that cause
tooth decay and gum disease.
But they hit a snag: the volunteers refused to
continue the experiment, complaining that the garlic gargle made
them feel sick. Looking at the garlic soup recipe certainly made
me feel queasy. Still, it gave me an excuse to use up my ample
supply of garlic.
Though last year's awful weather caused crop
failures on my allotment, I enjoyed a bumper harvest of garlic.
Among its many other virtues, garlic kills slugs
and snails. Researchers from the University of Newcastle believe
it contains oils that may cripple the nervous systems of these
slimy creatures.
There are two schools of thought as to the best
way of preparing garlic to make the most of its medicinal
qualities.
Argentinian investigators found it releases its
allicin-type compounds when you bake the cloves, while
scientists at South Carolina Medical University believe peeling
garlic and letting it sit uncovered for 15 minutes produces the
highest levels of compounds to fight infection.
So you can simply peel half of the garlic cloves
and roast the other half with the kitchen door tightly closed
(to stop the pong permeating throughout the house).
After an hour-and-a-quarter's industrious
soup-making, sprinkle lemon juice over a bowl of steaming, grey
gloop and tuck in.
The heady aroma certainly revs up the appetite
and the first spoonful does not disappoint. Delicious as it is,
however, one large bowl of home-made soup is a more than ample
meal.
As for the soup's cold-preventing powers, only
time will tell. Regular bowlfuls may very well keep me free of
winter ailments, thanks to the virus-killing compounds they
contain.
Or it could just be that my nuclear-strength
garlic breath will keep everyone who is infectious far out of
sneezing range for months to come.