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The Health Benefits of Garlic

Written by Staff Reporter

Thursday, 15 April 2010

For anyone wanting to make a citizen's arrest, I admit, it was me. That car parked down the narrow country lanes of East Cork this Saturday was me picking as much wild garlic as I could. I hope I didn't cause any accidents but the pesto I made that evening was well worth it.

We often forget that nature is continually providing us with everything we need at different times of the year. Right now, country lanes are packed full of little white flowers which are actually Wild Garlic flowers.

They will be around for about another 4-6 weeks and if I were you, I'd start picking. You can pick the flowers and the long leaves – the flowers and leaves are both great in Spring salads.

Research on garlic is proving again and again that it is a powerful healer. I call garlic an anti food! It anti-viral and anti bacterial and is known to kill all sort of germs and viral infections. Some studies are also suggesting that garlic is anti-inflammatory and helps prevent cancer.

Garlic has also been linked to improved heart health, cleaning up the blood, reducing levels of bad cholesterol and helping to manage high blood pressure. One of the compounds in garlic called sulphur (found in even higher amounts in garlic flowers and leaves) is an important raw material for the liver, assisting it in carrying its vital role as a detoxing agent.

So, give yourself a boost over the next few weeks by trying a little wild garlic pesto on salads or soups, in your sandwiches or wraps or with a little fish or chicken for dinner.

Wild Garlic Pesto

A large handful of wild garlic
30 grams of cashews
35 grams of parmesan
1 clove of garlic
8 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
A little sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and sugar to taste

If you have any stems with flowers on, remove flower heads and sprinkle over your dinner!
Take stems and leaves and place in a food processor with garlic, cashews and parmesan.
Blitz for a minute until well mixed and then slowly add the olive oil while the machine is still running.
Taste and if needed, add a little salt, pepper and sugar.
Store in fridge.

For more great recipes, check out my daily blog on www.foodforliving.ie

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