It’s Time To Make A Change (Tip Below)

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Here's Today's Tip... Garlic:The “Stinking Rose”.

Also known as the “stinking rose,” garlic is a member of the Allium family and is rich in flavonols and sulfides, of which the best known is allicin. Research on garlic has demonstrated myriad cardiovascular benefits, including improved blood cholesterol and blood pressure.

Technically, allicin is not contained in fresh garlic. Rather, crushing or chopping garlic results in the release of an enzyme called allinase that results the formation of allicin, which has been touted by some researchers as the world’s most potent antioxidant. Because heat inactivates the allinase enzyme, cooking garlic may have a negative effect on its sulfide content, which could potentially reduce their beneficial health properties.

However, allowing onions and garlic to sit for 10 minutes (after slicing, dicing, crushing, etc.) before cooking preserves the compounds and provides the most health benefits.

Garlic contains a sulfide called 1,2-vinyldithiin (1,2-DT), which has long been recognized for its anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, researchers have discovered that 1,2-DT can inhibit a process called adipogenesis, which refers to the formation of new fat cells, in cell cultures. Additional animal research has shown that other sulfides in garlic (e.g., Thiacremonone, ajoene) may exert an anti-obesity effect. More importantly, a recent randomized controlled trial showed that supplementation with garlic extract led to significant reductions in body weight and body fat in humans.

Garlic is also a source of the prebiotic fiber inulin. As important as probiotics are, some scientists would argue that prebiotics are even more important. Prebiotics are essentially “food” for probiotics, as they stimulate the growth of healthy gut bacteria. Just like you and I need nutrients to survive, so do the good bacteria that live in our digestive tracts. In other words, probiotics cannot function effectively or efficiently without prebiotics.

Research has shown that inulin seems to predominantly stimulate the growth of Bifidobacteria. Bacterial fermentation of prebiotic fibers leads to the production of short chain fatty acids (SFCA), which can stimulate the secretion of key appetite-regulating hormones like GLP-1 and Peptide YY.

In a recent randomized controlled trial published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism, overweight participants met with Registered Dietitians, who counseled them on a reduced-calorie diet with the goal of achieving 5% weight loss. The participants combined the weight-loss diet with supplementation with inulin or a non-prebiotic fiber (i.e., cellulose) for 18 weeks. At the end of the study, both groups achieved the 5% weight-loss goal; however, the inulin group lost 55% more weight than the cellulose group, and when presented with an “all-you-can-eat” challenge, the inulin group ate significantly less food.

Pretty amazing stuff right there!