Garlic, Vampires and other Halloween Thoughts
Rocky Horror Picture Show, a not-so-scary Halloween film. (Yes I know Tim Curry is not a vampire)
Let me say first that I love Halloween, yet I am not a fan of anything horror. Not haunted houses, which I attended a few times as a teenager, and I have never attended Halloween Horror Nights, which is an annual event at nearby Universal Studios. Also not a fan of horror films. I recall as a teenager, going to the theater with a group of friends when the original Halloween (Michael Myers) film was released and afterward not sleeping for days. So with the exception of a classic Boris Karloff or Alfred Hitchcock film, Rocky Horror Picture Show (a musical, hello), that’s about as scary as things get for me these days. But I love having Halloween costume parties and creating Halloween themed foods for entertaining. When we had our Dalmatian I dressed as Cruella each year, you get the idea. I made doughnuts and hot dogs and other treats, of course, though these day all paleo creations.
Recently as I was working on some new recipes, it occurred to me that garlic wards off vampires but I never knew why. So I looked it up and it turns out that the chemical compound in garlic, allicin, is a powerful antibiotic. Vampires carry several diseases which are all caused by the production of heme, a chemical in the blood responsible for multiple biological processes. Allicin is known to effectively “kill off” these diseases, therefore ultimately fateful to vampires.
All of this is to say that for those of us who are not yet “undead” garlic does the opposite. Allicin prevents Porphyria, the blood disorder with which most vampires are supposedly afflicted. Garlic is beneficial for immunity, improved memory, improved blood pressure, and many other health benefits.
A study in 2019 observed that an aged garlic extract, kyolic, significantly lowered blood pressure, pulse and arterial stiffness. It helps to lower cholesterol, consuming one half of a clove per day can result in a reduction of around 9%. The antioxidants in garlic may also improve certain osteopathic or bone diseases, especially in women experiencing menopausal osteoporosis and osteopenia. Garlic has anti-inflammatory properties, it’s important for reducing inflammation which can be the cause of diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and even depression. Garlic contains certain anticancer properties, it inhibits the activation of carcinogens, supports DNA repair and inhibits the growth and spread of cancerous cells. An older review of garlic in dermatology showed that it helped improve skin conditions such as psoriasis, alopecia and skin aging.
The worst side effects of too much garlic are bad breath and potential body odor. It’s healthy for every day consumption. Fresh garlic is the most potent, however garlic supplements can be effective too. So unless you’re a vampire, what’s not to love about garlic? Garlic is a staple in Greek and Mediterranean cooking, I would venture to guess 95% of my savory recipes contain garlic. Most days when I’m cooking dinner, the first things to go into the pan are olive oil and garlic. One of my favorite old recipes is from The Frugal Gourmet (remember him??) It was Chicken With Garlic Garlic. The recipe called for something like 40 cloves. It was delish. A little went a long way. So if you’re not a fan of the pungent stuff, but would like to reconsider it for the benefits, try a tiny bit at a time, then begin to increase as you acquire a taste for the flavor. It won’t be the death of you, I promise.
