Garlic has been planted, consumed, and used for medicinal purposes in China since approximately the time of Zhang Qian's diplomatic missions to the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, which is why garlic is also called "Hu Suan" (foreign garlic). According to records, the physician Hua Tuo of the Three Kingdoms period once used garlic mixed with wine to expel parasites. Garlic was one of the main ingredients in the famous Song Dynasty patent medicine "E E Wan". The renowned physician Li Shizhen had used garlic applied to the soles of the feet to cure epistaxis (see "Compendium of Materia Medica").
As a vegetable, from sprouting to forming a bulb, garlic provides scallions, garlic stalks, and the garlic bulb itself. With its unique aroma, it holds an important place among vegetables. Famous dishes include stir-fried garlic stalks with meat, stir-fried young chicken with garlic stalks, and braised meat with garlic bulbs. Even common household dishes like braised eggplant, braised tofu, and tofu with dressing cannot do without garlic. Besides the vitamin B in garlic bulbs, scallions and garlic stalks contain multiple vitamins, and are rich in carotene and vitamin C. The vitamin C content, in particular, can reach up to 102 milligrams per 100 grams, which is 2-4 times that of common vegetables.
As a condiment, besides aiding digestion and stimulating the appetite, garlic contains a pungent volatile substance—allicin—which has extremely strong and broad-spectrum antibacterial properties. For example, chewing a single raw clove of garlic for three minutes can kill various bacteria hidden in the mouth. Therefore, raw garlic is indispensable in almost all cold dishes and pasta (like cold noodles and cold rice noodles). People in northern China often eat raw vegetables, so they have more opportunities to eat garlic. In terms of seasonings, there is a saying, "ginger in the south, garlic in the north."
Medicinally, garlic has antibacterial, insecticidal, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, and stomach-strengthening effects. The phytoncide in garlic is lethal to the influenza virus, staphylococci, streptococci, Neisseria meningitidis, bacilli of typhoid and paratyphoid, dysentery, as well as pathogenic bacteria like cholera and diphtheria. Garlic also contains active ingredients that can stimulate the phagocytic ability of the body's macrophages.
The mixture of sulfur-containing compounds in garlic essential oil has a significant preventive and therapeutic effect on hyperlipidemia. According to German research, eating 3 grams of garlic daily significantly lowers the cholesterol levels in the blood of patients with high cholesterol and hyperlipidemia. British doctors have also discovered that garlic can dissolve blood clots in the body and can therefore be used for conditions like coronary artery thrombosis.
Garlic can help prevent certain types of cancer. For instance, regarding stomach cancer, it can inhibit bacteria in the stomach that produce nitrosamines, thereby reducing their formation. Survey data indicates that in regions and populations where garlic is grown and commonly consumed, the incidence rate of stomach cancer is only one-third of that in other areas. In people who regularly eat raw garlic, the content of nitrites—the precursors of the potent carcinogen nitrosamine—is much lower than in people from other regions, and the bacteria that produce nitrosamines are significantly suppressed. Garlic contains sulfonamide components, which can gather heavy metals in the body's organs and excrete them.
Garlic can also enhance the body's immune function.
Garlic is one of the few fruits and vegetables rich in selenium. Selenium is an important component of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione. It also reduces toxic peroxides into harmless hydroxyl compounds and decomposes hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, it can eliminate extremely harmful free radicals in the body, thereby protecting the structure and function of cell membranes. Therefore, in recent years, many Japanese scholars believe that regular consumption of garlic can prolong life. Glutathione also has a lethal effect on malignant tumors and produces a chemical inhibitory effect on carcinogens. Thus, it also has a special effect in preventing other types of cancer. When the body's glutathione levels increase, the incidence of cancer significantly decreases.
Garlic is also a beauty food. It can inhibit abnormal sebum secretion and has a reducing effect. For example, glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that can directly reduce melanin in facial skin, thus having a "bleaching" effect.
Because some active components in allicin are destroyed by heat, eating garlic raw is better than cooked.
As an ancient medicinal and health food, garlic is widely popular all over the world. Legend has it that the ancient Roman Pliny used garlic to treat eleven ailments, including colds, ulcers, hemorrhoids, measles, convulsions, and snake bites. The army physicians of ancient Rome also used garlic to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases among soldiers and to prevent infections of such diseases. The ancient Persians discovered that eating garlic could promote blood circulation, making hands and feet warm and the face flush. In the 5th century, Indian doctors found that regular garlic consumption could enhance intelligence and produce a loud voice. The soldiers of ancient Egypt also believed that eating garlic could increase courage and fighting ability; later, farmers, fishermen, and even slaves followed suit. It is said that the construction of the Egyptian pyramids was also related to slaves eating garlic to strengthen their bodies. During World War II, Britain used thousands of tons of garlic as a medicine for treating festering wounds and preventing epidemics. In the last 30 years in Britain, applying a garlic paste to the soles of the feet to treat whooping cough in children has become a widespread practice and is effective in every case.
Ancient Chinese medical scholars also conducted in-depth research on the medicinal effects of garlic and held it in high regard. For example, Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty pointed out in the "Famous Physicians' Emergency Manual" that garlic has functions such as "dispersing pain and swelling, hidden sores, expelling wind-evil, and killing toxic qi". Su Gong of the Tang Dynasty, in his "Revised Materia Medica", stated that garlic can "lower qi, aid digestion, and break down meat". Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty documented in detail that garlic has multiple functions, including dispersing swelling, expelling wind-evil, killing toxic qi, removing rheumatism, treating sores and ringworm, strengthening the spleen and stomach, treating kidney ailments, stopping cholera, and preventing plagues.
Therefore, for everyone, developing a habit of eating garlic and consuming a little raw or cooked garlic regularly will certainly be beneficial.