I love garlic. I cook with it on a daily basis, but apparently I still have a few things to learn about the stuff. I’ve heard that it was supposed to be good for you, but I don’t think the scientific reasons have been definitively understood. Well, here is another study to add to the list. It claims that garlic boosts our body’s natural supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as an antioxidant and helps to relax blood vessels and therefore enhance blood flow. The study involved amounts of garlic that, if translated to your diet, would equal about two cloves. For me, that is the bare minimum for lots of my dishes. And actually, if cooked (say, with onions), before added to dishes, it greatly reduces or eliminates the heartburn that can occur when the garlic is raw. I don’t suffer any gastronomic challenges from garlic. Interestingly, in countries such as Italy, China and Korea, consumption can be as high as 12 cloves per individual. Wee. One more thing that I learned from this article was that, in order to enhance the benefits of garlic, it should be cut at room temperature and allowed to sit for about 15 minutes or so, in order for the enzymatic reactions to occur which produce the health-inducing compounds.

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