The Ancient Bulb with 21st Century Medicinal Properties

 

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a perennial plant native to Asia, and a member of the lily family. Though it is referred to as the "stinking rose", garlic is an essential ingredient in many types of cuisine around the world.

 

The history of garlic dates back to approximately 2300 B.C. in ancient Sumeria, and throughout this time, garlic has been used for its antiseptic and antibacterial qualities. When Egyptian medical papers were found dating back to 1550 B.C., they contained eight hundred formulas for the therapeutic uses of garlic. More recently, the famous French chemist, Louis Pasteur, found that garlic was an antibacterial agent.

 

People have, for thousands of years, used garlic to expel parasitic worms that lodge in the intestinal tract. Some studies show that garlic has an ability to kill amoeba and hookworms. In recent years, Indian studies have demonstrated that garlic has fibrinolytic activity. Fibrin is a protein necessary in clot formation. The protein is essential in the body, but when it exists in excess, there is an increased chance of clots disrupting blood flow. Garlic may have the ability to dissolve fibrin, in a process called fibrinolysis. Garlic has also demonstrated the ability to inhibit fibrinogen receptors on platelets. This is caused by the compound ajoene, which is a major component in garlic.

 

The Chemistry of Garlic
Today, much more is known about garlic due to advances in the field of organic chemistry. Many individual compounds have been analyzed and tested for their biological values. When garlic is crushed, it releases at least one hundred sulfur-containing compounds, and it is sulfur that gives garlic its distinctive odor.

The best method for using garlic in your diet is to cut or crush the raw clove. When garlic is crushed, it releases an enzyme called allinase, and this enzyme converts alliin, the substance in raw garlic, to allicin. Allicin is an extremely active substituent of garlic. When three allicin molecules combine, they form a compound called ajoene, which has antithrombotic (anti-clotting) properties. This means that it can prevent platelets (the blood cells involved in clotting) from clumping, which is what leads to blood clots.

 

Minerals in garlic
Garlic also contains the minerals selenium and germanium. The amount of selenium in the bulb depends on the content of selenium in the soil where the bulb is grown. Selenium is a very important mineral because it is part of an enzyme in the body known as glutathione peroxidase. This enzyme helps deactivate some harmful substances that are created when we fight infections. When white blood cells become activated to fight a foreign substance in the body, they produce a toxic compound called hydrogen peroxide. Glutathione peroxidase helps to detoxify the body by converting hydrogen peroxides into water.

 

Glutathione peroxidase also uses its detoxifying properties to convert harmful lipid peroxides into less harmful substances. These toxic compounds are formed when fatty acids in the blood stream are attacked by harmful free radicals.

 

The Healing Power of Garlic
Research studies demonstrate that garlic is effective in healing the body in a number of ways:

• Garlic is effective in the destruction of Candida albicans, a fungus responsible for the dreaded yeast infection.

• Garlic also appears to stimulate NK cells and macrophages. These immune cells kill pathogens and abnormal cells in the body.

• Garlic has many sulfur compounds in its makeup, one of which is ajoene, which has antifungal properties.

• Garlic has also demonstrated an ability to inhibit bacteria by interfering with certain chemical reactions in the body. The sulfur compounds in garlic destroy thiol groups (sulfur - hydrogen groups) in the enzymes needed for reproduction of bacteria. Specifically, they interfere with DNA polymerases. These enzymes are needed for the replication of the bacterial chromosomes and this disruption will lead to the inability of the bacteria to reproduce. Garlic also has the ability to lower serum cholesterol. In some studies, it has been demonstrated that garlic can raise the level of "good cholesterol" in the body by at least eight percent.

• Another favorable aspect of fresh garlic is that it can reduce systolic blood pressure (the top number of blood pressure), and it has been shown to reduce triglycerides in the blood.

• Garlic also contains small amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E, and the minerals potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, and iron.

• Not only does garlic reduce systolic blood pressure, it also has the ability to lower blood sugar, which makes it a very useful dietary tool in the treatment of diabetes. If you are hypoglycemic (low blood sugar), you will need to determine if garlic lowers your blood sugar too significantly. As with any substance, each individual is different, and therapeutic amounts must be individualized.

 

A Warning About Garlic and Blood Thinning Medications
People taking blood-thinning drugs, such as Ticlopidine or Coumadin, must use caution when using garlic. Garlic, with its anti-clotting properties, may react badly with these categories of drugs, and result in excessive bleeding. Not enough is known yet about the interaction between garlic and these drugs, so those people on blood thinners should not use standardized garlic extracts in excess of one-half clove of garlic daily.

 

Conclusion
Garlic has been demonstrated throughout history to be a remarkable herbal medicine. When using supplemental garlic, you need to take the dosage equivalent to approximately 4,000 mcg of allicin concentration a day. To achieve this dosage, you can purchase coated tablets or capsules that have standardized the Allicin Potential. The Allicin Potential is a parameter that the German commission has established, with regard to a product's therapeutic use. In Germany, herbs are sold for therapeutic use and must meet strict standards. The commission has determined that 4000 mcg of allicin is equivalent to the dose needed for therapeutic use.

If your primary reason for not using garlic is the odor it leaves on your breath, chewing on a sprig of parsley usually solves this problem. Raw garlic has the greatest therapeutic effect if used regularly, and it can be diced and added to your food. People with sensitive stomachs may not be able to tolerate raw garlic, and these individuals must cook garlic lightly before ingesting it. Cooking the herb will destroy the allinase, but many of the therapeutic effects can still be achieved.

 

I hope you enjoy discovering your favorite garlic recipe, and you may be healthier because of it.

 

 

PhytoChemicals

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Plants are composed of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins and minerals.  The other substances that make up the rest of the plant are referred to as phytochemicals (Phyto means plant).  Plants make these chemicals to protect themselves from microbes, sunlight and many other dangers.  These phytochemicals help us fight off illness in many ways.  Some are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiulcer, anticancer, etc.  Each vegetable, fruit, nut or seed is packed with a different variety of these substances,  Therefore, it is very important that a person eats a wide variety of these foods.


The ORAC score is the oxygen radical absorbance capacity.  Fruits and vegetables were ground up individually and free radicals of oxygen were added to the test tubes.  The amount of free radicals that were neutralized determined the ORAC score.  The higher the orac number, the better the antioxidant qualities.  Oxygen free radicals are chemicals we produce and they circulate freely inside the human body.  Plant foods increase our ability to neutralize these free radicals before they can damage our cells.  This is why they are considered anti-aging and disease fighting foods.  Therefore, the more colors you have on your dinner plate, the healthier you will be.



Remember – Most vegetables are best cooked by steaming.  In this way, they retain most of their nutrients!


Cholesterol – The Double-Edged Sword​
 

Cholesterol is more than a number that people seem to throw around at parties.  Most people are not privy to what cholesterol does or what the numbers mean.  I will attempt to explain what cholesterol does and what the numbers mean with regard to your health.  Now let us begin the molecular journey.

Every time I hear someone refer to LDL as bad cholesterol, I cringe.  The body cannot survive without cholesterol.  Let us first begin with the terms you need to know.  LDL stands for low density lipoprotein.  All lipoproteins contain the following particles, differing only by the amount of these substances each contains.  LDL cholesterol is approximately 46% cholesterol, 24% protein, 10% triglycerides and 20% phospholipids.  From this data, one can see that LDLs are mostly cholesterol.  Cholesterol is needed for the following:



• Vitamin D synthesis

• Hormone synthesis (Testosterone, Progesterone, DHEA, etc.)

• Corticosteroids

• Cell membranes

• Precursor to the bile acids

Cholesterol becomes dangerous when it loses electrons (becomes oxidized) and attacks your blood vessel walls looking to replace the missing electrons.


Over the past few years, it has been established that there is more than one type of LDL cholesterol.  Researchers have identified four types of LDL, two of which are damaging.  These two types are the minimally oxidized and the oxidized LDL, which are looking to replace the electrons they have lost.  When LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized, it accumulates along the arterial walls where it is eaten by white blood cells known as macrophages.  Once these cells have made gluttons of themselves, they are referred to as foam cells.  These foam cells then burst and release the cholesterol as fatty streaks.  This causes a traffic jam in the arteries by influencing other immune factors such as platelets to enter the area.  These factors lead to the formation of a condition known as atherosclerosis.  This is a condition where the artery has cholesterol streaks deposited and this clogs the area by reducing blood flow.  When the artery becomes completely blocked, it is called an infarction. If this happens in the coronary arteries, it is called a myocardial infarction or a heart attack.

Cholesterol in the arteries becomes oxidized or loses electrons when it comes into contact with different types of free radicals.  Free radicals are molecules that have lost electrons (oxidized) and are looking to replace them.  These substances are given names like super oxide radical, hydroxyl radical, lipid radical and numerous others.  As stated previously, we need cholesterol to live and the body itself makes one gram a day besides what we ingest through our diet, which is approximately 20%.  The liver, small intestine and peripheral tissues make the remainder of the cholesterol.  Most of the cholesterol is synthesized in the liver.  By now you realize that LDL cholesterol is a double-edged sword, having both good and bad properties.  Let us continue on this journey and look at the two other types of cholesterol that should be checked on a lipid profile.

HDL stands for High Density Lipoprotein, which is 55% protein, 17% cholesterol, 24% phospholipids and 4% triglyceride.  I like to think of HDLs as garbage trucks because they travel the body picking up the LDL cholesterol not needed by the cells, and they return it to the manufacturing plant, or the liver.  HDLs have different forms.  One is the thin disk, and when acted upon by an enzyme called LCAT (Lecithin Cholesterol Acyl Transferase), it becomes a larger spherical form that can hold more LDL cholesterol.  The enzyme LCAT requires copper for its activity.  HDLs have a half-life of eleven hours, which means half of them will be destroyed in that time period.  The liver, ovaries (in women) and adrenals are responsible for the metabolism of the rest.  The adrenals require a great deal of LDL, because the cholesterol is needed at this site for the production of hormones.

The last type of cholesterol we will look at is the VLDL or the Very Low Density Lipoprotein.  VLDLs are 50%-53% triglycerides, 19% cholesterol, 10% protein and 18% phospholipids.  Triglycerides made in the liver are put into these packages called VLDLs.  These VLDLs are transported throughout the body where triglycerides are removed and used by the cells for energy.  The VLDL then returns to the liver, where it is repackaged and becomes an LDL, which is mostly cholesterol.  The LDL travels to cells and releases its components.  Whatever the cell does not use is taken up by the HDLs and transported back to the liver.

Cholesterol regulation is complex and depends on a sophisticated feedback mechanism between dietary intake and the body’s ability to regulate the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase.  This enzyme is key to the production of cholesterol in the body.  When excess dietary cholesterol is ingested through the diet, the liver receives a message to stop producing cholesterol.  This occurs because a gene that makes this enzyme is down regulated or turned off.  Think of genes like a light switch.  If they are off, the light does not go on and vice versa.  Therefore, if the body senses that extra cholesterol has been absorbed and it turns off this gene that makes HMG-CoA reductase, cholesterol synthesis stops.  This is the reason many studies demonstrate that eating extra cholesterol has no significant effect on the levels in the blood called serum cholesterol.  In the Framingham study and the Lipid Research Clinic’s – (Research Prevlance Study), dietary cholesterol had no significant effect on cardiovascular deaths.

There are some individuals for whom dietary cholesterol is important.  These individuals have a condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia.  The condition results when cells are either missing LDL receptors or these receptors are abnormal.  When the body senses that the cells are not getting enough cholesterol, it increases cholesterol production.  An individual with this condition may have a serum cholesterol of 300-600mg/100ml.

Trans fatty acids, most often found in cookies, cakes, crackers, margarine and most processed foods, are not required in the human diet.  Molecularly, these fats have a different arrangement of their hydrogen molecules and form straight structures that do not bend.  Therefore, they can be stacked on top of each other, clogging up the body.  They are used in the food industry because they are stable and the products can last indefinitely.  You need to be alerted to the buzz words “partially hydrogenated”, which is a trans fat, and “hydrogenated” which is a saturated fat.  Both of these fats lead to a rise in cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of VLDLs made by the liver.  Therefore, it is imperative that you decrease these fats in your daily diet if you want to control your cholesterol levels. 
Cholesterol can be lowered by the addition of soluble fiber.  Soluble fibers are contained in beans, oats, fruits (cherries and apples), rye and barley.  They increase the fecal excretion of bile, which contains cholesterol.  They also decrease lipid absorption in the intestinal tract. 

Soy protein has demonstrated the ability to lower total cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol.  The improved ratio between LDL/HDL cholesterol helps decrease arterial plaque.  To achieve this effect, you must use 20-30 grams of soy protein in your diet.  Soy prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and therefore acts as an antioxidant.  Antioxidants are needed to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol.  They should be considered as members of an orchestra.  What would Tchaikovsky’s Overture of 1812 be without the percussion section?  Antioxidants work in the same way.  Different antioxidants affect different areas of the body.  Vitamin E works in the cell membrane area that is heavily fats.  Vitamin C works in the water soluble areas of the body.  Therefore, you must have an abundance of different antioxidants to protect you from LDL oxidation.  Vitamin C protects the LDL cholesterol from oxidative damage.  Quercitin protects LDL cholesterol from oxidative damage as well.  Quercitin is found in apples, onions and black tea.  

As I have shown, cholesterol is necessary for life.  It only becomes a problem when our bodies become out of balance with respect to increased oxidation.  There are many ways to control cholesterol, both nutritionally and pharmaceutically.  It is up to you and your health care practitioner to determine the best modality.





Grapefruit, Grapefruit Juice and Medications

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Research has demonstrated for over 20 years that grapefruit and grapefruit juice causes interactions with many pharmaceutical drugs. The impaired drug metabolism is caused by and enzyme that interacts with these drugs beginning in the gastrointestinal tract. The specific enzyme responsible for this dilemma is the Cytochrome P450 3A4 that seems to interact with compounds in the grapefruit. The compound classification is furanocoumarins and specifically 6, 7 dihydroxybergamottin.

Both the enterocytes located in the small intestine and the hepatocytes in the liver have this CYP 3A4 enzyme. People with more of this enzyme are more susceptible because this enzyme begins the drugs breakdown. When this enzyme is compromised drug levels can become elevated in the bloodstream and this can lead to adverse effects.  Other drugs may have a decrease in the amount of medicine because the grapefruit may block needed transporters according to the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Presently 85 drugs seem to interact with grapefruit and grapefruit juice that is known at this time. Forty three drugs have serious adverse reaction when a person ingests grapefruit.  For a list of potential interactions please refer to this article and the U.S. FDA website.  Ask your pharmacist or physician about specific drug interactions with grapefruits.



 

Article Source: ​

Bailey, David. Dresser, George.  Arnold, Malcolm.  (2012). ​

Grapefruit Medication Interactions: Forbidden Fruit or Avoidable Consequences. Canadian Medical Association Journal, pp.1-8.

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Gout​

 

Some of the causes of Gout are increased purine intake, conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.  All may increase uric acid production.  This condition becomes painful because uric acid is not dissolved in the bloodstream and excreted in the urine.  Instead, it is deposited as urate crystals in joints, tendons and tissues and may cause the formation of kidney stones.  Uric acid is formed by the breakdown of purines found in food and beverages.  Specifically, alcohol, red meats and seafood have an abundance of purines.  High fructose corn syrup also causes an increase in uric acid levels.

 

Uric acid seems to act as an antioxidant and therefore can be maintained at certain levels.  Hyperuricemia, or high levels of uric acid, occurs when the uric acid is above normal limits. This can lead to urate crystals forming in the blood and settling in certain areas of the body, causing pain which can be severe.  The metabolism of purines finally forms a compound called xanthine.  This gets oxidized by an enzyme called xanthine oxidase to form uric acid. There are many medications used to reduce uric acid.  One type is xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which stop some of the uric acid synthesis at the last step in purine metabolism.

 

Cherries appear to lower uric acid levels due to their abundance of flavinoid compounds called anthocyanins.   Blueberries are also abundant in these anthocyanin compounds.   Quercitin, a versatile flavonoid, has also been shown to lower uric acid levels along with folic acid, which can inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase.  Vitamin C has also demonstrated the ability to lower uric acid levels.

 

Dietary changes that are beneficial to people suffering from high uric acid levels may include limiting alcohol consumption, reducing high purine foods and eliminating soy products, as they may increase urate concentrations.  Add more vegetables to your diet to increase the alkalizing of the urine that this may help in the elimination or uric acid.