FitSugar

Garlic Does More Than Scare Away Vampires

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:30:23 -0700

I love garlic. I can't think of any savory meal where I don't use it, and I also take garlic supplements. It's something my doctor recommended because she believes it helps regulate digestion and ward off colds. Turns out she's right, at least about the preventing colds part.

A study followed two groups - one that took garlic supplements and another that took a placebo - and found that the garlic group came down with fewer colds, and recovered faster too. Researchers aren't exactly clear why it helps, but some suggest that allicin, a main component of the pungent vegetable, blocks enzymes that play a part in causing infections.

It's also not clear if garlic works after the onset of a cold, or if it needs to be taken as a preventative measure. Until more research comes in, I'll keep taking my supplements regularly.

Does Eating Garlic Keep Away Mosquitoes?

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:30:20 -0700

"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you've never been in bed with a mosquito."

The buzzing of a mosquito can interfere with your sleep and the bites can ruin camping trips and barbecues. If you avoid chemicals found in DEET or other bug sprays, you may be looking for a more natural way to repel skeeters. You may have heard that eating garlic can do the trick. Find out if it's true.

Learn to Love: Garlic Scapes

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:06:57 -0700

If you're a big garlic fan, then you're going to love cooking with garlic scapes. They're the long, thin, loopy green stems of the plant that shoot up above the garlic bulb.

If left to grow, bulbils - which kind of look like flowers - will form, which can be planted to grow more garlic. The only problem is that the scapes will consume a lot of the plant's energy to make those bulbils, which will result in smaller garlic bulbs. So farmers often chop the scapes off before the bulbils form, which is great news for us since garlic scapes are delicious. They taste like garlic, but are much milder. Scapes are tender sauteed in olive oil and eaten on their own, or they can be used in recipes such as dips, sauces, stir-frys, and soups to add a garlic flavor and green color.

Garlic scapes taste good, but are they good for you? To find out, read more.

As you can see from the chart below, scapes contain a decent amount of protein, vitamin C, and calcium. Since they're part of the garlic plant, they offer the same health benefits as the cloves, such as prevention of heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cancer. Scapes are also known to boost your immune system and reduce inflammation. This delicacy is usually only available for a short amount of time in the Summer, so look for them at your local farmers market or grocery store. Stock up and freeze what you don't use for when they're not available.

	1/2 cup raw garlic scapes
Calories	101
Total Fat (g)	.5
Sodium	11
Carbs (g)	22
Fiber (g)	1.5
Sugar (g)	.5
Protein (g)	4.5
Vitamin A (IU)	0
Vitamin C (mg)	21
Calcium (mg)	125
Iron (mg)	1.2

Source

Seven Habits of Women Who Don't Get Sick

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Nothing is worse than getting a cold or the flu. Sometimes it seems unavoidable, but CNN recently reported on seven habits of women who rarely get sick. I've highlighted some key points in this slideshow, so see for yourself what you may want to do, or pat yourself on the back for those things that you already do.

Source

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Garlic

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:00:00 -0700

We all know that garlic is chock full of health benefits, but don't chop it though. Oh no, to reap the benefits of garlic you need to crush it. It seems that crushing it conserves its healthy anti-clotting compounds.

Not only that, but you should hold off cooking it for 10 minutes after you have smashed or pressed it. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C., leaving the prepared garlic out in the open for 10 minutes allows certain enzymes to kick in and unleash garlic's alleged cancer-fighting prowess.

It is also suggested that you only cook garlic for 3 - 6 minutes. Sounds like we all might have to alter some recipes a bit to save those garlic compounds.

Fit's Tip: I suggest starting with prepping the garlic when you are cooking. Peel and smash all the cloves you are going to use first, then prep the rest of your ingredients.

Garlic: Does it Repel Mosquitoes

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:45:00 -0700

Darn those little buggers! I went to a BBQ the other night and was getting eaten alive by pesky mosquitoes. Someone at the party said, "Just eat garlic and they won't come near you." Reminds me of vampire folklore.

It's true - mosquitoes and garlic don't mix. If you flavor your food with a lot of garlic or take garlic supplements, the compounds are released from your body through your skin and your breath. Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale, and to certain smells like sweat and the bacteria on our feet. The sulfur in garlic is what's believed to repel those buggers.

There are actually many natural bug repellents that include garlic, but some people's skin can have a bad reaction to it (not to mention there are social side effects to rubbing yourself with garlic - who's going to want to be near you when you smell like that?).

While there is no scientific evidence to back this up, it's worth a shot since garlic is so good for your health anyway.

Fit's Tips: I'd still use DEET-free bug repellents though so you're doubly protected from mosquito bites.

Source

Healthy Dose Link Time!!!!!!

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:45:00 -0700

Complete Running has a great idea: the US government should provide financial incentive (a tax write off) for being physically fit.

Fitness Fixation tells you to show your strength. I couldn't agree more with her advice.

About:Yoga teaches you Goddess pose. It is a wonderfully relaxing pose.

I am loving the new fitPod mix: Blister Register. Download it!!! It is FREE and will make you want to move.

vita-beat reports that a New Yorker was awarded for losing more than 500 pounds.

That's Fit has some ideas on sustainable tourism. Just in time for Earth Day!

Back in Skinny Jeans shares some snack ideas from around the skinny-sphere.

About: Low Fat Food teaches you how to make a quinoa pilaf. It looks delish.

PartySugar loves garlic and here are garlic fun facts to prove it.

diet-blog explains why we can't eat healthy foods.

iFit&Health lists out the good carbs for you - so eat up!!!

Herbs in a Tube - Don't Even Bother

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Let me give you some friendly advice. When you're cooking with a recipe that calls for fresh oregano and you go to the store and all they have is oregano in a tube, just forget it. Skip the oregano.

I was at the store looking for the fresh herb for my grandma's famous lasagna and I found Gourmet Garden's tubes next to the space my oregano should have been. They were all out of the fresh stuff, so I thought I'd give the tube a try, thinking it must be better than using the dried herbs. I was sorely mistaken.

I should have known the moment I squeezed it out - yup SQUEEZED. There's something seriously wrong with that statement - nothing fresh about it. Yeah, maybe it tasted the same, but the texture was pretty much disgusting, and not at all like the real deal.

The ingredients listed on the back of the tube make me think that this is a product better suited for long sea voyages rather than my gram's famous lasagna.

See for yourself though. Look for these tubes in the produce section. They have 10 herbs and spices including Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Garlic, Lemon Grass, Ginger, and Parsley.

Garlic Found Powerless Against High Levels of Cholesterol

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:25:17 -0800

Garlic was supposed to be cholesterol's pungent adversary, but it looks as if the herb is powerless against the fatty, artery clogging substance. For folks with moderate to high cholesterol levels adding raw garlic or garlic supplements to their diet has no significant effect on lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol concentrations or in triglyceride levels.

Earlier studies on garlic had mixed results, but researchers remained hopeful. In this study 192 subjects all with high level of cholesterol, were given the equivalent of one medium-size clove six days a week for six months. Their blood was drawn every month to check their cholesterol levels.

Crushed garlic contains allicin, which has been shown to inhibit cholesterol synthesis in a test tube. So it seems plausible that garlic could battle cholesterol. Alas, that is not the case.

It is still believed that garlic can help folks with healthy cholesterol levels maintain them, and prevent certain types of cancer.

How To Cook with Garlic To Reap All Its Goodness

FitSugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 16:20:00 -0800

Garlic is so very good for you, but it needs to be prepared a special way if you are to reap all its healthful benefits.

Web MD is reporting that when you are cooking garlic it needs to be crushed in order to conserve its healthy anti-clotting compounds. Seems that most studies on garlic have been performed on raw, but the majority of folks cook it. So press it with a garlic press and only cook it for between 3 and 6 minutes. Sounds like we all might have to alter some recipes a bit to save those garlic compounds.