Today, we are going to explore the cliché topic for Halloween…GARLIC! I pre-empted this topic a little over two months ago when I touched on the topic of Onions.   This is another one of my favorites, there are even restaurants that specialize in garlic foods in California (#thestinkingrose) – highly recommend it, and they keep away the vampires, so it’s a fun topic.

Garlic is a part of the same family as onions, genus allicin, so it can boosts immunity.   As stated in previous posts, allicin is a powerful antibiotic, however what I didn’t state previously is the European belief is that vampires were created by blood disorders so the allicin in the garlic would kill them. What you don’t realize is that the blood disorder that they are referring to is porphyria, and garlic actual makes their symptoms worse, so it was assumed that people with porphyria were “vampires.”

Let’s now continue with the “bad” side of garlic.  Side effects of eating too much garlic (hard to think about “too much”) include, but not limited too:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Appetite Loss
• Dizziness
• Allergic Reactions
• Crying bloody murder from the stomach cramps
• Bad breath

But enough of the bad stuff…  Let’s take a look at the GOOD side of garlic, besides the history of it (cause that’s just fun).  Garlic being an allicin can

• Boost immunity (lowers the risk of colon cancer)
• Anti-inflammatory (rub garlic oil on sore inflamed joints and muscles)
• Improves heart health (could regulate blood pressure)
• Kill bacteria
• Treats athletes foot

In other words, garlic is very healthy for you in moderation and can be used topically to help “heal” some injuries—- as long as you are not a vampire.  Have a Happy Halloween, be safe and make sure to eat some garlic and watch out for the vampires today.