One of my favorite ways to “dress up” mashed potatoes is with some easy additions. I add the usual milk and butter and depending on what we’re having I like to put in about a teaspoon or so of granulated garlic powder (I’ve tried adding fresh chopped garlic at various stages of cooking and mashing, but the kids aren’t crazy about the bits, so the granulated will do for now!).

Or, if you’re not crazy about garlic or are having a meal where the garlic would be too overpowering, you can still add a little bit of a kick with the addition of some sour cream. After you’ve drained the potatoes and put them back in the pot, add a bit of milk and butter and about 1/2-1 cup (depending on taste and quantity) of sour cream, and mash together.

For something a little more different, you can even add some cream cheese. Yes, cream cheese is sweet but only mildly so, and the addition of it to mashed potatoes makes for a very creamy, smooth side dish, especially with some chopped chives mixed in. Trust me, this is heaven on a plate.

While none of these are what you would call low-cal, served in moderation (as with anything!) they make a great treat and nice change from “plain old” mashed potatoes.

What’s your favorite way to dress up mashed potatoes?

[image: flickr]

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Dressing Up Mashed Potatoes

• 1 bunch kale
• 3-4 tablespoons of your favorite oil (I use grapeseed oil)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• Pinch of salt
• Red pepper flakes
• Splash of red wine vinegar

See the rest of the cooking instructions here. This dish is suitable for vegetarians, or as a side dish!

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Garlicky Kale Recipe

The UAB researchers found this interaction triggered red blood cells to release H2S, which then led to the relaxation of blood vessels. Fresh garlic was used at a concentration equal to eating two cloves. The resulting H2S production caused up to 72 percent vessel relaxation in rat arteries.

“When these garlic compounds are metabolized to H2S in the vascular system, the H2S targets membrane channels and causes smooth muscle cells to relax,” Kraus said. “So a garlic-rich diet has many good effects, and H2S may be the common mediator.”

Future studies are being planned to better understand how much H2S production is needed through garlic or supplements to maximize those benefits.

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How Garlic Reduce High Blood Pressure

Actually, I love garlic, and since I moved to Asia, I’ve been using it more and more. It’s not only documented to help reduce cholesterol levels, it has also shown some antibacterial and anti-cancer powers.

But did you know that the way you prepare and eat your garlic does have an impact on its powers -the blood pressure-lowering powers, at least?

After boiling, baking and microwaving both crushed and uncrushed cloves of garlic and evaluating them for their antiplatelet activity, the scientists learned that lightly cooked, crushed garlic provides most of the health benefits found in raw garlic. The only exception was microwaving, which stripped garlic almost entirely of its blood-thinning effects.

The researchers contend that while heating might be generally blamed for reducing garlic’s antiplatelet activity, it’s the crushing that enables the beneficial compounds to be freed in the first place.

So what’s your crusher of choice? A garlic press, or the traditional mortar-and-pestle? I have the former, but am thinking of getting the latter. I have the impression I’m wasting too much with the press and it’s not that easy to clean.

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Garlic: Crushed and Lightly Baked is Best

Forty-nine participants were randomly assigned to receive raw garlic, 47 to take a powdered garlic supplement, 48 to take an aged garlic supplement and 48 to take placebo. The amount of garlic consumed in the three garlic groups was the equivalent of an average-sized garlic clove each day, six days per week.
There were no statistically significant effects of the three forms of garlic on LDL cholesterol concentrations. Levels of other types of cholesterol—including high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol), triglycerides and total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio—also remained the same. No serious adverse events occurred, although bad body and breath odor were reported to occur often or almost always by 28 participants (57 percent) in the raw garlic group.

Ugh.

On the other hand, the authors said that although garlic doesn’t seem to be effective in this subset of patients with moderately high LDL, garlic might benefit those with higher LDL concentrations. Indeed, the accompanying editorial in the Archives of Internal Medicine, where the above study was published, these results mentioned above do not demonstrate that garlic has no usefulness in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Pity that I don’t have access to the whole text, though, so I can’t elaborate.

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Garlic Does NOT Lower Cholesterol Levels in Patients with Moderately High LDL Levels

Numerous studies have indicated that the consumption of garlic and onions seems to reduce the risk of contracting cancer, particularly colon and stomach cancer.

People who used the most onion or garlic about a half-cup of chopped onion daily and a self-assessed “high” garlic consumption were from 10 percent to 88 percent less likely to have various types of cancer than those who said they used little or none.

Cancers compared included cancers of the esophagus, mouth and throat, colon, breast, ovary, prostate and kidney. High onion intake, for example, was associated with a 56 percent lower risk of colon cancer and a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to no onion intake.

The amount necessary to elicit an anti-cancer effects seems to vary among the studies, though, and there are indications that the effects are enhanced when consumed with other compounds that work through different pathways. So it seems that it might not necessarily make sense to go after garlic capsules and supplements, and it would be better to incorporate them instead in your meals.

So if you’re one of those who are put off by garlicky smell, you might want to re-consider it. Bad breath or cancer?

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Ward Off Cancer with Garlic and Onions

Dr Alan Smyth of the University’s School of Human Development, who is leading the project, said: “The garlic components inhibit a bacterial communication system called quorum sensing (QS). This is responsible for the germ forming tenacious colonies in the lungs called ‘biofilms’. The QS molecules also switch on bacterial weapons such as ‘elastase’, an enzyme which breaks down elastic tissue in the lung.

“The beauty of this approach is that we may be able to render the germ harmless without killing it. If we use a conventional antibiotic which kills the Pseudomonas, there will always be some survivors, some of which may develop antibiotic resistance. The trick is not to allow Pseudomonas to use natural selection as a weapon against us.”

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Garlic Against Bacterial Infections in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Beta-glucan helps lower “bad” LDL cholesterol in two ways. “It forms a gel in the digestive tract that traps dietary cholesterol, making it less available for absorption, so some gets ushered out of the body as waste,” says Julie Jones, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and a fiber researcher at the College of St. Catherine in Minnesota. Also, as fiber moves farther along in the digestive process, “good” bacteria in the colon digest it, producing short-chain fatty acids that get reabsorbed into the bloodstream. These are then picked up by the liver where they “inhibit enzymes that synthesize blood cholesterol—much in the same way statin drugs do,” says Jones.

How much beta glucan do you need? 1 cup of oatmeal and a side serving (3⁄4 cup cooked) of barley together supply 3 grams of beta-glucan, the daily intake that research has linked with cardiovascular benefits.

Personally, I find pure, unflavored oatmeal quite boring. I like the flavored ones or those pepped up with fruit bits and raisins. How about you? What’s your favorite sort?

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Why You Need Beta Glucan

The other 5 on his list:

1. Japanese pickled plums (umeboshi), whose by-product, bainiku-ekisu, may help in preventing the onset of cardiac disease

2. Raw oats, blueberry muesli, & soymilk : an ideal breakfast, providing you fiber, some antioxidants and a bit of protein, repectively

3. Raw garlic, but like I mentioned previously, there might be a less embarassing alternative.

4. Caffeine: I’ve written an entry before detailing the benefits of coffee, also in cognitive decline, and a number of entries on tea. Take your pick. Michael prefers tea; I’m a coffee-junkie.

5. Mackerel/Yellowtail: highly valued for their high DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) content, not only are fatty fish considered brain food, they have also been demonstrated to reduce risks of prostate, renal, and breast cancers.

See Michael’s complete post here.

Incidentally, while browsing on Amazon, I chanced upon this book: SuperFoods HealthStyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health. It’s got 85 customer reviews at this point, and the average rating is 5 stars, the maximum. Wow, I’m gonna get me one!

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Utility Foods for Special Purposes

Well, assuming that the scientific bases are all ironed out… er, have you ever chewed raw garlic?

NutraProducts, Inc have addressed the issue of, er, bad breath associated with garlic consumption and have come up with Garli-Eze®, a new formulation of dehydrated garlic powder :

“[snip] Using innovative state-of-the-art manufacturing we have developed a process that delivers as much natural allicin as fresh garlic without offensive odors or discomfort. This new, all natural proprietary process is designed to eliminate the degradation of alliinase which occurs when high potency garlic mixes with stomach acid. In fact, Garli-Eze activates in stomach acid yet doesn’t use an ‘enteric coating’, which typically employs a mix of synthetic chemicals designed to protect the capsule contents from stomach acid. Garli-Eze is the first commercial garlic product to perform like fresh, raw garlic.”

All these sounds great, of course. The only thing that troubles me is that when I searched for more information on Garli-eze, it seems that it’s also a product meant for horses. Or am I just being squeamish?

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Garlic Benefits Without the Garlic Smell