Garlic- The Invaluable Pearl

My mother who left this world at the age of 88 about 5 years back was a very good cook. She had a special talent in preparing delicious dishes using the minimum possible ingredients in surprisingly limited time. In his famous book ‘Seven Summers’, the well known Indian writer, Mulk Raj Anand often makes references to the wonderful curries his mother used to prepare. Perhaps the dishes prepared by mothers might be the tastiest for their children! In the post world war scenario resources were very limited; but my mother used garlic in many of her ‘wonderful curries’. I believe that this single thing has contributed very much in boosting the health of the members of our ancestral family.

In ashtangahrudaya, the well known treatise on Ayurveda, garlic is described as amruth (elixir of life) on the earth. The health benefits and medicinal properties of garlic were known to the ancient Indian philosophers. Therefore it is an important ingredient in many ayurvedic preparations. Modern research has revealed that garlic has antibacterial, anti-fungal and antioxidant properties. It is found to be a natural blood thinner and has the ability to reduce blood pressure. It renders protection against cancer.

Make a google search on ‘garlic benefits’ and you will be surprised to find the volume of results you obtain.

Some of you may not like the smell of garlic. But once you realise its medicinal value you will love it. I have made it a habit to take two or three raw garlic flakes every day to get the beneficial effects of this wonder food stuff. It will be convenient to take it with your supper.

Vitamin C

Ever since I came to know about the beneficial effects of vitamin C as advocated by Linus Pauling, I have tried to include this vitamin in my diet. Linus Pauling was a very rare scientist who won the prestigious Nobel Prize twice, the first one (in Chemistry in 1954) for his work on the nature of chemical bonds and the second one (for peace in 1962) for his efforts to stem nuclear weapons proliferation.
I believe that a scientist of his caliber should be correct. My trust in his findings had the additional support from ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine that has been popular in India from time immemorial. In ashtangahridaya, one of the authoritative books on ayurveda, there is a chapter on rasayanas (tonics) which discusses the preparation of chyavanaprasha (chyavanprash), the famous tonic that restored the health of Chyavana Maharshi. (This preparation is very popular in India even today. In fact, its popularity is so great that you can find many companies in India manufacturing and marketing this tonic on gigantic scale). A very significant ingredient in chyavanaprasha is gooseberry which is rich in vitamin C.
Ayurveda requires that one should consume a suitable rasayana for physical and mental health. Interestingly, the converse also is true according to ayurveda: A person who has good physical and mental health might be taking some suitable rasayana!
My personal experience is that a 500mg vitamin C tablet per day in the chewable form is good for preventing the common cold and such viral diseases when the likelihood of catching such diseases is suspected. When you consume such a tablet, you will be getting a total quantity of more than 500mg since your food items will contain additional quantity of vitamin C. Since vitamin C is ascorbic acid, I never take the tablet in an empty stomach and I consume a lot of water. You can get more interesting information on vitamin C here.