Time to Switch Over to the Dark Side of Garlic?

Black Garlic

Recently people have been discussing black garlic claiming that it has more nutritional benefit than regular garlic.  Black garlic is not chemically altered and does not possess any colors or additives.  The garlic actually gets its black color through fermentation.  The natural amino acids and sugars undergo fermentation and produce melanoidin and gives the garlic a jet black color.  It's similar to the process of creating dried fruit.  Black garlic has a more tender texture and a slightly sweeter taste, almost like molasses after fermentation and it lacks the usual potent odor of regular garlic and does not give you bad breath.  On the side of health and nutrition, black garlic has twice as many antioxidants compared to regular garlic and it contains a compound called S-Allycysteined and other compounds that fight off cancer cells.

Black garlic is normally found in Asian cuisine and is now becoming more and more well known and popular in the United States.  A lot of expensive and exclusive restaurants have incorporated black garlic in their dishes because it adds a different texture and appearance to the dishes.  The foreign factor and health benefits make black garlic an intriguing and new ingredient for American cooks.  In Asian countries they utilize black garlic for the amount of antioxidants and typically put the crushed cloves in "energy" drinks.  On the Food Network's program "Iron Chef America", black garlic was introduced and turned into a sauce during the preparation of monk fish.

Stages of Black Garlic Formation

After 45 days of aging the fermentation process is complete, and the garlic turns into jet black garlic and has more antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals.  A raw head of garlic has .332 mg of S-Allycysteined (the cancer fighting nutrient), 5 mg of calcium, 40 mg of phosphorus, and 3.3 g of protein.  Those are all great numbers and regular garlic is one of the healthiest ingredients you can add to your food.  When you compare the amount of nutrients of regular garlic to black garlic there is a significant difference.  Black garlic has 5.84 mg of S-Allycysteined, 36.66 mg of calcium, 80 mg of phosphorous, and 12.3 g of protein.  So can black garlic be categorized as a super-food and superior to it's once crowned healthy processor, it seems we're heading to the dark side from now on.

Omega 3's: The New Found Fountain of Youth

  Omega 3s have become more and more well known and recommended throughout the past few years, but I'm not sure if people fully understand the health benefits and how to incorporate Omega 3 fatty acids into their daily eating habits.  There are several ways to easily incorporate Omega 3s into your diet without being forced to eating "health food".  Omega 3s are found in Wild Alaskan salmon, flax-seeds, walnuts, eggs, grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and some organic cheese and milk.  Omega 3s can also be ingested through supplements such as krill oil and fish oil.  All of the fatty acids in Omega 3s are polyunsaturated which are good fats that the body needs to properly function.  Omega 3s have been linked to anti-aging, boosting your immune system, supplying energy, preventing several types of cancer, decrease risk of cardiovascular disease, increased brain function, and help with inflammation.  If you are unable to incorporate Omega 3s into your diet, Omega 3 supplements are just as affective and you can purchase either krill or fish oil pills.  If you decide to add Omega 3s into your food, you can easily do so by sprinkling flax-seeds on your food.  There is no need to panic because flax-seeds will not alter the taste of your favorite foods but it may change the texture a little.  In order to get all of the health benefits from the flax-seed, you have to ingest it all crushed up, you will not get any of the benefits if you eat flax-seeds whole because the body cannot properly breakdown the seeds.  Flax-seeds are a great source of Omega 3s but are also low in calories and high in fiber so you're adding Omega 3s and fiber to your regular foods that may not have a lot of fiber or any Omega 3s in them.  The best things to sprinkle flax-seeds on are oatmeal and Greek-style yogurt.  By adding flax-seeds to both of these items you're adding an extra dose of fiber and since Greek-style yogurt does not have any fiber, you're adding an essential amount of fiber along with a great dose of protein (Greek yogurt has about 15 grams per serving) so that translates to "you're going to be full!".

Another source of Omega 3s are found in walnuts, but you have to be careful with walnuts because they have a great source of Omega 3s and polyunsaturated fats and protein, but they are also high in calories so keep it limited to about less than a handful of walnuts (about 12 pieces per serving).  Probably the best source is hands down Wild Alaskan salmon.  Now don't get confused with regular farm raised salmon that many restaurants carry.  The farm raised salmon barely has any Omega 3s and has more mercury.  The reason why farm raised salmon doesn't have Omega 3s and more mercury is because the main source of Omega 3s is through krill that salmon eat in their natural environment and when they consume krill then the fatty acids are concentrated within the salmon.  Farm raised salmon has little if any nutritional benefit and shouldn't be consumed on a weekly basis because of the mercury levels.  If you don't like the taste of Wild Alaskan salmon you can also eat the more common canned, light tuna fish.  They also make Wild Alaskan salmon in canned or pouch form, so if you're curious about trying it the Wild Alaskan salmon is practically the same price.

Omega 3s are also found in eggs, grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and some milk and cheese products.  Make sure that you purchase cage-free eggs in order to get all of the health benefits from the egg.  Another source of Omega 3s is Canola oil, but as I posted and talked about earlier the risks of Canola oil out way the faulty benefits.  Another source of Omega 3s that a lot of people don't realize is fresh basil, vegetable and walnut oil, spinach, tarragon, and anchovies.  So the next time you have pizza you can get you're serving of Omega 3s by adding fresh basil and anchovies, if that's your thing that is.