Fresh-You Challenge #1: Fresh Garlic!
I am so thrilled to be helping people be healthier through this blog!
Now I am beginning a two-week CHALLENGE to encourage YOU into ACTION!
I hope you'll join me! Leave a COMMENT if you're up for it!
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| I get a huge bag of fresh garlic from Costco for $4!! The real thing, so you don't have to worry at all about potency or purity or safety of a dietary supplement! |
WHY GARLIC? The key component: anti-bacterial ALLICIN. It may be beneficial to your immune system, and relatedly help prevent some cancers, treat ear infections, decrease incidence of colds, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and heart attack risk (by decreasing clotting in the blood)!
The science still has a lot to nail down as far as providing reliable research (unlike BROCCOLI, which is SO SOLIDLY helpful regarding cancer prevention and even treatment!), however, garlic has been used for MANY generations, and it isn't going to harm anyone, so why not give it a try!
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| Click on the image for a 15 second summary from Dr Oz! (go forward on the video to 1:00 and just watch the end for the garlic benefits!) |
I am "taking" 1-3 cloves of garlic per day for at least the next two weeks (I've actually been trying to do so for a few weeks now!). I do this by peeling a clove and then chopping it into 4-5 small pieces and then swallowing them like a pill! Thanks to my hubby's mom, and Dr Andrew Weil for the clever tip for consuming lots of fresh garlic! This helps minimize breath/aftertaste problems.
I tried 5 small cloves one day...after I'd missed a few days, and it was too much! You'll know right away if the garlic isn't agreeing with your body!
Not sure how to notice if the garlic is doing any good other than making it through the whole winter cold-free. Then I'll know I certainly had fever colds than last year, since I'm sure I had a least one!
FORMING A NEW HABIT
It normally takes AT LEAST that amount of time (2 weeks) for a new practice in your life to become a HABIT!
According to a study that measured this, it took a lot longer: an average of 66 days (at this point an activity had become as automatic as it ever would)! Considering our two-week jump start, you can see on their graph below that the natural-ness or automaticity of the activity increased very steeply early in the habit introduction (see "Look here!" on the graph -- in about 20 days automaticity reached about 50-70% of total change which would plateau after 66 days).
AUTOMATICITY? This was measured with questions related to a given new activity becoming 'hard not to do' and could be done 'without thinking'.
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| This drawing came from Jeremy Dean's blog: Psychblog. Jeremy's interpretation was that it takes a long time (average of 66 days) to form a new habit; I saw it differently -- seeing the early changes in automaticity as extremely motivating! Psychblog is a very cool blog about current psychology topics and research :) |
GARLIC RECIPES
Consider that most recipes only require a few cloves of garlic, which will then be divided into many servings. Also, cooking garlic may diminishes its medicinal properties. Still, garlic is DELICIOUS and present in many cuisines! Here are some examples!
Try Chinese -- Rich and Tasty Tofu Stir Fry
OR Indian -- see a convenient meal in a box!
OR Middle Eastern -- Heavenly Hummus
OR Italian -- EASY Eggplant Parm (it's in the sauce, but you could add more!)
OR American -- Hearty "Turkey" Meatloaf
OR Mexican Fiesta Bowl
RELIABLE GARLIC RESOURCES (Great sites to search health-related other topics!!)
Medline Plus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/300.html
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/garlic/ataglance.htm
National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/garlic-and-cancer-prevention
University of Maryland Medical Center Complementary Medicine
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/garlic-000245.htm
COMMENTS: Do you get super-busy in fall? How do you cope? I just found out about a study that reported that there is actually a sort of mental disorder label for after-summer blues! While I can't say I get depressed with this change of seasons, I certainly have a very full calendar and to-do list! Thank goodness there are things we can do to simplify! Ten Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Life!
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