Garlic for Common Colds: Believe What You Want
By Robert Latkany, MDAugust 02, 2009
Every time my wife gets sick, she chews on cloves of garlic like they were candy. She makes garlic soup, eats garlic on peanut butter crackers, and generally litters the kitchen with garlic as if she was expecting unwelcome guests from Transylvania for dinner. If I had to compare the duration of her colds with mine, I would say if anything that her colds drag on longer. To make matters worse, when bedtime comes along I need nose plugs in order to tolerate a night’s sleep with her. I thought about applying for a patent for use of ingested garlic as a repellant, but found that there already was one. So in order to save the marriage, I had to try to find some evidence about garlic to change her mind.
In a Cochrane review of trials dated back to 1950, Lissiman et al found no consistent evidence that garlic prevents or treats the common cold. One reviewed study, a randomized control trial comparing garlic supplements to placebo for the prevention of common cold, did show a significant reduction in incidence and duration of colds in patients taking the garlic. When I confronted my wife with the results this review her response was that she believed the single positive study and didn't believe the review. And this is from someone who claims to practice evidence based medicine!
So I agreed to try and create a recipe that uses a lot of garlic to appease her. I paired garlic and one of my favorite foods: shrimp. And with a little more research I found some health benefits justifying the use of garlic. Ried et al performed a meta-analysis on 11 studies on the impact garlic preparations had on blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients. They found a mean reduction of 8.4 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 7.3mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure. A meta-analysis of 29 clinical trials found garlic has a modest reduction of total cholesterol and triglyceride level according to Reinhart et al. Garlic did not however, have a significant impact on lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) levels or raising HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
Recipe for Shrimp with Garlic and Tomatoes
1 pound of wild jumbo shrimp, deshelled and deveined
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of coarsely chopped cherry tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 teaspoon mustard
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
1. Combine all spices (except for the garlic, star anise and bay leaf) in a large bowl
2. Add and mix the shrimp in the spice bowl, be sure to cover all the shrimp with spices
3. In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat for 30 seconds
4. Heat the garlic and tomatoes for 1 minute
5. Add the shrimp, bay leaf and star anise in the pan and cook for 7 to 8 minutes (flip the shrimp only once midway through)
6. Remove from pan and serve over a bed of pasta cooked al dente.
Delicious!
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