Erika Driscoll, a graduate student at Annenberg who’s also getting her masters in Nutrition. Once a USC Song Girl... and now a fitness guru, she includes this special ingredient in her daily life.
Driscoll: “I love garlic, I also like how you can grill garlic or you cook it, so if your not using a powder it’s very fresh.”
Taking it in the raw form is good, but did you know you can also take it in a pill form?
Interestingly enough, my grandfather was the one who studied and patented what are called nanospheres of garlic. These polymer tablets. He researched all of the developments.
Unfortunately he passed away when I was just a baby, but my mom knows all too well about garlic.
Vaughn: “He patented multiple products with the nanospheres and also with garlic, um, as a healthy lifestyle. And um the garlic research started in our kitchen. So for me as a 15-year old girl bringing friends home to the house, the garlic, wafting in our house. And, um, had to explain that to a lot of friends. But he truly was brilliant.”
Despite my moms hesitance to the garlic, as a matter of fact, for thousands of years, it was used as a medical treatment in ancient cultures. Dená Brummer, a food professor here at USC explains the history as to why garlic is so good for you.
Brummer: “One of the most common herbs used throughout the world, whether it’s in China, Egypt, or even Roman civilization, was garlic.”
She says that people can never have enough garlic.
Brummer: “I think people shouldn’t discount the notion of adding garlic to their food. It offers lots of nutritional and chemical benefits that work in many beneficial ways. So a little garlic can save the day.”
And my mom agrees.
Vaughn: I think its beneficial to our entire, you know, livelihood. Just to be able to take that on a daily basis is a simple supplement that you can take to help your overall well being and it’s not going to do your body any harm by taking that, but it will help your body. That’s what he was most impressed with with the clinical studies and things like that
I know some love garlic and some hate it, but maybe knowing the health benefits can help you use it more in your life... but... try not to forget a breath mint.
For Annenberg media, I’m Piper Vaughn.