KEEP MORE THAN VAMPIRES AWAY By Sarah Baird
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very few years, there’s another ultrahyped superfood on the market ready and able to save us from the repercussions of too many late nights or couch snacks.
The Brazilian acai berry swooped into the spotlight in the mid-2010s with its nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich pulp that can help reduce cholesterol and increase brain functioning. It was touted by everyone from Oprah to local pharmacists. Turmeric—a staple ingredient in curries—recently took its turn as an Instagraminfluencer favorite thanks to its powerful anti-inflammatory effects and potential to lower the risk for heart disease. From golden milk (a traditional Indian drink that combines turmeric, coconut milk, spices and a sweetener) to spicy chickpea stews, this healthful member of the ginger family radiated a sunset-colored hue across all social media channels for a spell. But even if you’ve never dabbled in superfood favorites like chia seeds, breadfruit and ancient grains, you’re probably using one of the oldest and intensely studied superfoods already. And it’s not a mystery fruit from a faraway land (at least not anymore); it’s a centuries-old, good-for-you ingredient in dishes that regularly grace our tables. In everything from Bolognese to roast chicken, you’ll find garlic. A go-to curative in Egyptian, Indian and Chinese cultures for over 2,000 years, healers across the globe have treated pungent garlic bulbs as a kind of cure-all pharmacy crammed into a tiny package. Since it was first cultivated in Middle Asia, garlic quickly became called upon to help with everything from balance and endurance (Egyptians) to skin diseases and rheumatism (Indians) to ulcers and spider bites (Slavic cultures). “Pliny, [the] ancient Roman naturalist and physician, listed 61 diseases that could be effectively treated with garlic,” writes Dr. Paavo Airola in 1983’s The Miracle of Garlic. “He said, ‘Garlic has such powerful properties that the very smell of it drives away serpents and scorpions.’ Pliny [also] claimed that garlic has curative power in all respiratory and tubercular ailments.” In the United States, the national awakening to garlic as not only a pungent ingredient, but a boon for the body, ran in tandem with the environmentally conscious “back to the land” movement of the 1970s, when health food stores became more than just one-off
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R O U S E S M A R C H A P R I L 20 21
