Can eating garlic prevent the new crown?

　　Garlic was introduced to my country during the Han Dynasty and has a history of thousands of years. In the past, garlic was just a simple and small role on the dining table. Now, with the changes in the epidemic prevention and control situation, many people began to count on eating garlic to prevent the new crown, fearing that if they were a little negligent, they would join the “herd”. Can eating garlic slices in your mouth every day, or even eating a lot of garlic, prevent the new crown? How can the garlic flavor stay “fragrant” for a long time?
Can eating garlic prevent the new crown?

　　The reason why there is a saying that eating garlic to prevent the new crown is because garlic contains garlic oil, the main component of which is allicin. Allicin is a pungent smell and volatile organic sulfide, which has certain biological activities, not only can resist oxidation, lower blood pressure, lower blood fat, anti-tumor, but also have anti-bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites have obvious inhibitory effect.
　　In addition, a study also mentioned that hydrogen bonds can be formed between the bioactive site of allicin and serine protease to reduce the infection of the new coronavirus and prevent its outbreak.
　　There are also clinical trials that conducted controlled experiments on 197 patients with new crowns, of which 97 patients used garlic essential oil during treatment, and the other 100 patients received only conventional treatment. The results showed that patients who received garlic essential oil showed a shorter duration of symptoms, negative nucleic acid tests and improved computerized tomography (CT) symptoms earlier than those treated with conventional treatment.
　　However, it needs to be clear that the extracts used in the above studies are all specific ingredients, and there is still a certain gap compared with the garlic we usually eat in our mouths. It does not mean that eating garlic directly can achieve the same effect However, eating garlic blindly may also cause problems.
　　A foreign report mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, a 72-year-old woman listened to her friend’s advice. In order to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, she chewed a clove of raw garlic every day before lunch for 2 months. Burning and pain when chewing garlic, cracks on tongue. So the doctor asked him to stop eating raw garlic immediately, and adjusted his diet to a soft diet without sour, peppery, spicy or hot food. Later, his tongue gradually improved.
　　Although garlic is an immunomodulator, reports have shown that a diet containing garlic (raw or crushed garlic) can affect the expression of human immunity and improve immunity, but do not eat garlic frequently or in large quantities to prevent the new coronavirus. There is a lack of authoritative in vivo research and clinical experimental evidence that eating garlic directly can prevent new crowns.
　　In fact, in terms of preventing the new crown, instead of being entangled in condiments such as onion, ginger and garlic, it is better to wash your hands frequently, ventilate frequently, and wear masks correctly.
What can garlic bring us?

　　As the saying goes, “Eat meat without garlic, half the nutrition.” Eating meat with garlic is a habit of many people. This is not just for delicious food. Lean meat is rich in vitamin B1, which is a water-soluble vitamin that stays in the body for a short time and will be excreted with urine.
　　Studies have shown that if you eat meat with garlic, the vitamin B1 in the meat can combine with the allicin in the garlic to form “allicin”, making it change from water-soluble to fat-soluble, prolonging the lifespan in the body. Longer residence time can better promote the absorption and utilization of vitamin B1.
　　Therefore, we can add garlic when eating foods rich in vitamin B1, such as lean meat, liver, eggs, milk and other foods.
　　Garlic tastes spicy because the alliin in it will quickly generate allicin under the action of alliinase after the garlic is squeezed or cut and damaged. Allicin is very spicy. It is not only a biologically active substance of garlic, but also a dish The main ingredient of seasoning.
　　However, the nature of allicin is unstable. At room temperature, allicin is easily degraded into compounds such as ajoene, and its antibacterial activity decreases significantly. When the temperature is higher than 80°C, the antibacterial activity of allicin will be completely lost.
　　If you are afraid of the pungentness of garlic, you can fry the garlic or throw a few cloves in the stew. After being heated, the allicin activity will be lost and it will no longer be pungent. Although it no longer has antibacterial effect, it can supplement inulin for us. Garlic contains 9% to 16% inulin.
　　Inulin is a polysaccharide, which belongs to soluble dietary fiber and a kind of prebiotics, which can promote the proliferation of probiotics, inhibit the growth of intestinal spoilage bacteria, improve the intestinal microenvironment, and regulate blood sugar levels.

　　In addition, a meta-analysis in 2011 showed that allium vegetables (onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives, etc.) have antibacterial effects on Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer. Eating 20 grams of onions a day It is a vegetable, which can reduce the risk of gastric cancer by 9%. 20 grams of garlic is equivalent to 3 to 4 cloves.
don’t eat too much garlic

　　Although it is beneficial and safe to eat a little garlic in moderation, it does not mean that the more you eat, the better, especially raw garlic.
　　Eating too much raw garlic will cause adverse reactions. Eating too much garlic on an empty stomach will cause changes in intestinal flora, flatulence, gastrointestinal dysfunction, weight loss, red blood cell lytic anemia, and liver and kidney damage. Raw garlic can also cause blisters, dermatitis, and burns if sliced ​​or crushed and placed on the skin or left in the mouth for too long.
　　Also, eating too much raw garlic may irritate the eyes, causing eye discomfort. If you like to eat, you can eat up to 3 to 4 petals a day.
Mouth full of garlic how to solve?

　　Garlic contains sulfide, which has a unique taste, and it can leave a long-lasting “fragrant” after a bite. This is garlic’s self-defense mechanism. This smell is hard to get rid of for a long time, and it is related to the methallyl sulfide produced after the decomposition and digestion of methyl mercaptan and allicin by the gastrointestinal tract. Generally, it reaches the peak between 6 and 18 hours after eating garlic. If you want to be completely metabolized , generally more than 16 hours.
　　And methallyl sulfide will also appear in the urine, causing urine odor, and it can also be excreted along with the carbon dioxide in the breath, so after eating garlic, even the breath is “that smell”.
　　To reduce or eliminate this peculiar smell, you can try the following three methods:
　　Eat apples and lettuce: You can eat some fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain some enzymes that can convert the thiols remaining in the mouth into tasteless molecules, such as lettuce, apples, etc. , preferably eaten with garlic.
　　Drink milk: It can reduce the garlic smell in the mouth, because the protein in milk can combine with allicin, thereby reducing the garlic smell.
　　Drink tea or chew tea leaves: Tea polyphenols in green tea can remove allicin. Japan is a country that studies more garlic. The chewing gum they developed contains tea polyphenols, which can not only kill bacteria in the mouth, but also get rid of smoke, onion and garlic and bad breath. Therefore, drinking tea or chewing tea leaves after eating garlic can reduce the garlic odor in the mouth.