Not new | Health benefits of garlic date back thousands of years

It was released on Thursday that the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and farming company Australian Garlic Producers have found that extracts of an as-yet-to-be-named garlic, have the ability to stop the spread of viral cells from SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A in the digestive system.

Fifth generation farmer and commercial garlic grower, Andrew Moon, Moonrocks, St George said garlic is a hot topic in Australia at the moment, and it's refreshing.

Although, even with their own research under their belts, Mr Moon said they are reluctant to jump on the new bandwagon suggesting that garlic cures active COVID as reported.

Brothers, Andrew and David Moon have been growing garlic commercially for close to 20 years, currently supplying approximately 40 per cent of the Australian garlic market.

Their dedication to the industry and product development has been demonstrated through recent national accolades including the 2022 Weekly Times' Coles Horticulture Farmer of the Year award and the 2021 Hort Connections Syngenta Grower of the Year award.

They both said that the health benefits of garlic date back thousands of years, as a staple in Eastern medicine.

In 2017, Moonrocks worked alongside the University of Queensland on independent comprehensive literature reviews and scoping studies to evaluate their own Australian grown garlic products.

This was to determine its nutritional and bio-active potential, especially in comparison to imported Chinese garlic which is most commonly found on supermarket shelves.

This was an independent research project funded by HAL, now known as Hort Innovation Australia.

This research cemented the value of Australian grown garlic, and its by-products, which have a vital role against certain ailments due to the presence of phytochemicals or bio-active compounds.

"Do we know is that garlic has a significantly positive impact on your immune system? Yes," Mr Moon said.

"We have independently researched data to show rich antibacterial and antioxidant materials in Australian grown garlic, supporting its use as an antimicrobial agent to treat infections."

However, Moonrocks' research also identified that the exact effectiveness of garlic as an antimicrobial agent depends on a wide variety of delicate variables including weather, storage and general growing conditions.

"We have seen suggestions in the media that the antibacterial properties of Australian grown garlic are specific only to certain varieties, and that is simply not the case," Mr Moon said.

"Whilst our research with the University of Queensland is based on our own varieties of garlic, we can comfortably say that it extends across the board with Australian grown garlic.

"Yes, some varieties are naturally stronger than others, but all varieties have antibacterial purposes," he said.

If we can take anything from this recent garlic buzz, Mr Moon suggests that we simply include more Australian garlic in our diets.

"Making an active effort to include a serve of garlic daily will do wonders for your health, not to mention the flavour of your meals,"

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