I’m not sure I can overstate how much I love garlic. When I go to restaurants and order pasta or pizza, my instructions to the server are usually something along the lines of, “Put in more garlic than you think is necessary. And then add more.” I mean, dinner for me sometimes is just a whole head of roasted garlic. You can imagine how the ex-girlfriend felt about that one.

Anyway, I bring all this up as an intro to the best news that I’ve heard since I told myself that beer is made of dreams and sunshine. Garlic may help you ward off colds. Take that, winter! Oh, and vampires. From the New York Times over the weekend:

In one double-blind study, published in 2001, British scientists followed 146 healthy adults over 12 weeks from November to February. Those who had been randomly selected to receive a daily garlic supplement came down with 24 colds during the study period, compared with 65 colds in the placebo group. The garlic group experienced 111 days of sickness, versus 366 for those given a placebo. They also recovered faster.

Of course, the Times has to get all smarmy when discussing exactly why garlic does this, saying that it’s either allicin (which  is basically the “active” ingredient in garlic) blocks enzymes that play a role in bacterial and viral infections. Or, they say, it’s simply that “perhaps people who consume enough garlic simply repel others, and thus steer clear of their germs.” Har har.

Regardless, as we approach the cold and terribleness that is winter (side note: whose idea was it to build a city in Chicago?), start loading up on garlic to stay healthy and happy. Remember the saying, “A head of garlic a day keeps the colds and everyone else away.” It’s science. Literally.

photo credit: CarbonNYC’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons