The Astonishing Benefits of the Magical “Trio” in Arab Cuisine
By Myrna Daher/Contributing Writer
We, as Arab Americans, take the win for our extensive use of the magical Trio: lemon, olive oil and garlic.
This trio is the key to making signature dishes within the Arab diet. Delicious ways to Alkalize your body and properly regulate the pH balance and supply minerals that help reduce muscle decrease, while increasing cardiovascular health.
Remember, adding a simple drizzle of olive oil, followed by freshly squeezed lemon juice to freshly crushed garlic into your next dish will provide you with substantial health benefits.
Lemons are significant when it comes to alkalizing your bodies. When you do so, you will properly manage your pH balance and stabilize your blood. This process ensures proper function of your kidneys by filtering out excessive acids and waste.
Now that “properly alkalizing your bodies” is understood, let’s look into pectin which is loaded in lemons. Pectin’s main purpose, other than removing toxins and mercury, is to help regulate blood glucose levels. Lemons are high in Vitamin C, which many people associate with flu prevention; however, many don’t associate this type of vitamin with the anti-aging properties.
Actually, Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps to rejuvenate skin and stimulate collagen production. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition conducted a study of the benefits of consuming Vitamin C. The study recommends the consumption of lemon in your diet regularly by adding it into water and meals. By doing so, you get much more than the flavor.
Fortunately, Arabs and Arab Americans have done a great job in getting enough fresh lemon in their fresh lemonade, and in many other dishes, such as: Tabbouleh, Fattoush, Mlokhiya, Grape- leaves and many other vegetable stews: Okra, green beans, sweet peas, stuffed eggplant and squash.
One can confidently say that if the East Coast and Midwest produced adequate sunlight, every Arab American home would have a lemon tree in their backyard, the way they do it in their Arab country.
Moreover, recent studies have confirmed that garlic can help prevent cancers and fatal conditions. It supports the central nervous system and bodily functions that are related too and can affect the brain, spine, and spinal cord. According to Medical News Today, professors of neurology: Swapan Ray, Naren Banik, and Arabinda Das “studied three pure organo-sulfur compounds (DAS, DADS, and DATS) from garlic and the interaction with human glioblastoma cells. All three compounds demonstrated efficacy in eradicating brain cancer cells, but DATS proved to be the most effective”.
The Medical News Today also verified that garlic eliminates cancer cells; “cancer cells have a high metabolism and require much energy for rapid growth. In this study, garlic compounds produced reactive oxygen species in brain cancer cells, essentially gorging them to death with activation of multiple death cascades”.
Keep in mind garlic can be incorporated in any meal, but Arabs take the gold in this ingredient! Garlic is loaded with benefits and we all can use a detox, so, yalla include garlic in your next Arab inspired dish!
The final in the Trio is the Olive oil which is a key ingredient to the majority of Arab dishes. It’s very common to start or finish dishes by adding a drizzle of olive oil. Like lemons and garlic, olive oil has an abundance of health benefits that serve as a must when it comes to creating an Arab dish.
Olive oil is a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) which are considered a healthy fat, as opposed to saturated fat and trans fat. It is high in vitamin E & K and packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits which serve as a great deed to our hearts and colon.
Professor Mohamed Hammami of Tunisia and Saudi Arabia worked with a team of researchers to carry out experiments in a group of 80 rats. He said, “Olive oil is an integral ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. There is growing evidence that [olive oil] has a great health benefits, including: the reduction in coronary heart disease risk, the prevention risk, the prevention of some cancers, and the modification of immune and inflammatory responses”.
More than olive oil benefits to health, it has been used tremendously for quick home remedies, for also skin and hair.
Hummus is perfectly designed with a drizzle of olive oil and Kibbeh Neyeh too. Add more olive oil on dishes such as, but not limited too (I mean common we are Arab) Labneh, Baba Ghanoush, and Shanklish.
Now that you have read more in depth of the extraordinary benefits of the magical Trio: lemon garlic, and olive oil, then be sure to embrace the Arab dishes for both its deliciousness and well-being. You will need literally to add the Trio with a dash of salt and pepper to all of the following salads: potato, cauliflower, chick and fava beans, eggplant, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, green beans, and tomatoes/cucumber salads.
Sahtain!
