Impressive Natural Health Benefits Of Garlic

Impressive Natural Health Benefits Of Garlic

Allicin in garlic provides innumerable health benefits which include combating cold and cough, lowering blood pressure, fighting heart ailments, and preventing Alzheimer’s. It also helps relieve earaches, treat intestinal issues, cure wounds, prevent cancer, and relieve gas.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a strong-smelling, pungent-tasting herb. It is a close relative of onion and is native to Central Asia. It has been used as a food-flavoring agent and as traditional medicine. Mankind recognized the curative qualities of this magic herb over 3,000 years ago. Sir Louis Pasteur, the scientist who discovered pasteurization, effectively utilized the anti-bacterial qualities of garlic all the way back in 1858. World War I medical surgeons used the health benefits of garlic juice as an antiseptic for treating war wounds.

Garlic Is Highly Nutritious But Has Very Few Calories

Calorie for calorie, garlic is incredibly nutritious.

A 1 ounce (28 grams) serving of garlic contains :

• Manganese: 23% of the RDA
• Vitamin B6: 17% of the RDA
• Vitamin C: 15% of the RDA
• Selenium: 6% of the RDA
• Fiber: 0.6 gram
• Decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1

Garlic also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients. In fact, it contains a little bit of almost everything we need.

This is coming with 42 calories, with 1.8 grams of protein and 9 grams of carbs.

Bottom Line: Garlic is low in calories and very rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Manganese. It also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients.

Health Benefits Of Garlic:

1. Stabilizes Blood Pressure

Mature garlic extract contains a bioactive sulfur compound, S-acetylcysteine, which has been found to effectively lower blood pressure by 10 mmHg (systolic pressure) and 8 mmHg (diastolic pressure). Sulfur deficiency is one of the reasons for high blood pressure and therefore supplementing the body with organosulfur compounds can help stabilize blood pressure .  Heat treatment tends to destroy allicin.

Garlic Dose To Lower Blood Pressure

Consume raw or dried garlic to be able to consume allicin in garlic.

2. Lowering LDL cholesterol

American scientists found that aged garlic extract supplements can help lower LDL cholesterol by 10% in hypercholesterolemic male human participants. In rats, garlic inhibited the synthesis of cholesterol in liver cells. The researchers further experimented with water-soluble and lipid-soluble compounds of garlic and found that water-soluble compounds in garlic inhibited cholesterol synthesis by 20-60 %.

Garlic Dose To Lower Blood Pressure

You can eat 1-2 raw cloves of garlic per day to reduce LDL cholesterol.

3. Prevents Cardiovascular Diseases

Scientists have evidence that garlic can help prevent almost all cardiovascular diseases. It helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases by lowering bad cholesterol, lipid, and serum triglyceride increase antioxidant activities, and decrease platelet aggregation. Garlic was also found to be effective against atherosclerosis.

Garlic Dose To Prevent Cardiovascular Diseases

Have a clove of raw garlic in the morning before your morning walk or morning run to keep cardiovascular diseases miles away.

4. Improve Bone Health

Age and an unhealthy lifestyle can make your bones weak, which means that fractures and osteoporosis will set in much earlier. Garlic is effective against osteoporosis and arthritis. In a study, scientists supplemented lab rats with garlic oil and found that garlic oil was able to suppress ovariectomy-induced bone resorption. Another group of researchers concluded that the diallyl disulfide helps to suppress the matrix-degrading enzymes and therefore prevents damage to the bones.

Garlic Dose To Improve Bone Health

Consume 2-3 raw garlic cloves per day to improve bone health.

5. Relieves Intestinal Ailments

An upset stomach or a broken digestive system can hamper your daily life. So, if you are suffering from intestinal problems, you might want to consume garlic. Garlic tends to differentiate between the good and bad gut bacteria in the intestine and has an antibacterial effect on harmful enterobacteria.

 Scientists have also found that garlic is effective against H. pylori infections.

Garlic Dose For Relieving Intestinal Infection

Consume 1 raw garlic before breakfast with a glass of room temperature or cold water.

6. Regulates Blood Sugar

High blood sugar can make you prone to developing diabetes, blood pressure, obesity, etc. If you are suffering from high blood sugar, you must include garlic in your diet. Scientists from Kuwait conducted an experiment with raw and boiled garlic and found that raw garlic significantly reduced blood glucose levels in lab animal models. Therefore, consume raw garlic instead of the cooked bulb to help lower the blood sugar levels.

Garlic Dose For Lowering Blood Sugar

Consume 3-4 cloves of raw garlic to lower your blood sugar levels.

7. Prevents Thromboembolism

Clotting of blood to prevent excess blood loss is good but not when the blood clots detach and are carried by the bloodstream to other vital organs such as the brain, lungs, kidney, etc. Indian scientists experimented with garlic. The participants were asked to consume 10 mg of raw garlic every day before breakfast for two months. The study concluded that garlic could be used to prevent thromboembolism.

Garlic Dose For Preventing Thromboembolism

Consume 3 garlic cloves before breakfast every alternate day.

8. Helps Fight Cancer

Garlic contains diallyl sulfide that helps inhibit oxidative stress, selenium present in garlic is known to have cancer-fighting properties, prevents DNA mutation and uncontrolled cell proliferation, and metastasis. A clinical trial conducted by Chinese scientists on cancer patients found that garlic lowered the chances of tumor formation by 33% and reduced stomach cancer by 52 %. So, if you want to lower the risk of cancer, consume garlic along with leading a healthy lifestyle.

Garlic Dose For Fighting/Preventing Cancer

Consume at least 1 raw clove of garlic every day in the morning.

9. Strengthens Immune System

Garlic contains phytonutrients that are antioxidant in nature. Antioxidants flush out toxins and reduce oxidative stress in the body, which prevents you from falling sick or being prone to DNA mutations and disrupted cell functions. Researchers have also found that supplementing with garlic helped increase different types of immune cells in the body.

Garlic Dose For Boosting Immunity

Consume 1-2 raw garlic cloves per day to boost your immunity.

10. Relieves Oxidative stress

As I mentioned earlier, garlic can help relieve oxidative stress. The water-soluble organosulfur compounds found in garlic can help prevent DNA damage, reduce inflammation and atherosclerosis risk due to oxidative stress. In fact, garlic can also help prevent heart diseases by nullifying harmful free oxygen radicals.

Garlic Dose For Relieving Oxidative Stress

Consume 1 clove of raw garlic every day to flush out the harmful free oxygen radicals.