Health Benefits of Garlic
Rose May Pimentel in Health
Oct 29, 2020 • 3 min Read
One of the most important food seasonings in the world is garlic. It is flavorful, nutritious, and may help strengthen your immune system and protect your health long-term. Garlic is not just used widely as a flavoring in cooking, but also as a medicine. It has been taken to prevent and treat a wide range of conditions and diseases.
Garlic is commonly used for conditions related to the heart and blood system, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Here are some of the surprising benefits of garlic, from Healthline:
1. Contains Compounds With Potent Medicinal Properties
Scientists know that most of garlic’s health benefits are caused by sulfur compounds formed when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed, or chewed. Perhaps the most famous of those is known as allicin. The sulfur compounds from garlic enter the body from the digestive tract and travel all over the body, where it exerts its potent biological effects.
2. Highly Nutritious But Has Very Few Calories
One clove (3 grams) of raw garlic contains:
* Manganese: 2% of the Daily Value (DV)
* Vitamin B6: 2% of the DV
* Vitamin C: 1% of the DV
* Selenium: 1% of the DV
* Fiber: 0.06 grams
* Decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamin B1
This comes with 4.5 calories, 0.2 grams of protein, and 1 gram of carbs. Garlic also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients. It contains a little bit of almost everything you need.
3. Garlic Can Combat Sickness, Including Common Cold
Garlic supplements are known to boost the function of the immune system. It helps prevent and reduce the severity of common illnesses like flu and the common cold.
4. The Active Compounds in Garlic Can Reduce Blood Pressure
High doses of garlic appear to improve blood pressure for those with known high blood pressure (hypertension). In some instances, supplements may be as effective as regular medications. The amount needed is equivalent to about four cloves of garlic per day.
5. Improves Cholesterol Levels, May Lower the Risk of Heart Disease
Garlic supplements seem to reduce total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, particularly for those who have high cholesterol.
6. Contains Antioxidants That May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
Garlic contains antioxidants that protect against cell damage and aging. It may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
7. Help You Live Longer
Given the beneficial effects on important risk factors like blood pressure, it makes sense that garlic could help you live longer. An important factor is it can fight infectious diseases because these are common causes of death, especially in the elderly or people with dysfunctional immune systems.
8. Athletic Performance Might Be Improved With Garlic Supplements
Garlic was one of the earliest “performance enhancing” substances, traditionally used in ancient cultures to reduce fatigue and enhance the work capacity of laborers. Most notably, it was given to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece. Garlic may improve physical performance in lab animals and people with heart disease. Benefits in healthy people are not yet conclusive.
9. Eating Garlic May Help Detoxify Heavy Metals in the Body
Garlic was shown to significantly reduce lead toxicity and related symptoms (including headaches and high blood pressure) in one study. Three doses of garlic each day outperformed the drug D-penicillamine in reducing symptoms.
10. Improve Bone Health
Garlic has some benefits for bone health by increasing estrogen levels in females. It may also have beneficial effects on osteoarthritis.
Indeed, garlic is a superfood. It’s delicious and easy to add to your diet. You can use it in savory dishes, soups, sauces, dressings, and more. Enjoy its benefits!
Stay healthy and safe!
