Before garlic was used as a common spice to add flavor to food, it was utilized for medicinal purposes in ancient cultures for thousands of years. The health benefits of garlic were recognized and utilized by ancient civilizations such as the Chinese, Egyptians, and Romans. There is substantial documentation of their usage of garlic for its medicinal properties.
Garlic consumption has been shown to have numerous fantastic health benefits for the body. Let’s look at the most crucial health advantages of garlic.
1. Garlic Helps Boost Your Body’s Immune System
Your body’s immunity is what keeps it from getting sick in the first place, and it also aids in the fight against illness when the situation calls for it. Garlic offers an immune system boost to help prevent colds and the flu virus.
Children get six to eight colds each year, while adults get two to four. Eating raw garlic can protect against cough, fever, and cold illnesses.
Eating two chopped garlic cloves every day is the best way to benefit. In some households around the world, families hang garlic cloves on a string around their childrens’ necks to help them with congestion.
2. Garlic Helps Reduce High Blood Pressure
Strokes and heart attacks are two of the most significant health concerns worldwide. High blood pressure is a considerable risk factor for heart disease. It’s thought to cause about 70% of strokes, heart attacks, and chronic heart failure. High blood pressure is the cause of 13.5 percent of deaths worldwide.
Because they are among the significant causes of death, addressing one of their primary causes, high blood pressure, is extremely important.
Garlic is a fantastic spice to include in your diet for those suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension. However, even if you are not a lover of garlic, taking garlic supplements will still give you the health benefits such as lowering high blood pressure, treating fever, and many more.
Keep in mind that you must make sure that the amount of these supplements you take is the same as four cloves of garlic each day. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you start taking any supplements.
3. Garlic Helps Reduce Cholesterol Levels
Cholesterol is a fatty component in the blood. There are two kinds of cholesterol: “bad” LDL cholesterol and “good” HDL cholesterol. Far too much LDL cholesterol and not enough HDL cholesterol can cause serious health issues.
Garlic has been shown to lower total cholesterol and LDL levels by 10 to 15 percent.
Furthermore, eating garlic does not influence your HDL or good cholesterol levels. If you have a family history of heart disease or suffer from heart disease, you should consider adding garlic to your diet.
4. Garlic Can Help With Prevention of Cancer
Garlic’s health benefits do not end with the heart. So here is another reason why your body can benefit from an extra dose of this onion family member.
According to research, consuming fresh garlic can help lessen the risk of colon cancer. According to the Iowa Women’s Health Study, women who ate garlic regularly with other vegetables and fruits had a 35% lower chance of getting colon cancer. However, researchers agree that more studies are still needed in this area.
5. Garlic Has Antibiotic Properties
Garlic contains allicin. Allicin is a bioactive antibiotic that can help fight infections and bacteria in sliced, squashed, or diced cloves. Garlic extracts have been shown to suppress the growth of:
- fungi elements
- Protozoa elements
- viral infections
- numerous bacteria, for example, Salmonella
Allicin is believed to be a viable antibiotic replacement. It also assists when used in conjunction with conventional prescribed antibiotics.
6. Garlic May Prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Garlic has high antioxidants, which help prevent any oxidative damage from occurring in your body. These antioxidant properties can help prevent certain cognitive diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. However, take this one with a pinch of garlic. Taking high doses of garlic supplements, however, does not mean that you will be immune to the disease. The medicinal properties of garlic can only improve health to a certain point.
Keep Calm and Garlic On!
We have talked about the health benefits of garlic, whether consumed raw or taken as a supplement. With this knowledge, you can take the first step towards a healthier and better version of yourself. Would you like to learn more about garlic products for different occasions?