According to recent studies, garlic may really have some health benefits, including the capacity to prevent the common cold and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Let food serve as both food and medicine.
Hippocrates, a physician from ancient Greece who is frequently referred to as the founder of Western medicine, said those well-known remarks.
Modern science has validated many of the positive health advantages of garlic that he recommended using it for. He prescribed it to cure a number of medical ailments.
Here are 11 health advantages of garlic that have been verified by studies on people.
1. Compounds in garlic have powerful therapeutic effects.
Stocksy United/Kristin Duvall
A member of the Allium (onion) family, garlic is a plant. It shares a family tree with leeks, shallots, and onions.
A clove is one of the names for each part of a garlic bulb. Depending on how you count, a single bulb contains 10–20 cloves.
Due to its powerful aroma and mouthwatering flavor, garlic is a widely used cooking ingredient and grows in many regions of the world.
But throughout antiquity, garlic was primarily used for its therapeutic and health benefits (1Trusted Source).
Many significant civilizations, including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, used it, and their use is well recorded (1Trusted Source).
Scientists now understand that the majority of the health advantages of garlic are due to the sulfur compounds that are created when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed, or swallowed.
Allicin is conceivably the most well-known chemical. However, after fresh garlic has been chopped or crushed, allicin, an unstable component, is only momentarily present in the garlic (2Trusted Source).
Diallyl disulfide and s-allyl cysteine are additional substances that might contribute to the health advantages of garlic (3Trusted Source).
Garlic contains sulfur chemicals that enter your body through your digestive tract. After then, they spread throughout your body and have a significant biological impact.
SUMMARY
A member of the onion family, garlic is cultivated for both its flavor and health advantages. Sulfur compounds found in it are thought to be the cause of some of those health advantages.
2. Despite having relatively few calories, garlic is a very nutritious food
Garlic is quite nutrient-dense when compared to other foods.
Three grams of raw garlic, or one clove, includes (4 Reliable Sources):
2% of the daily value is in manganese (DV)
2% of the DV for vitamin B6
1% of the DV for vitamin C
1% of the DV for selenium
: 0.06 grams of fiber
This contains 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0.2 grams of protein, and 4.5 calories.
Various additional nutrients are also present in garlic in trace amounts.
SUMMARY
Garlic is high in manganese, vitamin B6, and C yet low in calories. Other nutrients are also present in trace amounts.
3. Garlic can aid in preventing illnesses, such as the common cold.
Supplemental garlic is proven to improve immune system performance.
In a significant 12-week study, daily garlic supplementation reduced the incidence of colds by 63% when compared to a placebo (5Trusted Source).
Additionally, the average duration of cold symptoms was cut in half, from 5 days in the placebo group to just 1.5 days in the garlic group, a reduction of 70%.
According to a different study, taking a high dose of aged garlic extract (2.56 grams daily) decreased the number of days spent ill by 61%. (6Trusted Source).
However, a review found that there is inadequate evidence and that further study is required (7Trusted Source).
Even though there isn't much evidence, if you frequently have colds, it might be worth a shot to include more garlic in your diet.
SUMMARY
Supplements containing garlic might lessen the intensity and help prevent illnesses like the flu and the common cold, but more research is required before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
4. Garlic's active ingredients can lower blood pressure.
More people die from cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes than almost any other type of illness (8Trusted Source).
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is one of the main risk factors for these illnesses.
Garlic supplements have been shown in human studies to significantly lower blood pressure in those with high blood pressure (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
In a 24-week study, aged garlic extract doses of 600–1,500 mg were just as effective at lowering blood pressure as the medication atenolol (12Trusted Source).
For a supplement to have the desired effects, the dosage must be fairly high. The recommended dosage equals about four garlic cloves daily.
SUMMARY
For people with known high blood pressure, high doses of garlic seem to lower their blood pressure (hypertension). Supplements may occasionally be just as effective as prescription drugs.
5. Because garlic lowers cholesterol, it may reduce the risk of heart disease.
LDL (bad) and total cholesterol levels can be reduced by garlic.
Garlic supplements seem to lower total and LDL cholesterol by about 10% to 15% in people with high cholesterol (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
Garlic appears to lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) but has no discernible impact on HDL when comparing the two types of cholesterol (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
Another known risk factor for heart disease is high triglyceride levels, but garlic does not appear to have a significant impact on these levels (15Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Garlic supplements seem to reduce total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, particularly in those who have high cholesterol. Triglycerides and HDL (good) cholesterol do not appear to be impacted.
6. Antioxidants in garlic may help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Free radicals' oxidative damage accelerates the aging process.
Antioxidants found in garlic boost the body's defenses against oxidative damage (19Trusted Source).
Garlic supplements at high doses have been demonstrated to considerably lower oxidative stress in persons with high blood pressure and enhance antioxidant enzymes in humans (7Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
The combined impact on lowering blood pressure and cholesterol as well as the antioxidant capabilities may lessen the risk of dementia and other common brain diseases (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Antioxidants found in garlic can aid in preventing cell aging and damage. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk may be lowered by it.
7. Garlic may prolong your life
It is practically impossible to demonstrate how garlic might affect longevity in people.
However, it makes plausible that garlic could lengthen your life given its positive impact on significant risk factors like blood pressure.
Its ability to combat infectious infections is also crucial because these are sometimes fatal conditions, particularly in the elderly or those with compromised immune systems (23Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Garlic has been shown to have positive benefits on numerous chronic disease-causing factors, so it stands to reason that it might also prolong your life.
8. Garlic supplements may enhance athletic performance
One of the first "performance enhancing" drugs was garlic.
To lessen fatigue and increase workers' productivity, it was historically employed in ancient cultures.
Most famously, it was presented to Olympians in classical Greece (1Trusted Source).
Garlic has been proven to improve exercise performance in rodent trials, although few human studies have been conducted (23Trusted Source).
One small trial found that using garlic oil for six weeks reduced peak heart rates by 12% in participants with heart disease and improved their ability to exercise (24Trusted Source).
However, a research involving nine cyclists who competed revealed no advantages for performance (25Trusted Source).
Garlic may help to lessen exercise-induced weariness, according to other studies (2Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
In lab animals and people with heart problems, garlic may enhance physical performance. The advantages for those without heart disease are still up for debate. In the end, additional study is required.
9. Consuming garlic may aid in the body's detoxification of heavy metals.
Garlic's sulfur components have been demonstrated to offer protection against organ toxicity caused by heavy metals at large concentrations.
Garlic decreased blood levels of lead by 19% in a 4-week trial of workers at a car battery plant who had received high lead exposure. Additionally, it decreased a number of clinical toxicity symptoms, such as headaches and high blood pressure (26Trusted Source).
Garlic was even more effective at easing symptoms than the medication D-penicillamine when taken three times daily.
SUMMARY
In one investigation, garlic was found to dramatically lessen lead toxicity and associated symptoms.
10. Garlic may strengthen bones.
No research on humans has examined how garlic affects bone loss.
However, research on rodents have demonstrated that it can reduce bone loss by raising estrogen levels in females (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
A daily dose of dried garlic extract, equivalent to 2 grams of raw garlic, dramatically reduced a marker of estrogen insufficiency in one study of menopausal women (31Trusted Source).
This implies that this supplement might improve the bone health of women.
Including foods like garlic and onions in your diet may help prevent osteoarthritis (32Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
By raising estrogen levels in females, garlic seems to have some advantages for bone health, although further human research are required.
11. Adding garlic to your diet is simple and adds flavor.
The final one is significant even if it is not a health advantage.
It's fairly simple to incorporate garlic into your current diet. It goes well with the majority of savory foods, especially soups and sauces. Additionally, the strong flavor of garlic can give dull dishes some flavor.
There are many different varieties of garlic, including whole cloves, smooth pastes, powders, and dietary supplements like garlic extract and garlic oil.
Using a garlic press to crush a few fresh garlic cloves, then combining them with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, is a typical method of using garlic. This serves as a very straightforward and wholesome salad dressing.
adverse effects of garlic
However, bear in mind that garlic has some drawbacks, such as foul breath. Some people have allergies to it as well.
Before increasing your intake of garlic, see your doctor if you have a bleeding issue or are taking medicine that thins the blood.
SUMMARY
It's simple and wonderful to include garlic in your diet. It can be used in soups, sauces, dressings, and other savory foods.
The conclusion
Garlic has long been considered to offer therapeutic benefits. It is now being confirmed by science.
Before dramatically increasing your garlic intake, make sure to discuss it with your doctor if you're currently using blood-thinning medication.
[zombify_post]
0 Comments