9 Garlic Health Benefits
What Are The Health Benefits of Garlic?
Garlic health benefits are beautiful. While garlic isn’t the best thing for your breath, it packs a powerful punch when it comes to health.
It’s loaded with some awesome ingredients which build the body up and enhance its defense systems.
On a side note, if you’re worried about bad breath and garlic, one of the health benefits of lemon is that you can drink a glass of lemon juice or eat a few lemon slices after eating garlic to stop the odorous breath.
Give it a go – but don’t come running to me when the vampires won’t leave you alone.
Like most fruits and vegetables, the health benefits of garlic have been known for thousands of years. While it was a rare ingredient in traditional English cuisine, it was a common ingredient in Mediterranean Europe.
The builders of those great and wondrous pyramids in Egypt ate garlic each day to increase their endurance and keep them strong. I would have done the same if I was carrying HUGE block of stone around every day. It was also used by the Roman emperors in abundance, as they believed it was an antidote to poisons which were popular in political circles at the time.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. The garlic health benefits are too good to ignore, and with the availability of garlic today, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to including it in your diet. Forget the bad breath and dive into it. Cook with it.
The health benefits of cayenne pepper are also fantastic, so be sure to use both in your cooking.
If you’re interested, juice with it (tell me when you find a good recipe!).
What makes garlic so good? Read on.
9 Garlic Health Benefits
- It’s Anti-Inflammatory. One of the garlic health benefits is that it contains sulphur compounds which have anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the activity of inflammatory enzymes. This means that garlic has pain-reducing effects when it comes to arthritis and asthma.
- Prevents cancer. Studies have shown that those brave people who eat garlic regularly (hopefully not by itself) as well as other alliums including onions and chives reduce their risk of esophageal, colon and stomach cancer. Garlic gets in the way of carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds and limits their ability to develop. Garlic is also pumped with selenium, which is a powerful antioxidant known to be cancer-preventing. Garlic is a great ingredient to include when juicing for cancer.
- Prevents diabetes. One of the garlic health benefits is that it deters the degenerative effects of diseases resulting from diabetes. It has some awesome properties that minimize negative effects from those diseases. This response has even been observed in rats, in which they experienced fewer negative effects from a diabetes-inducing drug when they were given a daily dose of garlic.
- Boosts Immune function. Garlic is rolling in antioxidants which make it a potent re-enforcer of the human immune system. This is one reason why many people take raw garlic when they are sick. Studies have shown garlic to protect the body against a wide variety of bacterial and viral attacks. With vitamins C, B6 and the minerals selenium and manganese, it is a great natural cold medication.
- Lowers blood pressure. Struggling with high blood pressure? Just eat some garlic. Allicin, a potent ingredient in garlic, lowers not only blood pressure, but insulin and triglyceride levels also. This make it perfect for high blood pressure juicing.
- Control weight loss. Allicin is behind another of the killer garlic health benefits. Along with lowering blood pressure, it also prevents unhealthy weight gain. Studies have shown that those who consume garlic are less likely to gain weight, even though they may be eating the same diet as someone who continues to put on weight.
- Heart health. Two or three cloves of garlic a day has been shown to halve the risk of heart attacks in heart attack patients. Garlic reduces the amount of free radicals in the blood stream, boosting heart health and minimizing the risk of heart attacks.
- Kills parasites. Garlic is a great choice for killing and eliminating parasites from the body.
- Cleans arteries. Another of the great garlic health benefits is that it helps to loosen plaque from the artery walls, making blood flow at a healthy rate.
How to Use Garlic
Here are a few ideas to get you enjoying the health benefits of garlic.
- You can cook with it. My favorite way is to use it when I stir-fry vegetables, along with lots of onion. It makes the food taste great and gives me a blast of nutrients.
- You can juice it. Don’t like the sound of that? Me neither. I’ve tried it a few times, but it usually comes out too strong. Still, if you’re wired that way, give it a go and if you come up with a great recipe, let me know!
- There are a number of home remedies which utilize the great garlic health benefits. For example, apply crushed garlic to warts and you’ll make them (the warts) disappear. Another idea is to apply raw garlic juice to insect bites and the itching should stop immediately. For more garlic home remedies, click here.
Caution
- Allergic to plants in the Liliaceae (lily) family (includes onions, leeks, chives and garlic)? Then don’t take garlic.
- Garlic tends to thin the blood, so if you’re about to go through surgery or give birth, give garlic a miss.
- Garlic can interfere with medications, so check with your doctor before supplementing your diet with it.
- Don’t eat too much garlic in one go or it will irritate the stomach lining and cause heartburn, abdominal pain and possibly diarrhea. If that happens, the garlic health benefits won’t seem so awesome. Moderation is key.
