5 Effective Health Benefits of Garlic

February 15, 2021
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Kellen Njuguna

Healthy eating has become a trend and a necessary one in the recent past. With most diseases being linked to an unhealthy lifestyle and poor eating habits, people are constantly moving towards and opting for healthier meals and organic ingredients.

Garlic is particularly loved as a spice, and its medicinal attributes due to its composition. In the recent past, it usage has risen tremendously as it was largely associated with treatment of colds, and prevention of respiratory infections.

Garlic is one of the widely researched herbal cures to have an exceptional position in the world of natural medicine. Traditionally, it has been used to treat colds, infections, heart disease and diabetes. Modern medicine also integrates the use of garlic’s properties for healing purposes. It is considered to lower blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol concentrations level in the blood and is widely attributed to the prevention of cancer and arteriosclerosis

Garlic contains minerals and vitamins which include selenium, manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and antioxidants, like allicin. Below is how beneficial garlic is to your body;

Reduces Risk of Heart Disease

Garlic relaxes toughened blood vessels and averting platelet accumulation. By preventing the platelets from binding to proteins, garlic lowers the risk of blood clots. Further, garlic works to increase production of nitric oxide that maintains blood vessels relaxed. When the blood vessels are relaxed, the heart has an easy time pumping blood all over the body. Strained blood vessels result in a strained heart that is susceptible to diseases.

Lowers Cholesterol Concentration Level

Garlic, onion and a blood pressure gauge, upon a rustic wooden surface.

Research has indicated that garlic is an effective antiatherogenic food, making it be referred to as the guardian angel of the artery. Its potent to lower blood cholesterol is considered largely because of reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

For many years, different intervention researches and systematic meta-analytic assessments have analyzed the properties and effectiveness of garlic to prevent cardiovascular disease. A study involving 51 patients having coronary disorders revealed that 12 months of treatment with 300mg/d garlic powder considerably reduced the entire cholesterol as well as LDL-cholesterol amounts. A decrease of 32.9 and 27.3 mg/dl in LDL-cholesterol attributed to garlic was detected in men and women, correspondingly.

Helps to Regulate Blood Pressure

Garlic’s prevention against cardiovascular disorders has been linked to its effective anti-inflammatory activity. Garlics anti-inflammatory benefits help blood to flow more easily in the human body. Various studies established that blood pressure was reduced by 10 percent when the participants took garlic supplements.

Boosts Immunity to Colds and Flu

Boost Your Immune System write on a chalkboard isolated on office desk.

Digested garlic boosts the immune system and lessens the severity and duration of cold and flu signs. A research study found out that consuming a regular garlic supplement lessened the occurrence of colds respondents experienced by 63 percent. Furthermore, studies have indicated that the average duration of cold signs were reduced from 5 days to 1 day and a half.

The compound allacin, contained in garlic contains sulfur and when chewed, it is broken down to suitable Sulphur containing compounds which boos the disease fighting levels of some white blood cells when they encounter viruses such as the common cold and flu viruses. It goes without saying the surge in use on garlic the last one year was based on this very benefit of garlic.

Reduces Risk of Cancer

Various epidemiological researches have in the recent past carried out research on the nexus between garlic consumption and prevalence of cancer, where an inverse relationship has been established.

A study conducted in China found a negative dose-response correlation between the monthly consumption of garlic and the risk of stomach cancer in Qingdao and Shanghai. A current study found odds ratios amongst persons with a high versus a low consumption of garlic and onions that related with a reduced exposure to colorectal adenoma. A reduced susceptibility to colon and stomach cancers has also been reported among individuals who take a high portion of garlic.

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