Garlic Benefits
All About Garlic Benefits
Garlic has been used for many thousands of years for its medicinal and healing qualities, and garlic benefits for some conditions are well known. Although garlic history is full of folklore combined with truth, when it comes to garlic benefits everyone has something for which they think garlic is a good treatment. Or, they consume garlic to prevent some kind of illness.
Strength has always been considered to be one of the benefits of garlic, going way back to the first Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations. History tells us that Hippocrates, the one for which the Hippocratic Oath was named, used garlic to treat cancer. Garlic has been used in wars to treat wounds as a substitute for other antiseptics, and is often taken for its anti-viral properties.
Among garlic benefits are its vitamins and minerals, which include vitamin B1, B2, A, selenium, iron, potassium, copper, phosphorus and calcium. Garlic is very high in antioxidants, which control free radicals in our bodies, and in sulfur compounds. In fact, it is as high in antioxidants as many of the USDA-recommended fruits.
In recent years, what many people believed to be garlic benefits have been confirmed by scientific study. Among these, garlic is proven to help fight illnesses caused by viruses, funguses, parasites or bacteria. These include the common cold, sore throats and flu, so all of those people taking garlic pills every day now have evidence to substantiate their claims. Garlic is effective not only against flu and cold symptoms, but more serious viral infections, such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, rabies and other contagious diseases.
Garlic boosts the immune system and is proven to lower the risk of some kinds of cancer, such as colon-rectal and stomach cancer. It also improves blood pressure by allowing more blood to flow through the capillaries. If your blood pressure is just a little high, garlic might help to reduce your upper and lower numbers by ten points. While this is not a lot for someone with high blood pressure it can help someone teetering on the edge of high blood pressure.
Additionally, garlic does fight heart disease by way of its antioxidants. These protect your arteries from having the plaque buildup which will block your arteries and cause a heart attack. This, combined with blood pressure and cholesterol reduction, are all good heart results. Because garlic does have blood thinning capabilities, you should check with your doctor or health professional before ingesting garlic every day.
It is easy to consume garlic by adding it to foods that you prepare. Not only is it a tasty addition, it is easy to find year-round. If you just aren’t much of a spicy food enthusiast, garlic supplement tablets are also available.