Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic, one of the most essential ingredients in the kitchen, does more than provide rich flavor to your favorite dishes. It is considered as one of the healthiest foods that you can eat. Garlic is known to provide numerous health benefits and is said to cure a lot of body ailments. Here are some of the goods things that you can get from eating garlic:
- Improves cardiovascular health and lower cholesterol levels
Have you ever noticed that people who eat lots of garlic have lower incidences of cardiovascular disease? People in Asia and the Far East use garlic regularly in their food and they happen to enjoy great cardiovascular health. Garlic is proven to lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the body.
- It serves as a natural antioxidant
Garlic contains allicin, an ingredient which increases the amount of enzymes and glutathione peroxidase in your blood. Garlic can also slow down the aging of the liver and help combat the harmful effects of nicotine.
- It fights off bacteria
It was during the 19th century that the anti-bacterial properties of garlic were discovered. Garlic contains some of the potency found in penicillin which can help fight certain bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli and Candida albican.
- Can help reduce blood clotting
Studies have revealed that garlic can actually help reduce blood pressure. People who took garlic supplements had their blood pressure lowered around 1% to 5%. This can help lessen the chances of stroke and heart diseases.
- It can control acne
On its own, garlic has not yet been proven to prevent acne but some studies show that it can be combined with other ingredients to produce an effective anti-acne treatment.
When eating garlic, it is best to crush it or chop it up. This will release the active compounds which produce the health benefits mentioned above.