What are the Benefits of Garlic?

Garlic is said to be a storehouse of medicinal values

 If you have the question, “What are the benefits of Garlic?” then the answer is, “many”.  Yes, that’s right.  Garlic the humble, natural ingredient used in everyday cooking is a storehouse of medicinal values.

In the medical field, particularly in the alternative medicine area, garlic is considered as a super food.  A number of research studies stand proof to the advantages of garlic.

You have heard the saying, “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away.”  For garlic, the statement can be, “garlic keeps sickness away.”

How is garlic used in cooking?  A common use of garlic is that it is used in seasoning. Its paste is used for preparing some curries and rice items. Some of the dishes in which garlic is the main item are garlic chutney, garlic pickle and garlic chutney powder. Do you want the recipe for garlic pickle?  Here it is: http://southindianvegrecipes.com/pickles_&_pappads/garlic_pickle.html For buttermilk also, raw garlic is added to make it spicy. Here is the recipe, posted at www.southindianvegrecipes.com, for buttermilk: http://southindianvegrecipes.com/miscellaneous_recipes/how_to_make_butter_milk.html To a lesser extent, and mainly as a medicine, garlic is consumed in its raw form.

Garlic has a lot of water content. Every 100 grams of raw garlic has approximately about 59 grams of water.

In the mineral category, calcium is abundant in garlic.  Do you want to get Vitamin C in its natural form?  Then, you might want to make garlic as a regular part of your diet. The reason is this vegetable has a lot of Vitamin C too.

Here is more good news: Garlic has zero cholesterol.

Here are the points that are some answers to the question, “What are the benefits of garlic?”

Allicin, the Wonder Compound

Allicin is obtained by crushing garlic cloves. This compound is said to be a remedy for a number of diseases. Allicin, for example, is said to cure some stomach-related illness, prevent weight gain, lower blood pressure, improve blood circulation and prevent the growth of cancer cells.

To get the best results from allicin, the crushed garlic should be mixed immediately in the appropriate food and it also should be consumed immediately.

Natural Antibiotic

A research study has found that a compound found in garlic, diallyl sulfide, is a very powerful element that may fight diseases caused by food.

Antioxidant

Garlic is said to protect cells from damage and might prevent some cancers.

Heart Disease

A research study makes a mention of other research studies and says that such work have shown “an inverse correlation between garlic consumption and progression of cardiovascular disease.” So, garlic may reduce the risk of heart diseases.

Natural Antiseptic

The antimicrobial properties of garlic may help in the healing of wounds.

Food preservative

A research work has shown that garlic may work as a food preservative.  It’s not a surprise then that, in India, many add garlic, for example, to pickles to increase their shelf time.

Cold and Flu

The consumption of garlic may prevent the symptoms of cold and flu.  One research study says that garlic does this by “immune enhancement”.

Because you now have a few answers to the query, “What are the benefits of garlic?” and that it is not costly at all, relative to other vegetables, you may want to use this herb on a daily basis to give flavor to the food, and more importantly for the health advantages of garlic.

References:

1. Antimicrobial effect of diallyl sulphide on Campylobacter jejuni biofilms, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, jac.oxfordjournals.org
2. Antimicrobial screening of some indian spices, Phytotherapy Research, onlinelibrary.wiley.com
3. Garlic and Cardiovascular Disease: A Critical Review, The Journal of Nutrition, jn.nutrition.org/content/136/3/736S.full
4. Clarifying the Real Bioactive Constituents of Garlic, The Journal of Nutrition, jn.nutrition.org/content/136/3/716S.full
5. Allium sativum and its health benefits: An overview, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, jocpr.com
6. U.S. National Nutrient Database