Health Benefits of Eating Garlic
Garlic has often been referred to as a wonder food, and for good reason.
It has been used both as a food and as a medicine for thousands of years in many cultures.
Research has confirmed that garlic does, indeed, have many qualities that entitle it to the title of "wonder food".
Garlic has been used to successfully treat many conditions, including abnormal blood pressure (high and low), intestinal worms and intestinal putrefaction, whooping cough, asthma, colds, gastrointestinal disorders, tuberculosis and diabetes.
Research has demonstrated that garlic is an effective agent against cancerous tumour formation.
It is known to be a natural antibiotic.
Garlic will lower blood cholesterol levels and will reduce deposits in blood vessels.
Garlic can also help to rid the body of harmful metals.
It has been used in the fight against acne, and as a blood purifier can be very effective.
Preventive Medicine has published a study which concludes that garlic inhibits the calcification of coronary arteries.
A study published in Life Sciences has demonstrated that garlic is also effective as an agent against oxidants in the blood stream; in other words, it is an effective anti-oxidant.
Professor Güautnter Siegel, M.
D.
, from the University of Medicine in Berlin, Germany, has done research which indicates that powdered garlic can reduce the formation of nanoplaque by amounts of up to forty percent, and of the nanoplaque which did form, its quantity was reduced by amounts of up to twenty percent.
The experiment showed that garlic can reduce the formation and size of plaque within thirty minutes.
Within fifteen minutes of garlic being introduced plaque was reduced by up to twenty five percent and where cholesterol had accumulated in the arteries, the calcification was reduced by up to fifty percent.
Further recent research by Swedish and United States scientists has thrown more light on the cardiovascular benefits of garlic.
The compounds present within garlic which are responsible for its characteristic odour are also responsible for its cardio-vascular benefits.
Allicin and diallyl disulphide activate perivascular sensory nerve endings, which causes a relaxation and enlargement of blood vessels, a reduction in blood pressure and improvement in the flow of blood through the blood vessels of the body.
Garlic is also a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese and selenium.
Vitamin C helps to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Vitamin B6 helps to reduce the level of homocysteine which can cause damage to the walls of blood vessels.
Selenium is helpful in the prevention of heart disease, and is also helpful with respect to the prevention of cancer and toxicity caused by heavy metals.
It acts in conjunction with vitamin E in an anti-oxidant capacity in the fat-soluble parts of the body.
Manganese also functions as an important factor in combination with various enzymes in an anti-oxidant capacity.
Garlic contains anti-inflammatory compounds, which make it a useful ally in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma.
Studies have also shown that garlic may significantly reduce the chances of developing many different kinds of cancer, including, among many others, breast and prostate cancer.
In the light of all of this scientific evidence, it would seem that garlic has well and truly earned its label as a "wonder food", and it is almost an afterthought that garlic contributes wonderfully to the flavour and character of many dishes.
It has been used both as a food and as a medicine for thousands of years in many cultures.
Research has confirmed that garlic does, indeed, have many qualities that entitle it to the title of "wonder food".
Garlic has been used to successfully treat many conditions, including abnormal blood pressure (high and low), intestinal worms and intestinal putrefaction, whooping cough, asthma, colds, gastrointestinal disorders, tuberculosis and diabetes.
Research has demonstrated that garlic is an effective agent against cancerous tumour formation.
It is known to be a natural antibiotic.
Garlic will lower blood cholesterol levels and will reduce deposits in blood vessels.
Garlic can also help to rid the body of harmful metals.
It has been used in the fight against acne, and as a blood purifier can be very effective.
Preventive Medicine has published a study which concludes that garlic inhibits the calcification of coronary arteries.
A study published in Life Sciences has demonstrated that garlic is also effective as an agent against oxidants in the blood stream; in other words, it is an effective anti-oxidant.
Professor Güautnter Siegel, M.
D.
, from the University of Medicine in Berlin, Germany, has done research which indicates that powdered garlic can reduce the formation of nanoplaque by amounts of up to forty percent, and of the nanoplaque which did form, its quantity was reduced by amounts of up to twenty percent.
The experiment showed that garlic can reduce the formation and size of plaque within thirty minutes.
Within fifteen minutes of garlic being introduced plaque was reduced by up to twenty five percent and where cholesterol had accumulated in the arteries, the calcification was reduced by up to fifty percent.
Further recent research by Swedish and United States scientists has thrown more light on the cardiovascular benefits of garlic.
The compounds present within garlic which are responsible for its characteristic odour are also responsible for its cardio-vascular benefits.
Allicin and diallyl disulphide activate perivascular sensory nerve endings, which causes a relaxation and enlargement of blood vessels, a reduction in blood pressure and improvement in the flow of blood through the blood vessels of the body.
Garlic is also a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese and selenium.
Vitamin C helps to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Vitamin B6 helps to reduce the level of homocysteine which can cause damage to the walls of blood vessels.
Selenium is helpful in the prevention of heart disease, and is also helpful with respect to the prevention of cancer and toxicity caused by heavy metals.
It acts in conjunction with vitamin E in an anti-oxidant capacity in the fat-soluble parts of the body.
Manganese also functions as an important factor in combination with various enzymes in an anti-oxidant capacity.
Garlic contains anti-inflammatory compounds, which make it a useful ally in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma.
Studies have also shown that garlic may significantly reduce the chances of developing many different kinds of cancer, including, among many others, breast and prostate cancer.
In the light of all of this scientific evidence, it would seem that garlic has well and truly earned its label as a "wonder food", and it is almost an afterthought that garlic contributes wonderfully to the flavour and character of many dishes.
