The best way to improve your health and get the nutrition you need is through a healthy, balanced diet. And this little vegetable can add a lot to a healthy, balanced diet. Plus, it has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Multiple studies have supported several of these garlic health benefits for a wide range of conditions, and recent studies have uncovered a few more.
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a vegetable used in a variety of different cultures for many different purposes. It tastes great in food, but since ancient times different cultures have used it for its many health benefits as well. You can enjoy some of these garlic health benefits by eating it raw or cooked.
Some of the earliest records of garlic come from Egypt, some 5,000 years ago. Garlic was also used to help alleviate certain health conditions by the Ancient Greeks and in cultures across the Middle East, in Nepal, and in China. Some of the conditions that garlic was used for include:
Like most nutrients, you can take garlic in supplement form. However, you should always try to get the nutrients you want in food form first unless advised otherwise by a medical professional.
Although supplements can help fill nutritional gaps, they can also cause side effects or paradoxical reactions, particularly if your adrenal glands are fatigued. Taking nutrients in whole food forms also ensures that you get natural, healthy combinations of nutrients. This will help ensure that you get the most from the nutrients that you’re eating.
If you intend to add more garlic to your diet or through supplements, then make sure that you talk to a medical professional first to ensure that it’s right for you.
Medical knowledge has come a long way since these ancient times. Many of the garlic health benefits that ancient cultures suspected have been confirmed by numerous studies. Here are some of the confirmed benefits of garlic:
Garlic is highly nutritious but contains relatively few calories. This makes it a good flavor addition to your food if you’re trying to control your weight. Here are just some of the nutrients that garlic contains:
It also contains trace amounts of almost every nutrient that your body needs to function correctly.
If you often get sick with colds, then adding more garlic to your diet may help. Garlic has been shown to boost the immune system, reducing the incidence of colds as well as their duration. However, more research is needed to confirm this effect.
Garlic contains a compound called diallyl sulfide which may help fight the Campylobacter bacterium. This is a bacterium that causes intestinal infections, and in some studies, this compound was more effective against it than two popular antibiotics.
Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killers in the world and they’re a growing problem in the modern world. Some studies on these conditions have shown that the compound diallyl trisulfide, found in garlic oil, may help improve heart failure. It may also help to protect the heart after a heart attack and during cardiac surgery.
Heart problems are also closely linked to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Taking garlic supplements has been shown to lower blood pressure safely and naturally. It may also help to lower cholesterol levels. Both of these effects may help to improve your heart health and lower your risk of heart attack.
However, it’s vital that you do not discontinue any medication that your doctor has given you in favor of supplements. This could lead to negative reactions and increase your risk of cardiovascular problems.
Garlic may help to increase estrogen levels in women, helping to reduce the risk of developing problems with bones after menopause. However, make sure that you use garlic in conjunction with an overall plan to balance hormone levels.
As you age, your brain health can decline because of oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Garlic contains an antioxidant known as S-allyl cysteine that can help protect the brain against this kind of damage.
Garlic can also lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which can further improve brain health and decrease the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Garlic is antibacterial and antioxidant, which is why it can improve your skin health and appearance. It helps prevent free radical damage, which can cause signs of aging in your skin.
If you have acne, then rubbing raw garlic over your skin may kill acne bacteria. However, you will need to be careful using this tactic if you have sensitive skin, as raw garlic can be very harsh.
Garlic was originally used in Ancient Greece to enhance athletic performance for the Olympics. And it turns out, that this use may have been a good idea. Some studies have shown that it may increase your exercise capacity and lower your peak heart rate. However, more research is needed to confirm these garlic health benefits.
Heavy metals are found naturally in the environment and so can easily make their way into your body. Even low levels of these metals can cause organ damage. Fortunately, the sulfur compounds in garlic can help to protect you against this type of damage by promoting better detoxification. It may also help to reduce the symptoms of heavy metal toxicity.
Eating raw garlic may also have protective effects on the body overall. Studies have shown that eating it regularly may help lower your risk of developing lung cancer and prostate cancer.
Microbial infections increase the risk of preterm deliveries in pregnant women. A recent study has revealed that garlic is one of the best foods for reducing these infections and the associated risk of preterm delivery.
Gliobastomas are a type of very dangerous brain tumor. A recent study has shown that the organo-sulfur compounds in garlic may help destroy the cells in this type of tumor. More research is needed to confirm this effect and to determine the effects in humans.
Garlic can be part of a healthy diet that helps your adrenals manage the effects of stress. Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is a condition that occurs when ongoing stress causes the adrenals to fatigue and fail to meet the demand for certain hormones.
The adrenal glands are part of the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. They’re responsible for excreting cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. The release of cortisol in response to stress causes changes in the six circuits of the NEM stress response. This helps protect you against the damage caused by stress and prepares you to respond to it.
When stress becomes chronic and long-term, the NEM stress response stays on for too long. This causes imbalances in the circuits and in the individual components of the circuits as well as adrenal fatigue. Over time, these imbalances can become more severe, causing widespread bodily dysfunctions. The best way to recover from this disorder is to focus on strategies that gradually improve your health, lower your stress levels, and give your adrenal glands a chance to heal and recover.
Here are some of the garlic health benefits that are especially helpful for stress and AFS:
Frequent and ongoing infections are very common when you have AFS because of immune system dysfunctions. Taking garlic could be an easy way to decrease the frequency and the severity of these infections, lowering your stress level and the demand on your adrenal glands.
Poor nutrition is common with AFS. Whether your nutrition is poor because you’re unwell, too busy to eat well, or because you’re reliant on a modern diet full of sugar and processed foods, eating more garlic can be part of a path to a healthier diet and better health overall.
Many people who suffer from AFS experience heart symptoms such as high blood pressure, irregular heart rates, and high cholesterol levels. This can obviously be very frightening in the moment and damaging over the long term. Taking garlic may help alleviate some of these symptoms.
Free radicals are created in the body because of normal metabolic processes. However, they’re also created when you’re exposed to pollutants or as a result of stress. This is why people with AFS often have large numbers of free radicals in their bodies. These free radicals then build up because of reduced detoxification processes.
When free radical levels are high, they move randomly throughout your body and damage other cells. This can result in aging, sagging skin, and can contribute to inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and damage to brain cells.
This is why it’s important that people with AFS increase their intake of antioxidants. Garlic, as a safe and natural source of antioxidants, could be an easy way to decrease free radical levels and help protect your body against additional damage.
AFS is usually caused by a combination of stressors, all of which need to be decreased in order to recover. Ridding your body of heavy metals should be a part of that process. Even if you only have minute amounts of heavy metals in your body, it may be too much for your overextended system when you have AFS.
Garlic can help encourage your body to rid itself of heavy metals safely and naturally. However, make sure that you talk with a medical professional before you attempt to detoxify your body when you have AFS. Detoxification processes can be very taxing when your body is already stressed, and if you aren’t careful, you could cause even more stress and even adrenal crashes.
If you’re looking for a safe and natural way to improve your health, then there are many garlic health benefits that could help. This common vegetable can be a safe and easy way to alleviate a variety of health concerns without causing harmful side effects.
Garlic can help with a range of disorders like high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and infections. However, it's a good idea to talk to a medical practitioner before supplementing with garlic. Also, don't stop other medications in favor of garlic supplements without talking to your doctor first.
For more natural ways to improve your health, call our team on +1 (626) 571-1234 or click here for our Ask the Doctor system.
What are the most important garlic health benefits?
