Surprising Health Benefits of Natural Garlic

Garlic is a delicious ingredient that can greatly enhance a whole variety of savory dishes, and it is used in many parts of the world for this very culinary reason. Roasted garlic butter for example, is a firm favorite in French cuisine, where natural butter is used almost as commonly as salt and pepper. However, what many people don’t realize, is that garlic can not only enhance the overall taste of the dishes they are preparing, but when consumed, garlic can also help enhance a person’s general health and well-being. In actual fact, garlic has been used for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years, and it is a common ingredient in many folk remedies, not to mention in ayurvedic medicine. As if that wasn’t enough, it is also very cheap, very easy to grow, and very simple to source as well. It can be consumed in supplement form, can be consumed alone, or can be blended with other healthy ingredients, including healthy butter, where it can really ramp up the health-giving properties. Yes, we all know that garlic isn’t ideal for if you’re about to head out on a hot date, but if you can get past the garlic breath, garlic has the ability to heal and nourish your body in more ways than you could have ever thought possible. Here are a few surprising health benefits associated with natural garlic.

Garlic boosts the immune system – Garlic is absolutely loaded full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and other nutrients that have been proven to nourish the body and promote optimal health and well-being. One such way is that these healthy compounds have been proven to strengthen a person’s immune system, helping to keep them much fitter and healthier. The immune system is the human body’s first and last line of defense against illness and disease, so obviously the stronger the immune system, the healthier the individual in question. With high quantities of vitamin C in particular, which is a known immunity booster, it’s no wonder why garlic is so popular during cold and flu season.

Garlic is nutritious and low in calories – Another great reason to get more garlic into your diet is that, whilst it is incredibly nutritious, it also happens to be very, very low in calories, so it’s a perfect health food for adding flavor and nutrition to your meals, without upping the calorie contents. Just one ounce of garlic contains 15% of your RDI of vitamin C, along with 17% of your RDI for vitamin B6, 1 gram of dietary fiber, nearly 25% of manganese, and much more besides. As if that wasn’t all, basically, garlic contains almost every single essential and non-essential nutrient required by the human body, and at just 42 calories per ounce, it’s no wonder why it’s such a popular ingredient in the health and fitness world.

Garlic can reduce blood pressure – Hypertension, or, high blood pressure, is now more common than ever, and it is one of the biggest killers in the entire world. Hypertension can cause renal failure, it can cause arteries to collapse, it can cause blood clots, it can cause brain damage, strokes, heart attacks, and more. Basically, hypertension is extremely dangerous, yet as mentioned, it is sadly more common than ever before. The good news however, is that hypertension can be reversed, as there are a number of proven natural ways of reducing your blood pressure, and yes, one of which does involve eating garlic. Garlic has been found to naturally contain a series of compounds that can greatly reduce a person’s blood pressure, and what’s more, garlic has been found to be just as effective, if not more so, than prescription drugs and medications designed to lower blood pressure.

Garlic can reduce cholesterol levels – LDL, or Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, is commonly known as the bad cholesterol, as this cholesterol once in the bloodstream, coats the lining and walls of your arteries, and overtime, can cause fatty deposits to build up which can block them, which could then lead to hypertension, strokes, cardiovascular disease, and heart attacks. Studies have found that garlic can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by around 10 – 15% on average, although it isn’t though to help increase HDL, or, High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, which is the good cholesterol that does the body good. For people with high LDL cholesterol levels, garlic has been proven to reduce LDL cholesterol levels, which by default, means that it provides a number of benefits to the heart and cardiovascular systems.

Garlic is rich in antioxidants – Garlic is naturally rich in antioxidants, which means that it can help to protect against certain forms of cancer, as well as other degenerative health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Free-radicals in the body can contribute towards the aging processes that the body goes through, meaning that the brain can be affected and put at a greater risk of being subjected to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, brought on by oxidative damage. By eradicating these free radicals before they have chance to cause the oxidative damage, you can essentially nip the problem in the bud and prevent the problem before it even occurs.