Benefits of Garlic for Health – Generally, garlic is used as a spice in cooking. This kitchen spice has many benefits. Here are the benefits of garlic for your health. For most people, garlic is a kitchen spice to add to cooking.
Apart from enhancing the aroma, garlic can add a distinctive flavour to dishes. However, the Benefits of Garlic are not only for enhancing aroma and taste but also for health benefits.
Ward off colds
Want to prevent nasal congestion due to colds? You can put garlic in cooking to ward off colds. One of the benefits of garlic is that it increases the body’s immune system. A study found that the allicin content in garlic can reduce the chances of catching a cold and make people who catch colds recover faster.
Improve sports performance
Garlic can also improve sports performance. However, research on the effects of garlic on physical performance is still mostly done in mice. Studies show that people with heart disease experience better exercise performance after being given garlic oil twice a day for six weeks. However, studies on garlic and exercise performance are still contradictory and require further research.
Reducing the risk of lung cancer
People who ate raw garlic at least twice a week had a 44 per cent lower risk of developing lung cancer. Even so, more research is still needed to confirm the benefits of garlic in preventing lung cancer.
What Are the Benefits of Garlic for Health?
Relieves heavy metal poisoning
In addition to the diallyl sulfide content, the sulfur content in garlic is believed to be able to protect organs from damage due to poisoning by heavy metals, such as lead. Garlic was found to reduce blood lead levels by 19% in employees working in factories that manufacture batteries for cars.
Not only lead levels, but garlic can also relieve symptoms of poisoning, such as headaches and so on. Giving garlic three times a day is more effective in relieving symptoms of poisoning than the D-penicillamine drug.
Lower blood pressure
For people with hypertension, the benefits of garlic in lowering blood pressure are quite commonly known. One study found that giving 600-1,500 milligrams of garlic extract had the same effect in lowering blood pressure as the drug Atenolol over 24 weeks. If you like raw garlic, then you can eat four cloves of raw garlic per day to lower blood pressure.
Able to protect the heart
The diallyl trisulfide content in garlic oil can help protect the heart after heart attacks and after heart surgery and can be used as a treatment for heart failure. Research conducted on mice showed that there was a 61% reduction in heart damage after diallyl sulfide was given to mice with heart attacks. See other interesting articles here.
Improve bone health in women
In female rats, bone loss can be overcome by giving garlic to increase estrogen levels. Therefore, garlic has the potential not only to increase estrogen levels but also to prevent bone loss in women. However, further research is still needed regarding the Benefits of Garlic for bones.
