Why You Should Eat More Garlic
Society is in a craze about the latest “super foods” touted to aid in nearly every bodily function, often with little to no evidence to back it up. Garlic stands as one of the few additions to any meal with a large variety of proven health benefits. Below, we will go over a few of these health benefits and explain how garlic achieves them.
Blood Pressure
Garlic has been proven to aid in the synthesis of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide in this case is a vasodilator, meaning it dilates blood vessels, which helps with a healthy blood flow and pressure. Also related to blood pressure is nitric oxide's ability to inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme activity, which is believed to help not only with not only blood pressure but blood sugar levels too.
Cholesterol
A number of human studies have taken place which show that the consumption of one clove of garlic per day over an eight-week period of time has the ability to lower cholesterol by as much as 10% or 30 milligrams per decilitre. This stands true not only for total cholesterol, but LDL cholesterol as well. While these amounts are likely not enough of an effect to replace cholesterol medication, garlic can act as a great preventative measure for those who do not have a cholesterol problem yet.
Inflammation
Garlic has been used as an anti-inflammatory for centuries, and recent studies have backed this up. Garlic contains allyl sulfide which is a known anti-inflammatory. While a normal clove of garlic may not be enough to get the full effect, taking a garlic supplement could be of great aid to those suffering from arthritis, gout, or any other inflammatory related disease. There have been some studies which point towards allyl sulfide being a cancer suppressant, this, however, needs a lot more research before it can be assured. If it does act as a cancer suppressant, that would solidify garlic as the ultimate health food.
Antiviral
Garlic contains a few very specific antiviral compounds called organosulfer compounds. These compounds are known for their antiviral properties. Eating garlic on a regular basis could reduce the likelihood of a viral infection by up to 60%, it's worth noting that this is susceptible to change depending on the viral infection and on the person in question. What we do know is eating garlic on a common basis will reduce the chance of getting the common cold, a flu and many of the typical viruses we face.
History
As we research and learn more about this fantastic flowering plant from the allium family, it’s surprising to learn that this is nothing new for humans. We have been using garlic as a form of medication for more than 5000 years now. That’s longer than we’ve been enjoying the best games at onlinebetting.net.nz!
One of the first noted uses of garlic in medicinal form is from the Chinese in 2700BC. It's not all medical though, while a lot of cultures have turned to garlic simply for the taste. Some cultures like the ancient Greeks used garlic as a performance enhancer for athletes. No matter what the reason, there should be a fair helping of garlic in everybody's diet.