What are some 0f the major benefits of eating garlic daily? Adding garlic to many dishes is a simple method to enhance their flavor. In addition to being widely used as a flavoring and spice, garlic is also a rich source of essential nutrients that may improve your health. This article will discuss some 0f the major benefits of eating garlic daily. Keep reading.
Hippocrates, a physician from ancient Greece who is sometimes referred to be the founder of western medicine, said those well-known remarks. He genuinely used to recommend garlic as a treatment for a range of illnesses. Well, a lot of these positive health impacts have now been proven by contemporary research.
Here are four advantages of garlic and recommendations for how much to consume daily.
Nutrients of garlic
Approximately 14 calories, 0.57 grams of protein, and three grams of carbs are included in one raw clove of garlic (one slice of white bread has 34 grams of carbohydrates, for comparison.)
Despite the fact that one raw clove of garlic is rather little, it contains a lot of the following vitamins and nutrients:
- Vitamin C (2.81 mg)
- Selenium (1.28 mcg)
- Manganese (0.15 mg)
- Iron (0.15 mg)
Although a single clove of garlic has a rich nutritional profile, due to its tiny size, we do not obtain a lot of nutrients from one clove. Tom Holland, MD, a physician-scientist at Rush University Medical Center, claims that eating a whole salad does not have the same impact on focus as we might anticipate.
You shouldn’t suddenly increase your intake of garlic in your diet. The most amount of cloves that someone should take daily is one to two, according to Tracey Brigman, a food and nutrition specialist at the University of Georgia. Overindulging may result in diarrhea, bloating, poor breath, and upset stomach.
15 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Eating Garlic Daily
If you want to eat two cloves of garlic each day, Brigman advises adding fresh parsley, mint, or raw apples to your diet as well to help prevent the foul breath that comes with garlic use.
Let’s find below some 0f the major benefits of eating garlic daily:
1. Fight Illnesses like a common cold
Immune system performance has been shown to be enhanced by garlic supplementation.
A daily garlic pill decreased the occurrence of colds by 63 percent compared to a placebo, according to a significant 12-week trial. Additionally, the average duration of cold symptoms was cut in half, from five days in the placebo group to just 1.5 days in the garlic group, a reduction of 70%.
According to another study, taking 2.56 grams of garlic extract daily can cut down on the number of days spent ill with the flu or a cold by 61 percent.
Including more garlic in your diet might be quite beneficial if you frequently experience colds.
Supplementing with garlic can help stave against and lessen the intensity of common ailments like the flu and colds.
2. Better your heart health
According to a 2019 study, taking two garlic extract capsules daily for two months can help persons with hypertension reduce their blood pressure and vascular stiffness.
Brigman claims that garlic “seems to lead to general protection for your heart.”
Additionally, a 2013 study found that garlic may lower blood lipid levels, resulting in lower cholesterol and a decreased risk of cardiovascular system plaque buildup.
Each person needs a different dosage of garlic in order to experience these heart-healthy benefits. Puja Agarwal, Ph.D., a nutrition epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, believes that based on the information that is currently available, it is advisable to eat roughly four fresh cloves of garlic each week.
3. Enhance Athletic Performance
One of the first “performance boosting” drugs was garlic. Ancient nations have a history of using it to improve laborers’ work capacity and lessen weariness. It was most famously given to Olympians in ancient Greece.
Garlic has been found to improve exercise performance in rodent trials, although relatively little human research has been conducted.
Heart disease patients who used garlic oil for six weeks had a drop of 12% in their peak heart rate and an increase in their ability to exercise. A research including nine professional cyclists revealed no performance advantages.
Garlic may help to lessen exercise-induced weariness, according to other research.
Laboratory animals and individuals with heart problems who consume garlic can do better physically. Benefits in healthy individuals are yet not shown.
4. Lowering blood pressure
The leading causes of death worldwide are cardiovascular disorders including heart attacks and strokes. One of the main causes of these disorders is high blood pressure or hypertension.
Garlic supplements have been shown in human tests to significantly lower blood pressure in those with high blood pressure.
In one trial, using aged garlic extract for 24 weeks at levels of 600–1,500 mg reduced blood pressure just as well as the medication atenolol.
These intended benefits need fairly hefty supplement dosages. Allicin consumption should be comparable to four garlic cloves per day.
Garlic appears to lower blood pressure in those with known high blood pressure when consumed in high dosages (hypertension). In certain cases, taking supplements might be just as helpful as taking prescription drugs.
5. Lower the risk of cancer
Brigman adds that phytochemicals, which are found in abundance in garlic, “assist to give protection from cell damage, lessening your risk for some malignancies.”
Compounds found in fruits and vegetables called phytochemicals have been linked to a lower risk of developing chronic diseases. Some research suggests that ingesting phytochemicals from garlic may have anticarcinogenic effects and may even reduce the incidence of colorectal and stomach cancer.
There isn’t enough evidence to say if eating garlic may genuinely prevent or treat cancer in humans.
6. Ensure Your Longevity
It is practically hard to demonstrate the effects on lifespan in people. However, it makes it plausible that garlic might lengthen your life given its positive impact on significant risk factors like blood pressure.
Its ability to combat infectious diseases is another crucial aspect because they are frequent causes of mortality, particularly in the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.
Garlic has been shown to have positive impacts on numerous chronic disease-causing factors, thus it stands to reason that garlic could also lengthen life.
7. improve your bone health
Garlic’s effects on bone loss have not been studied in human studies. However, research on rodents has demonstrated that it can reduce bone loss by raising estrogen levels in females.
A daily dosage of dried garlic extract (equivalent to 2 grams of raw garlic) dramatically reduced a marker of estrogen insufficiency, according to one research in menopausal women. This implies that using garlic may help women’s bones stay healthy.
It has also been demonstrated that foods like garlic and onions are good for osteoarthritis.
By raising estrogen levels in females, garlic seems to offer some advantages for bone health, although further human research is required.
8. Improve workouts
In the past, athletes in the Ancient Greeks used garlic before competitions to enhance their performance. Since garlic releases nitric oxide, which relaxes blood arteries and reduces blood pressure, this is the case. This substance is frequently produced when running in order to provide working muscles extra oxygen.
According to a 2007 study, garlic has also been shown to increase athletic endurance in several trials using rats and mice. Brigman points out that we can’t make firm judgments since the data from human participants are inconclusive.
9. Raising Cholesterol Levels
LDL and total cholesterol levels can be reduced with garlic. Garlic supplementation appears to lower total and/or LDL cholesterol by around 10-15% in people with high cholesterol.
Garlic appears to reduce LDL cholesterol (the “bad”) but has no discernible impact on HDL cholesterol (the “good”).
Triglyceride levels, another recognized risk factor for heart disease, do not seem to be reduced by garlic.
Conclusion: Supplementing with garlic appears to lower total and LDL cholesterol, especially in people with high cholesterol. Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol don’t appear to be impacted.
10. Increase immunity
Allicin and alliinase, two nutrient-rich chemicals found in garlic, are also abundant in the tasty bulbs that grow near the end of the plant. Actually, the presence of allicin makes garlic an immune system booster.
According to a review published in 2015, the immune system is strengthened by garlic by boosting immunological cells including macrophages, lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. According to Brigman, the plant’s antibacterial and antibiotic qualities, which prevent the growth of viruses, bacteria, and other undesirable organisms, may also help prevent colds and the flu.
However, Brigman points out that while some studies indicate a benefit, there is insufficient data to conclude that taking supplements containing garlic can help prevent or lessen the severity of the common cold and flu.
Even so, you should continue to wash your hands, refrain from touching your face, drink plenty of water, and follow other preventative measures. Although garlic generally won’t keep you from becoming ill, it could give your immune system a tiny boost.
11. High in Nutrients yet Low in Calories
Garlic is quite nutrient-dense when compared to other foods.
A serving of 1 ounce (28 grams) of garlic contains:
- 23 percent of the RDA for manganese
- 17 percent of the RDA for vitamin B6
- 15 percent of the RDA for vitamin C
- 6 percent of the RDA for selenium
- 1 gram of fiber
- Calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and Vitamin B1 in reasonable levels.
Various additional nutrients are also present in garlic at trace levels. In actuality, it has a small amount of practically everything we require.
This has 9 grams of carbohydrates, 1.8 grams of protein, and 42 calories.
Garlic is high in manganese, vitamin B6, and C yet low in calories. Other nutrients are also present in trace levels.
12. Avoid dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
Free radicals’ oxidative damage accelerates the aging process. Antioxidants found in garlic boost the body’s defenses against oxidative damage.
Supplementing with large dosages of garlic has been demonstrated to considerably lower oxidative stress in those with high blood pressure and enhance antioxidant enzymes in humans. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia may be prevented thanks to the antioxidant capabilities, combined effects on lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, and the combined benefits.
Antioxidants found in garlic guard against cell deterioration and aging. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease risk may be lowered by it.
13. Help the body detoxify heavy metals
Garlic’s sulfur components have been demonstrated to offer protection against organ toxicity caused by heavy metals at large concentrations.
Garlic decreased blood levels of lead by 19% in a four-week trial of workers at a car battery factory who had had high lead exposure. Additionally, it decreased numerous clinical toxicity symptoms, such as headaches and blood pressure.
Even the medication D-penicillamine was surpassed by three daily dosages of garlic in terms of symptom relief.
In one investigation, garlic was found to dramatically lessen lead poisoning and associated symptoms.
14. Strong Medicinal Effects
A member of the Allium (onion) family, garlic is a plant. It shares a family tree with leeks, shallots, and onions.
It is a plant that grows all over the world and is often used in cooking because of its fragrant aroma. Garlic was, however, primarily used in ancient times for its therapeutic and health benefits. All the great civilizations, including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, have detailed records of their use.
A clove refers to each individual segment, and the overall “head” is referred to as a garlic bulb. Depending on how you count, a single bulb has 10–20 cloves. We now know that one of the sulfur compounds produced when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed, or chewed is what is responsible for the majority of the negative health impacts.
Allicin, another name for this substance, is also in charge of giving garlic its distinctive odor. Allicin enters the body through the digestive system and spreads throughout it, where it has powerful biological effects (which we’ll discuss in a moment).
15. Absolutely Delicious Flavor
The final one is significant even if it is not a health advantage. The truth is that including garlic in your diet is really simple (and wonderful). It goes well with the majority of savory foods, especially soups and sauces. Additionally, the strong flavor of garlic may give dull dishes some flavor.
There are many different varieties of garlic, including whole cloves, smooth pastes, powders, and dietary supplements like garlic extract and garlic oil.
One clove, consumed with meals two or three times a day, is the bare minimum effective dosage for medicinal benefits. However, bear in mind that garlic has certain drawbacks, such as the foul breath. Some people have allergies to it as well.
Before increasing your garlic intake, see your doctor if you have a bleeding issue or are taking drugs that thin the blood.
Only when raw garlic is crushed or split does the active component allicin develop. It won’t have the same health effects if you boil it first before crushing it. Therefore, cutting and crushing garlic and letting it sit out for a bit before adding it to dishes are the best ways to consume it.
Final thought
Garlic’s advantages include enhancing cardiovascular health and lowering cancer risk. Important vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, iron, and manganese are also included in one garlic clove. Choose entire cloves of garlic rather than the pre-minced varieties in jars to reap the health advantages.
Brigman advises choosing whole garlic over the pre-minced kind in jars since raw garlic has the most medicinal and health advantages.
This is due to the fact that after being chopped, crushed, or chewed, garlic’s alicin, which contributes to many of its health advantages, reaches its peak potency. Allicin in garlic cloves really reaches its peak 10 minutes after cutting and is destroyed by temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
To prevent the allicin in garlic from being destroyed, Brigman advises adding it after the food is almost done cooking.
Although allicin can be taken as a supplement, such as tablets, Brigman claims that raw garlic offers the most health benefits. This might be as a result of the unregulated production standards for supplements made from garlic, which may really contain little or no allicin.
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