What does garlic help with?
Garlic is a member of the lily family and has been used for centuries as a natural antibiotic and an immune booster. It’s easy to grow, very versatile and can be used in salad dressings, soups, sauces and dishes that are both sweet and savoury.
It’s packed with sulphur compounds that give it its characteristic aroma and flavour. This vegetable is also loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It’s an excellent source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, copper, iron, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and manganese.
So, what can garlic do for you?
The Benefits:
Helps to cure the common cold and sickness
It can help to boost your immune system and keep common colds / flus away. Try swallowing a piece of garlic a day to strengthen your body’s defence system.
Reduces blood pressure and cholesterol
It can help to reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes. It’s important for everyone to know how to detect high blood pressure early, treat it aggressively and keep their blood pressure under control, which garlic can help you to do. This vegetable can also help to lower the bad cholesterol in your body.
Improves your digestive system
It can help to detox your body by removing heavy metals and toxins. By doing this, it helps to protect your organs and allows your digestive system to work properly. It can reduce constipation, diarrhea and other symptoms of IBS, including fatigue, headaches and brain fog. It feeds the ‘good’ bacteria in your digestive system, which makes your gut function better.
Boosts your athletic performance
It does this by reducing fatigue and sharpening your focus, further enhancing endurance and your work capacity.
Improves bone health
It may have beneficial effects on your bone health. It can help to reduce bone loss by increasing estrogen levels.
Fights infectious diseases
Its properties are so strong, it can help to fight infectious diseases, such as illnesses caused by parasites.
This vegetable can give you the greatest energy boost and make the most noticeable improvement in your stamina. It also strengthens your immune system, fights off infections, reduces cholesterol and is an anti-inflammatory agent.
A few of the lesser-known benefits are: it aids in weight loss, lowers high blood pressure, reduces migraine headaches and may even prevent cancer.
If you have an upset stomach, stomach cramps, feel nauseous, a bit queasy or just feel ‘off’, try swallowing some fresh pieces of garlic with water on an empty stomach. Alternatively, place the small pieces of garlic in a glass of water overnight and let it soak. Drink the water the following day on an empty stomach and separately from taking any medication. You should notice immediate relief, it’s quite amazing!
Risks
Consuming raw garlic has a couple of downsides. Eating it in large amounts may increase the risk of bleeding, therefore people on blood thinning medications may want to avoid doing this.
It’s best to speak with a healthcare professional to determine whether garlic is safe and appropriate for you.
Additionally, some people are allergic to garlic so consume it with caution and if you are allergic to it, simply stay away from it!
