Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic, known since ancient times for its medicinal properties, is still used widely as food and as medicine. Garlic is scientifically known as Allium sativum and belongs to the Alliaceae family. The bulb is divided into several cloves, excepting the single clove type. The cloves are pungent in smell and are mostly used as food or medicine. Almost all parts of the plant can be used as food. Researchers have not agreed upon the start of using garlic as food, but hypothecated that South Asia may be source. Its medicinal properties were mentioned in Ayurvedic (traditional Indian system of medicine) and by the ancient Chinese medical practitioners. The most important health benefits of garlic are –
1. The main medicinal aspect of garlic is, by far, its cholesterol lowering ability. Several scientific studies have proven that garlic lowers the LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) and cholesterol level in blood. Doing so, it indirectly reduces the chance of clot formation in the heart, brain and anywhere in the body. Thus, regular intake of garlic can prevent heart attack or stroke. It is also seen that garlic can lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients.
2. Garlic contains almost all the vitamins and minerals. Therefore, garlic is also known as miracle food. A clove of garlic a day can keep many nutritional diseases away. You don’t even require any multivitamin-multi mineral capsules if you grow a habit of taking garlic regularly.
3. Garlic is a storehouse of several antioxidants. They neutralize free radicals. Thus garlic can help us to fight against infection. Free radicals are generated during every metabolic process in our body. They invade any healthy cell and damage the normal physiological processes. Thus the cell experiences premature death and we grow older faster than normal. By killing these free radicals, garlic helps us to live a longer life.
4. Garlic can reduce homocysteine level in blood, thus having a regulatory property in maintaining blood sugar to its normal level.
5. Garlic is also being used as anthelmintic (anti worm). 3 tsp garlic juice in the night before going to bed for 3-5 days can expel worms in the morning stool. Earlier, cloves were being inserted anally to clear out the worms.
6. Direct application of garlic paste over wound can reduce gangrene formation. Thus, garlic has direct antibacterial activity as well.
7. Garlic juice, along with other herbs; have shown to reduce the expectoration in lower respiratory tract infection.
8. Garlic has also been used as aphrodisiac in many countries.
So it is obvious that Garlic has tremendous potential to be used as natural medicine. There is no side effect and garlic is easy to find. All these makes garlic a wonderful food.