For more than 1000 years, garlic has been the backbone of almost every Italian dish and works well with chicken, vegetables and red meats, enhancing their overall flavor. While it’s a great choice for adding a kick to so many dishes, it also offers some amazing health benefits! Using garlic regularly in your cooking can help your blood pressure levels, keep you healthy during winter months, and also regulate your blood sugar. It can even enhance your sex life!
Check out some amazing benefits of garlic you probably never knew about.
1. Garlic protects against colds and sore throats
Garlic has natural antibacterial properties that can keep you protected from the common cold and sore throats. It also acts as an expectorant, meaning it loosens phlegm. In turn you may be able to breathe more easily during winter months when others are suffering from stuffy noses and coughs, and even from bronchitis!
2. Garlic helps the body to increase its production of insulin
While not a substitute for prescription medication, garlic has been shown to increase the body’s production of insulin which in turn can help to keep blood sugar levels healthy. If you’re diabetic or have a history of diabetes in the family and are at increased risk yourself, add more garlic to your diet.
3. Garlic can help to combat anemia
The properties of garlic help the body to absorb iron more easily so that blood is more readily produced. An iron deficiency is associated with anemia, so eating more garlic can keep your levels of fresh red blood cells in the body healthy and strong.
4. The juice of garlic can be used as an antiseptic
When you have a cut or cold sore, you can squeeze fresh garlic bulbs and use the juice as an antiseptic. This will kill and germs and bacteria in the area and leave your open skin clean and ready for a bandage, and reduce your risk of an infection setting in.
5. Garlic can keep you slim
It’s been shown that garlic helps to regulate the development of fat cells in the body, so that when you eat, you convert fewer calories to fat. In turn you can keep weight off as more calories will convert to lean muscle and other tissue.
6. Need a boost in the bedroom?
Good blood circulation is important when it comes to healthy sexual performance and enjoyment. Garlic helps to increase blood circulation and can also bolster energy levels; helping both men and women when it comes to romance!
7. Garlic can help when you suffer from allergies
Garlic contains a type of sulfide that works as an anti-inflammatory agent. This can help to keep tissue from becoming irritated and inflamed when you have an allergic reaction to something, or any other condition that causes inflammation. Those who suffer from arthritis may find that garlic in their diet will keep their joints from becoming stiff, and garlic may also help to keep airways open during allergy season.
8. Garlic can lower bad cholesterol levels
Allicin is a compound in garlic that may lower blood triglycerides and also stop arterial plaque from forming. This in turn is good for heart health and for your overall circulation.
9. The risk of blood clots is lowered from eating garlic
Ajoene is a compound in garlic that helps to keep blood clots from forming. It’s advised to avoid garlic right after surgery as you may need your blood to clot more freely, but as a person ages it’s vital that they reduce the risk of blood clots in order to protect their overall heart health. Adding garlic to the diet is an easy way to do this.
10. Garlic has great antioxidant properties
Antioxidants are the agents that fight free radicals. Free radicals are pollutants that attack healthy cells from outside the body, and these may include irritants like air pollution, cigarette smoke, acid rain, fuel emissions, and the like. The more antioxidants you have in your body, the less likely these free radicals will break down and damage healthy cells.
Consider all these great health benefits of garlic and be sure to add it to your diet as much as possible. If you don’t like the flavor or the smell of fresh garlic, try a daily supplement instead. You’ll feel better and be healthier overall.
