It is well known that garlic has lots of health benefits and has long been used for medicinal purposes to treat a wide range of health problems and to prevent serious health issues from coming on.
It is very common in most parts of the world and for us in England you can find it in almost every food shop, and what’s great about it is that you can eat it both raw and cooked. It is quite easy to include in your meals too, or you can opt to eat it by itself or turn it into a tea.
Garlic comes in many forms in the UK too that you can reap the benefits from, including minced, puree, flakes, and granules and so on, with most of these coming in handy in cooking.
The right amount of garlic to get the medicinal benefits is around 2-3 cloves a day, which you can easily get into a meal. For children this is reduced to around one clove a day. Garlic can be added to nearly any dish including salads, soups, stews and so on, and you will be amazed at the sheer amount of ailments it can help with.
So here is Amchara’s top 10 health benefits of garlic
1. Healthy Baby, Happy Baby
Garlic has been shown in many studies to be helpful in pregnant women whose babies are underweight. It is shown to be able to aid the unborn child to gain weight more quickly.
2. Immune Booster
Garlic is well known as an immune system booster and in particular it helps to fight against chest infection, congestion and the common cold. It might not be very pleasant to eat a clove of garlic covered in honey as the old wives tale suggests, but perhaps a cup of garlic tea or garlic capsules if you’re feeling like a cold is coming. Or just simply increase the garlic in your meals for a healthy raw alternative.
3. Thyroid Protection and Function Boost
Garlic is a great source of iodine, which is an important nutrient for a healthy thyroid. Garlic is used in alternative medicine as a thyroid treatment and has been shown to vastly improve hyperthyroidism.
4. Keep Colds At Bay
Garlic contains plenty of vitamin C which helps to fight colds and generally keep you in good condition. It can be a great thing to eat on a daily basis to increase vitamin C levels.
5. Natural Viagra Alternative
In many cultures, garlic is taken on a daily basis to treat impotence and erectile dysfunction. This is down to the allicin content in garlic which helps to improve blood flow and thus theory goes that increased blood flow helps to maintain an erection.
6. Healthy Hearts
One very common health benefit of garlic is heart health and many people throughout the UK take garlic capsules and eat raw garlic each day to improve heart health. Garlic is said to be able to protect against heart attack and heart disease, and it also helps to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
7. Woman’s Best Friend
Allicin doesn’t just improve blood flow, it also acts as an antibiotic and it can help to treat fungal and bacterial vaginal infections in women. That said, it can help to improve any form of bodily fungal or bacterial infection so get eating garlic if you have any such thing. Garlic capsules don’t work here as the process used in the making of these removes the allicin that does the job.
8. Packed With B6
B6 is abundant in garlic, which again helps to protect the immune system. It also helps to maintain the healthy growth of new cells in the body and can help to keep a good mood balance.
9. C Is Not For Cancer
Garlic has been proven in many studies to help fight against various cancers and the consumption of garlic has also shown to reduce cancerous tumour sizes. It has been put down to the combination of vitamin C and vitamin B6 content.
10. Blood Sugar Regulator
Diabetics should listen to this one – garlic is said to be able to regulate blood sugar levels due to its ability to enhance insulin levels naturally, but before you go ditching the insulin for garlic cloves, speak to your medical professional to discuss the benefits of garlic with your specific condition.
It is important to note that eating too much garlic could actually do the opposite and can be bad for your health, so limit the amount you eat to 2-3 cloves daily and no more than 10 cloves per week. Just adding it to a few meals each week can really help.
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