Garlic is one of the most common ingredients we can find in our kitchen. It is used in many different types of recipe to enhance the flavour. Many people hates garlic because it creates bad breath but despite its garlic odour, it is a very good flavouring to every dish and added to that, it is very healthy. There are probably a lot of health benefits of garlic that you do not know yet. Read below to discover more of what you can get from garlic.
Antibacterial Properties
A good defence against infection— this is one of the well-known effects of garlic. If you are wondering why some cultures use garlic in treating wounds then you should know that it is because of its anti-bacterial effects. During World War II, many wounded soldiers were given garlic to treat their wounds to prevent gangrene and further infection because garlic halts bacterial activity in wounds. Aside from treating wounds, it is also very effective in treating acne. Know that it is not only hormones that causes acnes because it can also be due to bacteria trapped into pores and grows into an infection because it is left untreated.
Antifungal Properties
If you have athlete’s foot but you hate garlic odour, which would you prefer to endure? Garlic contains Sulfur compounds which are very effective in treating fungal infections. Many topical creams have a garlic ingredient known as Ajoene and it is very effective in ridding off many types of fungal infections.
Prevents Vessel Blood Clots
Garlic is known to prevent blood clots because it increases nitric acid production in blood vessels so it will dilate. Blood clots are very dangerous because it can block a vessel and prevent circulation of blood into certain parts of the body. If the clot will move further to the brain, it will result to stroke because the brain cells will die because no oxygen can supplement it. Remember that it is the blood that carries oxygen and if it cannot reach certain parts of the body, that part will die because the cells will not get the gas.
Lower Down Blood Pressure
Uncontrolled hypertension will lead to stroke and eventually death. There were some studies that showed positive results of garlic helping in lowering down blood pressure level especially for people with uncontrolled hypertension. They used aged garlic extract and discovered that it is very effective in lowering down the systolic blood pressure of hypertensive patients.
There are still many health benefits of garlic that are under study today. There were reports of its cancer-preventive properties because some cultures eating garlic and including it in their daily diet have lower incidence of cancer. But, evidence is yet to be produced. Even if garlic is one of the most bad-smelling spices in the world for you, you know now that it has a lot to offer. Would you rather be healthy or bad breath?
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I guess that is why I have an affinity to garlic…I have hypertension.
An excellent post, providing something good to read. Thanks for sharing such a useful information. keep up the awesome work.