Garlic Contains Compounds With Potent Medicinal Properties
1. Garlic Contains
Compounds With Potent Medicinal Properties
Garlic is a plant in the Allium (onion) family.
It is
closely related to onions, shallots and leeks. Each segment of a garlic bulb is
called a clove. There are about 10–20 cloves in a single bulb, give or take.
Garlic
grows in many parts of the world and is a popular ingredient in cooking due to
its strong smell and delicious taste.
However,
throughout ancient history, the main use of garlic was for its health and medicinal
properties (1 ).
Its use
was well documented by many major civilizations, including the Egyptians,
Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese (2 ).
Scientists
now know that most of its health benefits are caused by sulfur compounds formed
when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed or chewed.
Perhaps
the most famous of those is known as allicin. However, allicin is an unstable
compound that is only briefly present in fresh garlic after it’s been cut or
crushed (3 ).
Other
compounds that may play a role in garlic’s health benefits include diallyl
disulfide and s-allyl cysteine (4 ).
The
sulfur compounds from garlic enter the body from the digestive tract and travel
all over the body, where it exerts its potent biological effects.
2. Garlic Is Highly
Nutritious But Has Very Few Calories
Calorie
for calorie, garlic is incredibly nutritious.
A 1-ounce
(28-gram) serving of garlic contains (5):
- Manganese: 23% of the
RDA
- Vitamin B6: 17% of the RDA
- Vitamin C: 15% of the
RDA
- Selenium: 6% of the
RDA
- Fiber: 0.6 grams
- Decent amounts of
calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1
Garlic
also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients. In fact, it contains a
little bit of almost everything you need.
This
comes with 42 calories, 1.8 grams of protein and 9 grams of carbs.
3. Garlic Can Combat Sickness, Including the Common Cold
Garlic
supplements are known to boost the function of the immune system.
One
large, 12-week study found that a daily garlic supplement reduced the number of
colds by 63% compared to a placebo (6 ).
The
average length of cold symptoms was also reduced by 70%, from 5 days in the
placebo group to just 1.5 days in the garlic group.
Another
study found that a high dose of aged garlic extract (2.56 grams per day)
reduced the number of days sick with cold or flu by 61% (7 ).
The lack
of strong evidence, adding garlic to your
diet may be worth trying if you often get colds.
4. The Active Compounds in
Garlic Can Reduce Blood Pressure
Cardiovascular
diseases like heart attacks and strokes are the world's biggest killers.
High
blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the most important drivers of these
diseases.
Human
studies have found garlic supplements to have a significant impact on reducing
blood pressure in people with high blood pressure (9 , 10 , 11 ).
In one
study, 600–1,500 mg of aged garlic extract was just as effective as the drug
Atenolol at reducing blood pressure over a 24-week period (12 ).
Supplement
doses must be fairly high to have the desired effects. The amount needed is
equivalent to about four cloves of garlic per day.
5. Garlic
Improves Cholesterol Levels, Which May Lower the Risk of Heart Disease
Garlic
can lower total and LDL cholesterol.
For those
with high cholesterol, garlic supplements appear to reduce total and/or LDL
cholesterol by about 10–15% (13 , 14 , 15 ).
Looking
at LDL (the "bad") and HDL (the "good") cholesterol
specifically, garlic appears to lower LDL but has no reliable effect on HDL (9 , 10 , 16 , 17 , 18 ).
High
triglyceride levels are another known risk factor for heart disease, but garlic
seems to have no significant effects on triglyceride levels (13 , 15 ).
6. Garlic Contains Antioxidants That May Help Prevent Alzheimer's
Disease and Dementia
Oxidative
damage from free radicals contributes to the aging process.
Garlic
contains antioxidants that support the body's protective mechanisms against
oxidative damage (19 ).
High
doses of garlic supplements have been shown to increase antioxidant enzymes in
humans, as well as significantly reduce oxidative stress in those with high
blood pressure (7 , 9 , 20 ).
The
combined effects on reducing cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as the
antioxidant properties, may reduce the risk of common brain diseases like
Alzheimer's disease and dementia (21 , 22 ).
7. Garlic May Help You
Live Longer
The
potential effects of garlic on longevity are basically impossible to prove in
humans.
But given
the beneficial effects on important risk factors like blood pressure, it makes
sense that garlic could help you live longer.
The fact
that it can fight infectious disease is also an important factor, because these
are common causes of death, especially in the elderly or people with dysfunctional
immune systems.
8. Athletic Performance
Might Be Improved With Garlic Supplements
Garlic
was one of the earliest "performance enhancing" substances.
It was
traditionally used in ancient cultures to reduce fatigue and enhance the work
capacity of laborers.
Most
notably, it was given to Olympic athletes in ancient Greece (1 ).
Rodent
studies have shown that garlic helps with exercise performance, but very few
human studies have been done.
People
with heart disease who took garlic oil for 6 weeks had a 12% reduction in peak
heart rate and better exercise capacity (23 ).
However,
a study on nine competitive cyclists found no performance benefits (24 ).
Other
studies suggest that exercise-induced fatigue may be reduced with garlic (2 ).
9. Eating Garlic May Help
Detoxify Heavy Metals in the Body
At high
doses, the sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to protect against organ
damage from heavy metal toxicity.
A
four-week study in employees of a car battery plant (excessive exposure to
lead) found that garlic reduced lead levels in the blood by 19%. It also
reduced many clinical signs of toxicity, including headaches and blood pressure
(25 ).
Three
doses of garlic each day even outperformed the drug D-penicillamine in reducing
symptoms.
10. Garlic May Improve Bone Health
No human
studies have measured the effects of garlic on bone loss.
However,
rodent studies have shown that it can minimize bone loss by increasing estrogen
in females (26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ).
One study
in menopausal women found
that a daily dose of dry garlic extract (equal to 2 grams of raw garlic)
significantly decreased a marker of estrogen deficiency (30 ).
This
suggests that this supplement may have beneficial effects on bone health in
women.
Foods
like garlic and onions may also have beneficial effects on osteoarthritis (31 ).
11. Garlic Is Easy to Include in Your Diet and Tastes
Absolutely Delicious
The last
one is not a health benefit, but is still important.
Garlic is
very easy (and delicious) to include in your current diet.
It
complements most savory dishes, particularly soups and sauces. The strong taste
of garlic can also add a punch to otherwise bland recipes.
Garlic
comes in several forms, from whole cloves and smooth pastes to powders and
supplements like garlic extract and garlic oil.
However,
keep in mind that there are some downsides to garlic, such as bad breath. There
are also some people who are allergic to it.
If you
have a bleeding disorder or are taking blood-thinning medications, talk to your
doctor before increasing your garlic intake.
A common
way to use garlic is to press a few cloves of fresh garlic with a garlic press,
then mix it with extra virgin olive oil and
a bit of salt.
This a
healthy and super satisfying dressing.
The Bottom Line
For
thousands of years, garlic was believed to have medicinal properties.
Science
has now confirmed it.
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