Garlic, a Medicinal Treasure Trove

Love it or hate it, and there doesn’t seem to be an in between, no-one can now deny the substantial research backing up the many claims of the health benefits of garlic.

It has played a central role in the healthful Mediterranean Diet for many centuries and as such is partly responsible for the lower rates of heart disease and cancer than in other parts of the western world. The Spanish have long used it as a preservative which helps to add credence to it’s anti-bacterial properties and whole books have been devoted to the health benefits of garlic, the most important of which I will try to summarize here.

Garlic and Your Heart.
The positive effect of garlic on your circulatory system is extremely well documented and it has been proved to lower blood pressure, decrease platelet aggregation, lower serum triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol ( the bad type) levels, increase serum HDL-cholesterol (the good type) and fibrinolysis (the process through which the body breaks up blood clots.) Plus it stimulates the production of nitric oxide in the lining of blood vessel walls, a substance that helps them to relax. As a result of these beneficial actions garlic helps to prevent arteriosclerosis and thereby reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke. Two or three cloves a day have cut the risk of subsequent heart attacks in half in heart patients.

One reason for these beneficial effects may be garlic’s ability to reduce the amount of free radicals in the bloodstream.

According to a study published in Life Sciences, a daily dose of 1 ml/kg body weight of garlic extract for a period of 6 months resulted in a significant reduction in oxidant (free radical) stress in the blood of arteriosclerosis patients. It’s positive effect on the circulatory system improves blood flow throughout the body so has even been hailed as a cure for impotence!

Garlic and Cancer
This remarkable little bulb now tops the American National Cancer Institute’s list of potential cancer-preventative foods. It contains multiple anticancer compounds and antioxidants, more than 30 at the last count, which such powerful compounds as quercetin, diallyl sulphide,allin and ajoene. These have the ability to block cancer causing agents such as nitrosamine and aflatoxin which have been specifically linked to stomach, lung and liver cancer. Garlic’s ajoene and allicin have also been shown to retard cancer cells as a type of natural chemotherapy.

Meat cooked at high temperatures can produce carcinogenic (cancer producing) chemicals and research has recently discovered that when meat is cooked with garlic this effect is limited.

Garlic- and the Immune System.
Not surprisingly the presence of all these antioxidants in garlic have a very positive effect on the immune system in general and can therefore protect the body against all types of bacterial and viral attacks. Research has recently even shown it to have an inhibiting effect on MSRA which is currently reeking such havoc in U.K. hospitals.

Garlic also acts as a good cold medication, decongestant and expectorant. It is a surprisingly good source of vitamins C, B6 and the minerals selenium and manganese all of which have long been associated with immune system boosting as well as other benefits.

Garlic-Promotes Weight Control.
Allicin is the most potent substance found in garlic and this has been shown to not only lower blood pressure, insulin and triglyceride levels in laboratory animals fed a sugar rich diet, but also to prevent weight gain. A study published in the American Journal of Hypertension reported that animals who developed high insulin levels, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides were given either allicin or served as a control. Although all of the animals consumed the same amount of food, weight rose only in the control group whereas the animals who were being supplemented with allicin maintained stable weight or a slight decrease was actually noticed. The researchers concluded that allicin may be of practical value for weight control.

Garlic has plenty of other health benefits too numerous to mention here but if you want further proof of the health benefits of garlic then read this extract from the Daily Telegraph.

About the author:
Ruth Polak is the owner of www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com, a web site specializing in holiday villas and apartments on the Costa del Sol and in Rural Andalucia. You will also find lots of information about Spain and Andalucia, in particular.