Health in garlic

Daily consumption of fresh garlic is recommended for disease prevention, improving immunity and slowing down the aging process.

In ancient Egypt garlic was so highly prized that the pharaohs included it in the list of items they would need in the afterlife.

Daily consumption of fresh garlic is recommended for disease prevention, improving immunity and slowing down the aging process.

Garlic, one of the oldest cultivated plants, originates from central Asia and has been used for over 4,000 years, not only as an always welcome garnish to various dishes, but also for its high medicinal value.

Garlic throughout history

Recognised as a natural antiseptic and antibiotic, garlic has for ages been present in folk remedies for the prevention, healing and easing of various illnesses, and its use has been (and remains) particularly popular in China, India and southern Europe.

In ancient Egypt, for example, garlic was so highly prized that the pharaohs included it in the list of items they would need in the afterlife, and it was presented as a gift. It has been recorded that the first strike in history broke out over garlic. The slaves, namely, because they were not getting any, protested by stopping work on the pyramids. In ancient Greece it was most often prescribed as a remedy for lung disease, although visits to the temples of the gods were strictly forbidden after its consumption as a result of its unpleasant odour. Furthermore, throughout the ages garlic has been used to cleanse purulent wounds and abscesses, to treat cholera, headaches, colds, coughs, pneumonia, bronchitis and tuberculosis, and to eliminate various intestinal parasites. Garlic was used to ward off aging, bugs and vampires, to remedy romantic woes and to treat impotence.

In recent times, parallel to the growing popularity of alternative methods of healing, especially those based on herbs, garlic has become one of the most popular medicinal plants, and the subject of numerous scientific studies which have largely confirmed its versatile medicinal value, known to popular medicine for ages.

The medicinal components and characteristics of garlic

The subterranean bulb of garlic (Allium sativum), a plant from the lily family, contains highly medicinal substances. Garlic contains an ethereal, volatile oil with allin, a component that is decomposed after cutting or crushing into the allicin that gives it its specific scent, but which also breaks down fats and acts as an antibiotic. Also present in garlic are the vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, a whole range of minerals including potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, the trace elements copper, cobalt and manganese, and other substances including saponins, flavonoids, glucosinolates and phenolic acids.

Without a doubt, the medicinal qualities of garlic, recognised ages ago, have been confirmed by numerous scientific studies, and this plant holds an important place in the field of modern phytotherapy - healing with plants.

Garlic slows the growth of bacteria, and successfully destroys bacteria, viruses and fungi, and is as such very effective as a remedy for colds and head colds, various dermal fungal ailments and intestinal infections.

It has a very positive effect on blood and blood vessels. Regular use stimulates blood supply and facilitates blood flow, and it lowers elevated blood pressure and elevated fat values in the bloodstream. Furthermore, it prevents platelet aggregation and the creation of blood clots, reducing the danger of strokes, heart attacks and thrombosis. It is particularly effective in cases of slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels in blood. Studies have shown, namely, that the regular consumption of about 2 grams of fresh garlic a day over a four-month period by test subjects with this diagnosis saw blood pressure normalised and elevated cholesterol levels in the blood reduced by 12 percent.

Garlic holds an important place in the field of modern phytotherapy - healing with plants.

The substances it contains, allicin in particular, successfully break down the harmful fats that collect on the walls of arteries, and regularly putting garlic on the menu can prevent atherosclerosis.

Garlic also has antioxidant effects, and as such effectively protects the body from the destructive effects of the free radicals that, simply put, turn healthy cells in sick ones and cause various cancer-related diseases. On the basis of a very comprehensive American study, for example, which integrated some twenty international studies, it was proven that the daily consumption of between 3.5 and 28 grams of garlic, fresh or incorporated in other foods, reduced the risk of intestinal cancer by 75 percent, and of stomach cancer by 50 percent. And so, along with the already proven positive effect on the stomach and digestion in general, besides relieving bloating and cramps by stimulating digestion, garlic protects these organs from malignant diseases. Garlic also has a cytostatic effect. Research has shown, namely, that it destroys leukaemia tumour cells.

Along with this, garlic has a generally positive effect on the immunological system, slows aging, strengthens resistance to infection and accelerates the excretion of harmful substances from the body. Garlic is also one of the most effective natural antibiotics, especially in the fight against E. coli and staphylococcus. Furthermore, garlic is a diuretic, is used to treat bronchitis, prevents fever, and in external use can relieve rheumatic pain. Because of its characteristics it is recommended to all those who care for their health, and in particular to the elderly and smokers.

Recommended daily quantity

To prevent various diseases, alleviate or treat milder symptoms, and in particular to strengthen immunity and slow the aging process, the constant and daily consumption of only fresh garlic (thermal treatment significantly reduces the medicinal value of garlic!), or pharmaceutical preparations based on the oil, powder or extract of garlic is recommended.

Experts recommend a daily quantity of 2 to 5 grams of fresh garlic. 0.4 to 1.2 grams of powdered garlic, 2 to 5 milligrams of garlic oil, or 300 to 1000 milligrams of garlic extract.

When enjoying fresh garlic it is good to know that the very valuable substance allicin is only broken down after mechanical processing, and that garlic should be crushed or chopped immediately prior to its use.

The unpleasant odour, for which allicin is also "responsible", can be alleviated by eating fresh parsley or mint leaves, apples, milk, lemon or by chewing on a few grains of coffee. The odour can also be neutralised by heating garlic for a very short time in a microwave oven.