5 health benefits from eating garlic

Garlic adds a delicious flavour to roasts, dips, and hearty meals and also has a number of health benefits. Garlic can liven up the most simple of dishes and at the same time kick your immune system into gear.

Through the centuries garlic was used to cure a number different ailments and even used as an insect repellant by the ancient Egyptians.

Garlic is packed full with a number of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin B1, B6, folate, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc. 

Here are some of the amazing benefits you can get from eating garlic. 

1.Wards off cold and flu

Garlic not only wards off blood-sucking vampires (so we’re told) but also works on colds and the flu as well. Add it to your cooking or regularly sip some garlic tea to boost your immune system.

Garlic also provides relief from the symptoms of colds and flu, by clearing stuffy noses and passageways and getting rid of harmful free radicals. For an instant hit of garlic, roast a few cloves into the oven until soft and eat whole. Roasted garlic loses its raw bitterness and becomes sweet and delicious.

2. Preventative measure for heart disease

Eating garlic everyday has been known to lower cholesterol levels and help with heart disease. Garlic has many antioxidant properties that make it useful for cleansing the body’s systems.

The allicin in garlic helps regulate blood sugar levels and blood pressure. To get the full benefit of the allicin in garlic it must be consumed raw or semi-raw. When cooked the allicin loses its medicinal properties.

3.Anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic

Garlic has been used to treat bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections for centuries and is still an effective solution today. Garlic is great for warding off tapeworm in children and is good for eliminating cavity-causing bacteria. It can also help with eczema, athletes foot and other fungal ailments.

4.Improves skin and hair

The properties in garlic protect the skin for a more youthful look and also strengthen the hair. Garlic frees the skin from the effects of free radicals and slows down the depletion of collagen in the skin. When the collagen in the skin becomes less elastic, it tends to droop and show signs of ageing. 

As for the hair, rubbing crushed garlic into your scalp is known to reverse the effects of hair loss and strengthen new hair follicles.

5. Purifies the blood

Garlic is a great way to purify your blood and flush out toxins. It has been known to also help with skin conditions. To reap the benefits of garlic for this purpose,  simply take two cloves of garlic and place them in some hot water.

Drink this mixture every morning and consume a lot of water during the day.

These are just a few benefits of adding garlic as a staple in your diet. 

Do you like the taste of garlic? Do you often use it in your cooking?