GARLIC/ LAHSHUN

Garlic is considered a plant of the Allium (onion) class. It can also be called a close relative of you onion. Each lump of garlic has 10 to 20 buds. Garlic is grown in many parts of the world including India. Garlic is used in cooking all over the world because of its strong smell and unique taste.

However, in ancient history, garlic was only used to make medicines. Due to these properties of garlic, it was in great demand in many civilizations around the world. Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman and Chinese civilizations also wrote treatises on the benefits of garlic.

Modern scientists now know that why garlic is beneficial for health?

According to research, when garlic is cut, pressed or chewed, the sulfur present in it reacts and forms compounds. Allicin is considered to be the most famous of the compounds made from garlic. However, allicin is a volatile compound found only in freshly cut garlic.

Other compounds that make garlic beneficial for health include Diallyl Disulfide and S-Allyl Cysteine. Compounds of garlic dissolve in our body while digesting food, from there its benefits spread throughout our body.

Summary:

Garlic is a plant of love class. Which is grown due to its unique taste and beneficial for health. Sulfur is found in abundance in garlic. According to the science of homeopathy, sulfur helps in skin diseases and keeping the blood thin.

Garlic is very nutritious, yet it is very low in calories.

Daily need in just 1 ounce (28-gram) of garlic:

Manganese: 23%

Vitamin B6: 17%

Vitamin C: 15%

Selenium: 6%

Fiber: 0.6

is found.

Apart from this, garlic also provides adequate amount of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1. Small amounts of garlic also contain many other nutrients. That is, in total, all the nutrients that our body needs are present in garlic. By consuming only 28 grams of garlic, we get 42 calories, 1.8 grams of protein and 9 grams of carbs.

Summary:

A small amount of calories are found in garlic. Whereas vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese are found in good amounts. It also contains small amounts of other nutrients.

Supplements made from garlic improve our immune system.

In a study that lasted for 12 weeks, it was found that those who consume garlic daily have less cold and flu. Such people get up to 63% less sick than those who take placebo drugs like Vicks.

The study revealed that those who eat garlic every day were cured of cold and flu in just 1.5 days. Whereas those taking placebo medicines took up to 5 days to recover.

At the same time, another study found that by taking high doses (2.56 grams) of old garlic extract daily, you get better from cold and fever. That is, 61% of those who do not eat garlic remain ill for more days.

However, a review has also said that this evidence is not enough and more research is needed in this matter.

By the way, let us tell you that despite the lack of strong evidence in favor of garlic, if you include garlic in your daily diet, then you can protect yourself from cold much better.

Summary

The nutrients of garlic reduce the risk of common diseases like cold and fever and help us to protect them from them.

Heart diseases such as heart attack and stroke kill the most people in the world. High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the main reasons for the occurrence of these diseases.

Studies done on humans have revealed that the nutrients of garlic help in reducing blood pressure in our body. Garlic acts like a panacea for high blood pressure patients. Another study found that patients with high blood pressure who took 600-1,500 mg of garlic cloves for 24 weeks had significant benefits.

According to this study, the effect of garlic extract and the famous drug Atenolol was similar in patients during this period. Sometimes high doses of medicines were also given to the patients for quick benefits. Whereas similar benefits were also seen in patients who ate four cloves of garlic daily.

Summary:

Eating high doses of garlic improves the health of patients with hypertension and high blood pressure. In some cases, it was found to be as effective as drugs on patients.

Eating garlic improves the cholesterol level in your body, which reduces the risk of heart diseases. It also reduces the level of total and LDL cholesterol in the body. Garlic is very beneficial for high cholesterol patients.

Research has shown a 10-15% reduction in LDL cholesterol levels with regular consumption of garlic (13, 14, 15). LDL cholesterol is generally considered bad while HDL cholesterol is considered good cholesterol in the body.

Research has found that eating garlic reduces LDL cholesterol, but it has not seen any positive effect on HDL cholesterol.

High triglyceride levels are considered another dangerous factor in heart diseases. But garlic has also not seen any significant effect on triglyceride levels.

Alzheimer’s and Dementia are diseases related to the brain. Such anti-oxidants are found in garlic, which benefit in these diseases. Free radicals present in our body cause oxidative damage to us, due to which the effect of aging starts on the skin.

A lot of anti-oxidants are found in garlic. These antioxidants protect the body’s defense system from oxidative damage. Antioxidant enzymes have been shown to increase in humans with high consumption of garlic. Apart from this, it also helps in reducing oxidative stress caused by high blood pressure.

Consumption of garlic reduces cholesterol and blood pressure simultaneously. Apart from this, the amount of anti-oxidants in the body also improves. The combined effect of all these helps to avoid brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

In addition, garlic has blood thinning properties. Due to these blood-thinning properties, it can also help in the treatment of mental diseases.

Due to the thin blood, it can easily run in the arteries. Due to more blood reaching the brain, more amount of oxygen reaches the brain. Perhaps this is the reason, garlic has an important contribution in improving mental health.

Summary:

Anti-oxidants are found in garlic which protect us from aging and destruction of our cells. Its consumption also protects against the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Garlic was associated with increasing performance in many ancient civilizations. In Roman civilization, gladiators were fed garlic to reduce fatigue or to increase the working capacity of workers.

In particular, in ancient Greece, athletes playing in the Olympics were fed garlic. Legends tell us that garlic can enhance our performance during exercise. But very little study has been done about this.

But the study found that heart patients who consumed garlic oil for 6 weeks. There was a 12% decrease in their heart rate and an increase in their exercise capacity.

However, in a study conducted on nine cyclists involved in a competition, garlic did not have any positive effect on performance (24). At the same time, another study found that fatigue caused by exercise can be eradicated by the consumption of garlic.

Summary:

Feeding garlic to lab animals and heart patients showed improvements in their physical performance. However, the study has not reached any final conclusion about its effect on healthy people.

By consuming more garlic, the sulfur present in it helps to protect our organs from heavy metal/heavy metal poisoning. This was studied for four weeks at a car battery plant. The laborers working here were in contact with lead throughout the day.

Research found that consuming garlic resulted in a 19% drop in the level of lead in their blood. This has also been reported to reduce the symptoms of headache and increase blood pressure in the body.

It was also found that this drug works better than D-penicillamine if garlic is consumed three times a day for the treatment of these symptoms.

Summary:

A study has found that garlic is very effective in dealing with lead poisoning from our body and the problems caused by it.

No modern studies on humans have measured the effect of garlic in preventing bone loss. But, ancient studies tell us that eating garlic increases the amount of estrogen in the body of women, which reduces the wear and tear of bones.

At the same time, in a study done on women after menopause, it was found that daily consumption of dried garlic powder (2 grams daily) reduced estrogen deficiency in them to a great extent. This suggests that garlic has been shown to be extremely effective in improving bone health in women and men.

By making garlic and onion a part of our diet daily, we also benefit in osteoarthritis.

These points are not about the effect of garlic on our health, but they are important nonetheless. It is very easy to include garlic in your everyday diet. Garlic is added to many savory dishes, especially soups and sauces. The pungent taste of garlic dissolves in the vegetables and gives a tremendous punch.

Garlic can be consumed in many ways. You can swallow it whole or use the powder, extract and oil. However, it should also be kept in mind that there are some negative aspects to the consumption of garlic.

Eating too much garlic can cause bad breath in your mouth. Apart from this, some people are also allergic to it. If you have blood-related diseases or are taking blood-thinning medications, consult your doctor before increasing your garlic intake.

By the way, you can eat garlic by adding it to the vegetable. Garlic chutney or pickle can be made. You can make garlic pudding or roast it or eat it whole.