Garlic has always been used, ever since antiquity, for a diverse set of medical conditions in every culture from ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Babylonians to China. Now with modern technologies studies have proved what our ancestors already knew about this wonder bulb.

Nutritionally speaking, garlic contains an iota of everything that we need in our daily diet. Besides that 28 grams or 1 ounce of garlic has 42 calories made of 1.8 grams of protein and 9 grams of carbohydrates. In that same quantity, there are decent amounts of manganese, vitamins B6 and C, selenium, 1 gram of fiber, and many others in smaller yet noticeable amounts (like calcium, iron, copper, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamin B1).

When it comes to garlic’s health properties it is Allicin which provides all these potent medicinal properties. Allicin is a sulfuric compound, responsible for the particular garlic smell, which enters our system through the digestive track from where it travels all over the body and carries out its potent effects.

Garlic supplements have been shown to boost the body’s immune function, consequently proving to be powerful in fighting sickness, including the Common Cold. Studies have shown that daily dosage of garlic or high garlic extract reduces the overall number of days sick with cold/flu.

For people who suffer from high blood pressure, studies using a garlic supplement have a considerable impact when it came to reducing blood pressure in individuals with this condition. In another study, it was found out that aged garlic extract was just as effective in reducing blood pressure as a drug specifically made for that. The supplement doses must be quite high for them to have the desired effect, but if we want to introduce it naturally in our diet the Allicin quantity needed is equal to four garlic cloves per day.

From another perspective, garlic has shown to have an impact on cholesterol levels which means lowering the risk of heart diseases. In those suffering of high cholesterol, garlic can reduce the amount of Total and LDL cholesterol by about 10-15%. While garlic is shown to lessen the level of bad cholesterol it has shown no impact on the good cholesterol, HDL.

One of the long-term outcomes that garlic consumption may have is helping to prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Garlic’s antioxidants protect the body against oxidative damage from free radicals which are known to contribute to the aging process.

As a result, by combining high blood pressure reduction and the antioxidant effects, we might be able to reduce or even prevent the development of common brain diseases.
In conclusion, we can easily deduce that garlic is overall beneficial for people of all ages. Due to how easy it is to introduce it in our daily diet and the variety of forms in which garlic can be found, this wonder bulb might be the easiest way to improve our overall health on a long term scale. In the long run, we can handle a bit of bad breath considering all the good garlic can do to our bodies.

Source: https://www.hlbenefits.com/garlic-health-8-impressive-benefits-garlic/