By Eru Kobe Godwin
Garlic is the common name for several strongly scented herbs of the lily family (Liliaceous), and for the bulbs of these plants, which are used to flavour food. Common garlic, classified as Allium Sativum, belongs to the onion family, and has small, six-part, whitish flowers borne on umbels.
Garlic has a long history as a culinary spice/medicinal herb, having been used throughout recorded history for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Common garlic has been cultivated since ancient times. The bulb, which has a strong characteristic odor and taste, is covered with a papery skin and may be broken into constituent bulblets, called cloves. Derived from roots, each head is made of 4 – 20 cloves.
Garlic is one of the most valuable and versatile foods on the planet. It is used as a flavoring in cooking and preservation, sometimes in the form of whole or grated cloves and sometimes in the form of a cooked extract, as in sauces and dressings.
In the world of medicine, garlic is widely recognized as a health enhancer. It is used as a digestive stimulant, a diuretic (any substance that tends to increase the flow of urine, which causes the body to get rid of excess water), and antispasmodic (any drug that reduces involuntary muscle contractions, particularly spasms in the wall of intestine or bladder).
Garlic Facts
Garlic ranks as one of the most powerful remedies of all time. The active component in garlic is the sulfur compound called allicin. Allicin is the chemical produced when garlic is chopped, chewed, or bruised. 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin.
Because of garlic’s distinct taste and aroma, it is commonly mixed with other herbs like ginger and onions in preparing various dishes.
One of garlic’s most potent health benefits includes the ability to enhance the body’s immune cell activity.
There are several historical facts which prove that Garlic has been used from centuries for its medicinal uses. Workers, who were engaged in constructing the Great Pyramids of Giza from around 3000 B.C, basically lived mainly on garlic & onion. Garlic was used to control infections in wounds, during World War I. It was also used for controlling a raging epidemic of flu in 1963 in Russia. In addition to all these health benefits, garlic is packed with vitamins and nutrients. Some of these include protein, potassium, Vitamins A, B, B2, B6 and C, Calcium, Zinc, manganese, copper, selenium and many others.
Uses of Garlic and Health Benefits
Garlic is one of the most popular healthy herbs around today.
Garlic has germanium in it. Germanium is an anti-cancer agent, and garlic has more of it than any other herb.
The combination of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress compounds in garlic makes it a unique food for cardiovascular support.
Garlic is known to have antiviral properties, which helps the body fight against allergies.
Garlic’s antibacterial properties make it a wonderful treatment for respiratory problems such as coughs, throat irritations. It also reduces the severity of upper respiratory tract infections.
Garlic is considered to regulate blood sugar levels by increasing the release of insulin in diabetics.
Garlic can be used to treat high cholesterol, parasites, poor digestion, and low energy.
Garlic helps platelet stickiness or aggregation to help reduce blood coagulation, and promote heart health.
Garlic also promotes increased bile production to help reduce levels of fat in the liver.
Other uses include treatment of fever, headache, stomach ache, rheumatism, asthma, bronchitis, shortness of breath it also helps improve your iron metabolism.
Garlic can be readily available in pills, capsules, liquid and actual raw cloves. Note that it is not recommended to take garlic in its raw form, since the enzyme necessary to produce allicin may be destroyed in the stomach before having any positive effect.
Finally, when thinking about the sulfur compounds in garlic, it is important to remember that foods rich in sulfur (sulfur itself is a key part of our health) are important for our health. Eat healthy.
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