Garlic power
10:20 AM
What is Garlic?
Garlic, Latin name Allium sativum, belongs to the onion family Alliaceae including shallots, and leek. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both medicinal and culinary purposes. The garlic bulb is divided into sections called cloves.
Elephant garlic or Russian garlic is a variant of the species leek and not considered a true garlic. It has a tall, solid, flowering stalk and broad, flat leaves much like those of the leek, but forms a bulb consisting of very large, garlic like cloves.
Garlic is classified as both a food and medicinal herb. It can and should be eaten as food, but it can also be taken in supplement form to augment a healthy diet when more serious health problems arise. Here's how this alternative medicine works:
Healing Properties
Garlic has many healing properties, but the most research has been done on its potential to help reduce heart disease. Garlic has been intensively studied, and numerous large studies have shown that taking supplements that mimic fresh garlic can significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels without hurting beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. Garlic appears to act by blocking the liver from making too much LDL cholesterol.
Garlic and Your Heart.
The positive effect of garlic on your circulatory system is extremely well documented and it has been proved to:
lower blood pressure
decrease platelet aggregation
lower serum triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol ( the bad type) levels
increase serum HDL-cholesterol (the good type) and fibrinolysis (the process through which the body breaks up blood clots.)
Plus it stimulates the production of nitric oxide in the lining of blood vessel walls, a substance that helps them to relax.
As a result of these beneficial actions garlic helps to prevent arteriosclerosis and thereby reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Two or three cloves a day have cut the risk of subsequent heart attacks in half in heart patients.
One reason for these beneficial effects may be garlic's ability to reduce the amount of free radicals in the bloodstream. According to a study published in Life Sciences, a daily dose of 1 ml/kg body weight of garlic extract for a period of 6 months resulted in a significant reduction in oxidant (free radical) stress in the blood of arteriosclerosis patients. It's positive effect on the circulatory system improves blood flow throughout the body so has even been hailed as a cure for impotence!
Garlic and Diabetes
Garlic increases insulin release and regulates blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Blood thinning
The anti-clotting properties of ajoene found in garlic help in preventing the formation of blood clots in the body. Hence, it may also increase the risk of bleeding after surgery.
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