Garlic has long been celebrated in the fantasy realm for warding off evil—specifically blood-thirsty vampires. However, in reality, garlic does indeed possess several super powers when it comes to our health. For instance, garlic contains allicin, an organic sulfur compound, which strengthens immunity, improves heart health, lessens inflammation, and even acts as an antibacterial agent to banish bacterial illness and food poisoning.
Remember, eating garlic in the raw will warrant the highest benefits. So plug that nose and applaud garlic for these 18 unexpected health benefits…
1. Protect Against Heart Disease and Lower Cholesterol
One of the best and biggest benefits of garlic is that it has the ability to lower LDL cholesterol. Healthline states that people who suffer from high cholesterol can take garlic supplements and see a reduction of about 10 to 15-percent! “Looking at LDL (the “bad”) and HDL (the “good”) cholesterol specifically, garlic appears to lower LDL but has no reliable effect on HDL,” writes the source. “High triglyceride levels are another known risk factor for heart disease, but garlic seems to have no significant effects on triglyceride levels.” WebMD also notes that garlic seems to have the best effect when it’s taken for more than 8-weeks.
In addition, LiveStrong cites a study published in the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine from back in 1991 which found that students who consumed 10-grams of raw garlic each day for two months were able to lower their cholesterol levels and thus reduce their risk of heart disease. Another study from 2006 which was published in the Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences “found that raw garlic consumption increased beneficial HDL cholesterol levels, while decreasing total cholesterol,” writes LiveStrong. However the difference wasn’t large enough that it could be used as the only method for lowering cholesterol. It should only be used in addition to other treatments.
