3 Amazing Ways Eating Garlic Everyday Benefits Your Health
Eating garlic everyday benefits your health in so many ways. In fact, if you eat garlic everyday you may even live longer!
Garlic is full of healthy micro superhero bacteria including allicin, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and Manganese. These superhero micro bacteria work inside your gut to keep you healthy. Garlic supports your immune system, decreases high blood pressure and cholesterol, and even can jumpstart your energy levels!
This post is all about how eating garlic everyday benefits your health.
Health Benefits of Garlic
In each recipe on Kait’s Cupboard, the healthy micro superheroes are highlighted at the top of the page. Take a look below to see the healthy micro superstar bacteria and vitamins hiding inside garlic.
Micro Superheroes that drive the health benefits of Garlic
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What are Raw Garlic Health Benefits?
Learning how food benefits our bodies, can help you make better choices. So, when you’re deciding between:
- take out or cooking
- minced garlic vs. fresh garlic while grocery shopping
You can make choices that will benefit your gut health without sacrificing on anything.
Little choices add up!
Dr. Kait
Bring balance to your life, and make small healthy changes that will provide big results over time.
Eating Garlic Everyday Benefits Your Health!
- Reduced cholesterol
- Reduced blood pressure
- Improved immune system including fighting off the common cold
Fresh Garlic vs Minced Garlic Health Benefits
Let’s start with the question of fresh garlic vs minced garlic health benefits. Before devoting myself to all things gut health, I routinely bought minced garlic. It’s easy, it’s still kind of fresh, like more fresh than garlic powder, it lasts longer than a fresh head of garlic, and it doesn’t have to be chopped. Meaning time saver.
Problem with Minced Garlic
Unfortunately, jarred garlic loses a significant amount of the special healthy micro superheroes that make garlic healthy for you, enter Allicin.
Allicin is a healthy superhero in garlic that is really good for you. However, garlic stored in water at room temperature loses half of its allicin in 6 days. And, garlic stored in vegetable oil lost half of its allicin in less than an hour.
Dr. Kait (see Fujisawa et al., 2008 for all the Deets)
So, the minced garlic you buy at the store has certainly at least half if not less than half the allicin as compared to fresh garlic. Doctors did find that minced garlic stored in jars may have some of the immune boosting and cancer reducing benefits (Fujisawa et al., 2008).
Buy garlic fresh!
You can find garlic at most grocery stores including Aldi where you can get a bag of 4-5 heads.
Fresh Garlic is a staple ingredient!
In Order of Health Benefits:
- Garlic Health Benefits Raw, Most Benefit!
- Minced Garlic, Some Benefit
- Garlic Powder Seasoning Health Benefits, Little
Uses of Garlic Over Time
Garlic has been used for literally thousands of years to support people’s health (Rivlin, 2001). It has been given to promote strength, prevent sickness, and even found in burial pyramids in Egypt and Greece (Rivlin, 2001). If Good Housekeeping was rating garlic, it would definitely receive the seal of approval.
The Garlic Allicin Benefits
Garlic’s superhero allicin is one of the primary components driving its health benefits. When garlic is cut, crushed, minced, or chewed it activates the alliinase inside. Activated alliinase creates a chemical reaction and becomes allicin. Allicin provides us with many of garlic’s benefits.
Chop and Stop! Cut garlic and onions first and wait 10 minutes for the allicin to form.
Bulsiewicz, 2020, p. 161
Waiting 10 minutes allows the alliinase to turn into allicin which supports our overall health (2020).
3 Amazing Garlic Benefits
1. Garlic Reduces Cholesterol
Doctors have found garlic can reduce your cholesterol. Across several studies, taking a supplement with allicin, the primary micro superhero in garlic, has reduced cholesterol (Stevinson et al., 2000; Silagy & Neil, 1994). In fact, doctors found regularly consuming garlic reduced cholesterol up to 8% in patients with high cholesterol (Ried et al., 2013). Moreover, they found this also decreased risk for heart disease (Ried et al., 2013).
2. Garlic Reduces Blood Pressure
Doctors have found garlic supplements can reduce high blood pressure (Ried, 2020). In a clinical, double-blinded, randomized trial, people who took four capsules of garlic supplement showed significant reduction in blood pressure compared to those who took a placebo, i.e. no treatment (Ried et al., 2010). Doctors found similar results in another clinical study (Ashraf et al., 2013). Consuming the equivalent of about 2 cloves of garlic per day reduced blood pressure (Ashraf et al., 2013).
3. Garlic Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation has been linked to a wide range of chronic diseases, from cancer to the common cold. An effective way to reduce inflammation and promote your health is by incorporating garlic into your diet. Garlic contains a powerful antioxidant called allicin which helps combat inflammation, keeping you feeling strong and healthy!
How to Use Garlic for Inflammation
The incredible antioxidants inside garlic are a powerhouse for the human body, helping to protect against damaging free radicals that can cause a host of negative health effects (Dhawan & Jain, 2005). In fact, extensive research into the medicinal properties of garlic has shown some astounding results. Doctors have even suggested that regularly consuming garlic may reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s disease (Borek, 2006), making it a truly remarkable superfood!
Protect Yourself Against the Common Cold
Believe it or not, there is overwhelming scientific evidence that suggests garlic has powerful protective properties that can help protect you from getting a cold. This might seem hard to believe, but it is an idea that has been supported across the span of time by our founding civilizations who have long used garlic as a natural remedy.
Doctors have found that eating garlic on a regular basis can significantly reduce your chances of catching a cold and also drastically reduce the amount of time you suffer from its symptoms when you do get one. Furthermore, research has shown that eating garlic can be beneficial for overall health due to its high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties (Josling, 2001).
Garlic Health Benefits
How much protection can one expect to receive from taking garlic? Well, the results of a clinical, randomized trial found that people taking garlic had a remarkable 63% reduction in cold symptoms compared to those who did not take garlic (Josling, 2001). Furthermore, if they did get a cold, the duration and severity of their symptoms were significantly reduced (Nantz et al., 2012; Josling, 2001).
Looking for Recipes to Get Eating Garlic Everyday Benefits?
Try incorporating fresh garlic into your meals everyday! There are so many gut healthy recipes posted here in Kait’s Cupboard including garlic hummus, Mediterranean pasta, or Greek Chicken and Hummus Tacos! Check them out below and get into YOUR cooking groove!
An Easy Mediterranean Pasta Dish
This easy Mediterranean pasta dish in just one pot is the perfect meal for a quick dinner fix! You will love this Mediterranean pasta recipe! It’s savory and hearty. Better yet, this pasta recipe is vegetarian and packs 7 plant points!
Who doesn’t absolutely adore Mediterranean-style pasta dishes that come in under 300 calories?! By forgoing the creams and heavy sauces, you can still enjoy the delicious satisfaction of a pasta meal without having to worry about the calorie count.
A Garlic Hummus Recipe that Will Have You Wondering Why You Haven’t Been Making Hummus This Way Your Whole Life
Lemon garlic hummus is so easy and so so good that everyone will be asking, how to make garlic hummus! This recipe is a quick dump and go recipe that you can pull out for quick and easy apps on the ready!
If you love roasted garlic hummus you will love this hummus recipe! If you’re like me and feel like you’re constantly on the go, this recipe is for you. Throw two cans of chickpeas in the instant pot, set to pressure cook for 10 minutes, and you’ll have lemon garlic hummus that is so good you’ll forget about buying sabra garlic hummus ever again. Sorry Sabra!
Greek Chicken Tacos That Are Perfectly Cooked Every Time…Thanks Instant Pot!
This Taco Tuesday is Greek inspired. Greek Chicken Tacos combine homemade lemon garlic hummuswith lemon garlic chicken in the Instant Pot. They are easy, delicious, and gut healthy.
These Greek chicken tacos combine the best of a Mediterranean Monday theme with a Taco Tuesday all in one meal. Want to skip the instant pot chicken and fire up the grill? This chicken marinade recipe works for either! You will love the moist savory flavor of Greek chicken combined with creamy lemon garlic hummus. This recipe is perfect for a fun get together with friends, or as a stand alone meal to enjoy with yourself or your family!
Eating Garlic Could Reduce your Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Improve your Immune System
With all of the scientifically proven health benefits that come from eating garlic regularly, it is no wonder why it could potentially contribute to a longer life expectancy! Garlic has been known to help reduce inflammation, promote better heart health, and even boost immune system strength – all of which are key components to living a longer and healthier life.
This post was all about how eating garlic everyday benefits your health.
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