Properties and benefits of garlic

PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS OF GARLIC!

Garlic has always been recognized for its value in the kitchen, but originally it was used in natural medicine to prevent and treat many pathologies. Today garlic has regained a place of honour.

Garlic or allium sativum is a perennial herbaceous plant, i.e. that it is always found, it has uses both in the kitchen and in phytotherapy.  In reality what must be used is the bulb, i.e. the wedges as a whole, called bulbils, which develop themselves underground throughout the year.

It is a plant that is easily cultivable all year round because it also grows in areas at very low temperatures.

PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS OF GARLIC

Garlic has countless benefits due to its active principle: The allicin.

The allicin serves to protect the plant of garlic from parasites that can attack, making it therefore, an effective pesticide and antibacterial both for the plant and for man.

The allicin is so effective that garlic can also be used as insecticide, just bury the segments at the foot of the roses to alienate the aphids.

PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS OF GARLIC

Garlic does very good to our organism and for our health and has extraordinary properties especially if eaten raw:

 

• Antiseptic: Thanks then to the allicin it is a good antiseptic that fights bacteria.
• Reduces cholesterol: especially in cases of cholesterolemia greater than 250 mg/dl and thanks to this characteristic it also allows to lower the blood pressure and helps to fight the aggregation of blood platelets.
• Antioxidant: garlic fights free radicals and protects the entire body from the negative effects of aging, both physical and intellectual.
• Antibiotic: garlic is considered a true natural antibiotic.
• Anticoagulant: The allicin is a substance that helps the dilation of the blood vessels, acting as an antagonist of platelet aggregation, thus preventing the formation of clots or thrombi which can obstruct the blood vessels.
• Improves sporting performance: garlic was one of the first substances administered to improve sport performance.  Studies conducted on mice have shown that garlic helps the physical performance but studies on humans are still very few and also the controversial results therefore this news is still to be verified.
• Helps to preserve bones: Studies also held out on mice showed that the assumption of garlic as well as onions, can reduce to a minimum the loss of bone mass by increasing the levels of estrogens. The assumption of garlic and onions has also been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on osteoarthritis.

To eat healthy but we also need to know the composition of foods, so let’s take a look at the properties and the nutritional values of garlic.

Rich in properties but poor in calories, garlic is a good source of various minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus and selenium and vitamins, in particular vitamin C and some grouo B vitamins.

Nutritional Values per 100g garlic:

Water 58.58 g

Kcal 149

Proteins 6,36 g

Fats 0.5 g of which saturates 0.089 g

Carbohydrates 33,06 g of which sugars 1 g

Fibres 2,1 g

Potassium 401 mg

Calcium 181 mg

Phosphorus 153 mg

Vitamin C 31.2 mg

Choline 23,2 mg

Glycaemic index 25

Cholesterol 0 g (source USDA)

As we have  already said garlic is rich in properties due to its contents and in fact garlic also contains:

• Vitamin C: garlic is a good source of vitamin C, known as ascorbic acid that is a very powerful natural antioxidant very common in fruits and vegetables. It favours the synthesis of proteins and hormones, protects from oxidative stress, favours the normal function of the immune system, contributes to the formation of collagen, to the energy metabolism, the function of the nervous system, to reduce fatigue and increase the bioavailability of iron in food;
• Selenium: Selenium is an essential mineral for the body growth. It acts biologically with vitamin E and its lack can generate cardiac pathologies, muscle, liver, sterility and delay in growth;
• Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 reduces the risk of omocistinuria and sideroblastica anemia.
• Sulfur compounds: In garlic there are different phytochemicals sulfurized compounds, the same that are found in onions, Leeks, shallots, broccoli and cabbages. The molecule containing the more active sulfur in this bulb is the allin and when the fresh garlic is damaged (cut or squeezed), the allin is converted into allicin thanks to the action of an enzyme, the alliinasi. The allicin is responsible for a large part of the pungent smell of garlic, a defense mechanism developed by the plant to protect themselves from parasites and at the same time as its beneficial principles.

Garlic in addition also helps to stop snoring like certain other foods.

Take a look at our tried and tested method: Anti-Diet