Health Medicinal Benefits of Garlic Makes Garlic the "Wonder Herb"

The health and medicinal benefits of garlic, “Wonder Drug” of the herb world, are many. Garlic’s range of health benefits ranges from its ability to kill cancer cells to prevent mosquito bites and more.

What Is Garlic?

Garlic has a long history of use both in cooking and in medicine.

The herb garlic is an edible root bulb of the onion family. Garlic is related to onions, leeks and chives. The medicinally active substance of garlic, also responsible for its distinctive pungent odor, is a compound called allicin. Allicin is interesting in that it’s not present in garlic until the garlic clove is cut or crushed.

What is A Clove of Garlic?

Garlic grows in bulbs. Each bulb contains about 20 cloves. A clove of garlic is a single, fleshy segment covered by a protective white papery “skin,” which must be removed before use.

What Are the Health Benefits of Garlic?

Historically, garlic has been linked to good heart health. Using garlic to help lower cholesterol is of much interest. The question that many are asking is, “Does garlic really lower cholesterol levels?” According to the American Family Physician, the many studies performed to try to answer this question give conflicting results. Some research seems to indicate that garlic for lowering cholesterol is very beneficial, while other studies seem to indicate that garlic does nothing to lower cholesterol.

What may be more accurate is to consider the other health and medicinal benefits of garlic associated with the circulatory system and realize that the any cholesterol-lowering benefits documented may actually be an indirect effect of the benefits of garlic.

Since garlic is an antioxidant, it may help reduce the build up of bad cholesterol in the blood. Foods high in antioxidants like garlic destroy damaging free radicals, preventing all types of various health related problems. The antioxidant properties of garlic may indirectly benefit the heart and circulatory systems by preventing the accumulation of bad cholesterol.

Another related benefit of garlic may be to lower blood pressure. If indeed, there is some truth to the idea that the antioxidant properties of garlic help in preventing the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries, a natural result of this health benefit would be a reduction in blood pressure since the heart does not have to work so hard to pump the blood through cholesterol-clogged arteries.

The most well documented of the health and medicinal benefits of garlic is its antibiotic properties. Garlic can kill a wide range of harmful bacteria, making it as effective as some commercial antibiotics. Unlike prescription antibiotics, the human body does not build up a resistance to garlic. The broad range of antibiotic properties helps strengthen the human immune system against the common cold. The Encyclopedia of Health recognizes the benefit of garlic in helping to remove various types of warts when applied topically. This benefit is most likely due to the antiviral properties of garlic that kills the wart-causing virus.

The active and health-giving ingredient of garlic is the compound allicin, which is found only in crushed or cut raw garlic. Garlic loses this important element once it is aged or cooked.

What is the Recommended Daily Intake of Garlic?

There is no set Recommended Daily Allowance of garlic. As with any herb or supplement, too much may not be beneficial and garlic is no exception. Eating too much garlic can irritate the digestive tract. An amount that is both beneficial and safe for those who enjoy fresh garlic is eating 1 to 2 cloves daily. To avoid dreaded garlic breath, you may want to choose your garlic in capsule form. If you prefer garlic capsules, the commonly suggested amount is 600 to 900 mg (providing about 5,000-6,000 mcg of allicin) divided into 2 or 3 equal amounts. When using aged garlic extracts, a suggested supplement is 3 to 7 grams daily.

Why Eat Garlic?

There are many wellness benefits to include a clove or two of garlic in your daily diet. Although there is no conclusive evidence that eating garlic will lower cholesterol or blood pressure, it would not hurt to include one or two cloves of garlic to your already heart healthy diet— “just in case.” Garlic is also a tasty alternative for salt if you are on a sodium-restricted diet. Garlic’s antibiotic properties make this particular herb especially valuable during cold and flu season.

Folklore insists that garlic will ward off vampires. That is certainly one of the major health and medicinal benefits of garlic! If vampires seem to be lacking in your neighborhood, a more practical benefit of garlic is to prevent mosquito bites. While insect repellent may do the trick in a better smelling manner, it’s interesting to note that those who eat a lot of garlic seem to avoid insect bites. Possibly the garlic smell that seeps out of the body’s pores discourages these hungry pests.

Although it’s not a reason to eat garlic, it’s interesting to note that garlic-based preparations are also used to discourage rodents and pesky insects from gardens.

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