Garlic has been highly valued for centuries all over the world for its health-building qualities. It is believed to have originated in central Asia and was known to the Chinese as far back as 3000 BC. Athletes and soldiers in ancient Greece and Rome and Egyptian slaves were regularly fed garlic to increase their strength and endurance. For millennia, Ayurvedic and Chinese medical practitioners have employed garlic to relieve everything from coughs and fevers to skin problems, earaches and other maladies. Garlic is known for its pronounced aphrodisiac effect, especially useful to older men with nervous tension and falling libido.
Modern science is proving that this bulb really is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Rich in amino acids, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and selenium, garlic also contains allicin, a sulfur compound responsible for its characteristic odour.
Health benefits
What is really exciting is the growing evidence that allicin boosts the immune system. Garlic is also a broad-spectrum antibiotic that even blocks toxin production by germs and was also found to be effective against E.Coli, Staphalococcus and other bugs. Before vaccines were developed against polio, garlic was used successfully as a prophylactic. Garlic has been shown to be a more potent antibiotic against anthrax and even the most antibiotic-resistant strains of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Garlic is able to combat even the most stubborn of the infectious viruses that have become resistant to synthetic antibiotics.
Recent studies validate that garlic blocks agents that cause cancer of breast, colon, esophagus, stomach and skin. Another study confirmed garlic inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Several large double-blind clinical studies demonstrate that garlic also significantly lowers blood pressure. Garlic, a great detoxifier, works on sloughing off the nano-bacteria and nano-plague on the walls of the arteries which cause high blood pressure. Many studies show that the equivalent of one clove of garlic a day lowers total cholesterol levels by 10 to 15 percent in most people. Garlic offers all of these benefits with virtually no side effects, at a fraction of the cost of prescription medication. And it may actually eliminate your need for cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs.
