Garlic is a herb. It is best known as a flavoring for food. Garlic has been used as a medicine to prevent or treat a wide range of diseases and conditions. Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years.
Benefits of Garlic
Garlic is used for many conditions related to the heart and blood system. These conditions include:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- coronary heart disease
- heart attack
- “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis)
Some of these uses are supported by science. Garlic actually may be effective in slowing the development of atherosclerosis and seems to be able to modestly reduce blood pressure.
Some people use garlic to prevent:
- colon cancer
- rectal cancer
- stomach cancer
- breast cancer
- prostate cancer
- lung cancer.
- It is also used to treat prostate cancer and bladder cancer. Garlic has been tried for treating an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia; BPH), diabetes, osteoarthritis, hay-fever (allergic rhinitis), traveler’s diarrhea, high blood pressure late in pregnancy (pre-eclampsia), cold and flu. It is also used for building the immune system, preventing tick bites, and preventing and treating bacterial and fungal infections.
- Other uses include : treatment of fever, coughs, headache, stomach ache, sinus congestion, gout, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, asthma, bronchitis, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, and snake bites. It is also used for fighting stress and fatigue, and maintaining healthy liver function.
- Some people apply garlic oil to: their skin to treat fungal infections, warts, and corns. There is some evidence supporting the topical use of garlic for fungal infections like ringworm, jock itch, and athlete’s foot; but the effectiveness of garlic against warts and corns is still uncertain.
Some scientists have suggested that it might have a role as a food additive to prevent food poisoning. There is some evidence that fresh garlic, but not aged garlic, can kill certain bacteria such as E. coli, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enteritidis in the laboratory.
Source: Medline Plus: University of Maryland; Mayo Clinic: National Institute of Health
Read more about Garlic here
