Garlic

by Raphaël Nanni March 3, 2020

“Let food be thy medicine”. We repeat this adage very regularly, and for good reason, nature is full of treasures. It offers us everything we need to be in perfect health, and it seems important to us to highlight the ancestral knowledge that we have about the benefits of plants, but that we have sometimes forgotten...

Today we're back to garlic, which we eat very regularly on our plates, and which is an ally of our health that we absolutely must rediscover!

General presentation of garlic

Garlic, or common garlic, or allium sativum, is a perennial plant of the lily family. Herbaceous and bulbous, it is made up of numerous large leaves and summer flowers grouped in umbels, white or pink and few in number. The fruit of garlic, in reality rarely produced by the plant, is in the form of a 3-celled capsule.

Today, there are 130 varieties of garlic, also called cultivars. It is the garlic bulb that we use in our diet.

Renowned since Antiquity for its therapeutic virtues, garlic is a plant native to Central Asia, and more precisely to Egypt. It is little by little that it conquers all the continents. We also find ancient texts mentioning the medicinal use of garlic in China, but also in works of Greek medicine dating from before the Christian era, or even in compendiums of Arabic medicine

A garlic, some…?

Do you know the plural of the word “ail”? Although it is not very common, it can be found in ancient texts. We say un ail...des auls!

Composition and medicinal properties of garlic

Garlic contains essential oils known as diallyl, allicin, alliin to name a few. It also contains carbohydrates, various sulfur compounds as well as vitamins A, B, C and E. Garlic is also full of trace minerals : calcium, copper, bromine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, iron…

Antibiotic, antiparasitic and antiviral properties

The sulfur compounds present in alliin have a preventive action on certain types of cancer cells , particularly on stomach, colon, lung or rectal cancers. Garlic, as a powerful antioxidant agent, acts positively on the fight against free radicals and oxidative stress that play a role in the onset of cancer.

Garlic is also known for its effectiveness against intestinal parasites and candidiasis. It is excellent for fighting infections of the ENT system, flu, fever, or even respiratory infections.

Hypolipidemic

Garlic helps reduce blood lipid levels , which acts directly by reducing the presence of bad cholesterol and its negative effects on the body, particularly on the cardiovascular system.

Chelator

Garlic acts as a chelator, meaning it has a detoxifying effect on heavy metals and toxins present in the body.

Prebiotic action

Garlic contains inulin, a substance that has a very interesting prebiotic action. In fact, inulin stimulates the development of bacteria beneficial to the intestinal flora, thus promoting the overall balance of the microbiota , whose importance on overall human health is now known.

But we can also mention other health benefits of garlic!

Its anticoagulant effects positively accompany the taking of antiplatelet drugs.
Garlic has a hypertensive action, beneficial in cases of low blood pressure, for example.
Alliicin, as an antibacterial agent, is effective against mycoses in general, and foot mycoses in particular.
Garlic is said to have hypoglycemic properties , which are particularly useful for people suffering from diabetes and wishing to reduce their blood glucose levels.

Garlic in scientific research

Studies on garlic flesh and skin extracts have confirmed that this plant acts beneficially on oxidative stress , significantly reducing it. This action helps reduce cell death, and thus acts against aging and the overall deterioration of the body (1).

Among the studies on the effects of garlic on cancer, there is a double-blind study on people with precancerous gastric disorders. Three treatments were tested: two groups received placebos while a third received garlic extract.

This study, which observed the effects of these treatments over a substantial period of 7 years, with regular examinations (endoscopy, etc.) showed that people who consumed garlic-based supplements saw a reduction in their prevalence of precancerous lesions , and were therefore less likely to develop stomach cancer (2).

Garlic has been traditionally used to combat cardiovascular disease and bad cholesterol. Research has confirmed that garlic has a moderating effect on certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease, particularly on platelet function (3).

To complement this, studies have compared the effects of garlic compounds to the effects of oleic acid on cholesterol, clearly showing that garlic treatment can inhibit cholesterol production (4).

Finally, there is research into the hypoglycemic effects of garlic, including an animal study showing that garlic consumption leads to a significant reduction in blood glucose levels , as well as a drop in cholesterol and triglycerides (5) (6).

Garlic Dosage and Side Effects

Raw or cooked in food, or in powder, extract, oil, tablet, capsule or homeopathic form, there is no shortage of garlic-based food supplements.

For example, you can eat one or two cloves of garlic during the day. To consume it in a more pleasant way, garlic can be prepared as a decoction. Infuse a few cloves for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling water, and consume your herbal tea at a rate of 1 to 3 cups per day.

For skin infections, warts, joint or muscle pain, garlic also works very well as a poultice.

If you suffer from anemia, it is not recommended to consume too much garlic. Similarly, excess can lead to stomach pain and cramps, or even, in rare cases, contact allergies.

Garlic, more than a condiment

As you will have understood, without going to excess, consuming garlic is an excellent way to maintain good health. Food supplements can be useful here to avoid the unpleasant effects linked to the strong odor of this functional food.