Garlic against Aging
Garlic is one of those foods that you either love or hate.
Sometimes referred to as the “Nectar of the Gods”, not only is it a tasty
addition to any recipe, it also has some pretty surprising health benefits that
you may be eager to learn about. We decided it was time to find out more…
There are five major HEALTH reasons why you should be
adding more garlic to your diet, and it doesn’t just include keeping away those
pesky vampires, if you believe the good old myths and legends!
We’ll start with number one; the definite winner – garlic
helps to lower cholesterol. Statins, something usually advised to those with
high cholesterol, acts as an inhibitor to certain enzymes to make the condition
less prolific. Guess what! Garlic does the same thing. Adding to the good news
is the fact that garlic is an antioxidant, which not only helps to keep your
general health up to scratch, but also prevents oxidation of that dreaded
cholesterol.
Moving swiftly along to number two, we come to the fact
that garlic helps to fight the never-ending battle against cancer; colorectal
and stomach cancers to be more precise. According to recent statistics
published by mindbodygreen.com, “164,000 Americans are affected by stomach and
colorectal cancers each year” and these two types of cancers are among the
biggest killers. It has been said that garlic can actually reduce the size of
pre-cancerous growths, and also prevent them from multiplying. The reason behind
this is not yet known, but scientists believe that it is because garlic
actually helps to build up the immune system, making it much more efficient at
fighting off various medical conditions, cancer being just one of them.
Fact number three in the case for garlic – it can help to
lower high blood pressure. There are muscles in the arteries which can contract
when someone suffers from high blood pressure. Garlic actually helps these
muscles, not only to relax, but also to dilate, making the blood flow much more
smoothly, and in turn lowering blood pressure.
Number four – garlic helps to prevent against blood
clots. Working in the same way as anti-coagulants, garlic can be a blood
thinner which makes the chances of getting a blood clot much less. When you
bear this in mind, it makes sense to speak to a medical professional before
eating a lot more garlic, or taking supplements that contain it when you are
blood thinning medication.
The last great fact about garlic that you should know is
the fact that it can help to fight off common ailments such as the common cold.
As we have already mentioned, garlic works by boosting the immune system, so
when you increase the garlic intake in your diet, you are effectively building
up your immune system, thus preventing being beat down by things like flu and
the common cold.
As a general rule, garlic has many potential health
benefits, and when you consider that the chances of the above problems becoming
apparent increases as you get older, it works as a great way to beat off the
common signs of aging. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways that you can add a
little taste and health benefit into your diet, either by taking supplements,
increasing the usage of garlic in your recipes, and even eating it raw, which
is said to have the most health benefits. You may want to consider chewing more
minty gum!
Of course, we all know why you really read this article –
you want to know how eating garlic can help against the ACTUAL signs of aging.
Here we shall let you in on the five massive ANTI-AGING reasons why you should
eat more garlic.
-- Cellular decay is slowed down with added garlic
intake, which means that your skin cells will have much more “oomph” packed
within them, making wrinkles less obvious.
-- Working as an anti-inflammatory, the puffiness around
the eyes, mixed with the dark circles are reduce with added garlic in your
diet, and this can make the world of difference to how much of your age your
face actually gives away!
-- The anti-oxidant powers that we have already mentioned
above also work in the visible signs of the aging process – when the cells are
much healthier, they tend to look plumper and smoother, so this can help with
aging of the face, hands, and everywhere else on the skin. It has also been
said to help with cellulite too, making it an even bigger winner than we first
may have thought!
-- Skin damage is a massive factor behind the visible
signs of aging, and garlic can help with this by giving the cells a boost to
rejuvenate. This means that if you like the worship the sun in your younger
years, eating more garlic will definitely stop you looking like an old leather
couch as you get older!
-- Last, but certainly not least, garlic can help the
blood to run more easily around your body, letting your skin have all the vital
nutrients it needs to look healthy and younger for longer. Maybe it’s time to
stop wasting so much money on expensive creams, and chuck a bit more garlic
into your food instead!
Consumption Tips
1. Chop up a raw garlic clove onto a salad every day. The
beneficial anti-aging properties of garlic are at their strongest when the
garlic is raw.
2. Swallow one to two whole garlic cloves each day, just
as you would vitamins. This is a good way to get raw garlic for people who
don't like the taste of it.
3. Roast an entire head of garlic in the oven until the
cloves are soft. Squeeze the cloves out of their thin, papery husks onto a
plate, then use a butter knife to spread the cloves on bread as a substitute
for butter. Do this once a week.
4. Wait ten minutes after chopping up garlic for soups or
sauces before putting it into the cooking pot. Leaving garlic out for ten
minutes before cooking it allows it to retain more of its anti-aging compounds
during the cooking process.
5. Take a garlic supplement every day. Garlic supplements
have the beneficial properties of garlic concentrated in pill form, without any
lingering smell associated with them.
Tips &
Warnings
* Fresh garlic is best when it is smooth, white and firm
with a slightly pungent odor. Do not use garlic if it has any mold or soft,
dark spots on it or if it starts to smell sweet.
* If you are going to be storing garlic for only a week
or two, you can hang it up in a basket in your kitchen for easy access. If you
plan on keeping your garlic around longer than that, store it in a plastic bag
in the refrigerator to help it stay fresh.
* You shouldn't take garlic a month before or after
surgery. Because it's a blood thinner, it may increase bleeding through your
incision or make it harder for you to heal from the surgery.
* When using garlic keep in mind that allicin starts to
degrade immediately after it is produced, so use it immediately. Try to avoid
using microwave as it completely destroys allicin and eliminates some of the
health benefits of garlic.
No Bad Breath
* Eat parsley:
An effective way to counter the bad smell of garlic on your breath is to eat a
handful of fresh parsley after consuming the garlic.
* Eat pickled garlic: When garlic
gets pickled, it loses the strong flavor without losing any medical properties.
You can buy garlic pickled, or eat the pickled garlic cloves out of
garlic-stuffed olives.
* Eat garlic bread: The shredded garlic on the
bread, accompanied with the olive oil, gives you a great garlic serving without
the pungent smell due to it being neutralized by the olive oil.
* Sip milk with raw garlic: Milk neutralizes the
smell and taste of garlic, as well as the body odor one may receive prior to
eating.
* Eat yogurt: Several studies have proved that
eating 6 ounces of yogurt can help reduce bad bacteria and hydrogen sulfide in
the mouth, which are main causes of bad breath. And this goes for garlic breath
as well!
* Chew coffee beans: Coffee beans contain compounds that have antibacterial effects, useful in
fighting microorganisms responsible for halitosis. Chewing roasted coffee beans
can therefore be very helpful when trying to get rid of garlic breath.
* Use mustard: Take a teaspoon of mustard and
swish it around your mouth for a minute before spitting it out. Then take
another half-teaspoon and swallow. This will go down to the stomach and kill
the smell throughout your body.
* Eat vegetables to counter the smell. Mashed
potatoes, mushrooms, lemons and carrots can all improve your breath. If you're
eating a meal with lots of garlic or onion, it would be smart to follow-up with
these vegetables in the same meal.
* Chew gum: Adding more saliva to your mouth is
key in getting rid of bad breath. Chewing gum, especially those kinds with cinnamon,
is great in covering up bad smells.
* Drink a shot of vodka: Alcohol kills bacteria in
the mouth, which will remove bad breath. Vodka is particularly good because it
does not have a lingering aftertaste.
* Apply oral hygiene - Brush, Floss, Scrape and
Gargle.
* Take garlic supplements: These completely avoid
any taste or smell, and still give you the health benefits of garlic.
Sources and
Additional Information:
