Good for You Garlic

Garlic—like many other herbs and spices that we think of only as seasonings—contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune balancing properties, making it one of our most delicious medicines.

It’s been studied for everything from preventing heart disease and cancer to fighting the common cold and warding off tick bites. Garlic oil has even been used topically to treat skin conditions and fungal infections.

The most frequently cited benefits of garlic are lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, thinning the blood and making blood vessels more elastic, leading to less heart disease over all.

When it comes to cancer, the benefits of garlic are less clear. However, people who eat an average of one clove of fresh garlic a day do appear to have less cancer, particularly stomach, colon, prostate and endometrial cancers. In one study, people at high risk for colon cancer were one-third less likely to develop cancerous polyps when they took a high dose garlic extract (2.4 ml) daily for a year.

In fact, the allium family (garlic and onions) and the cabbage family (cauliflower and kale) are the two vegetable families with the most potent anti-cancer activity.

Probably the best use of garlic is as a tonic herb, one that improves general health and longevity. It is, in effect, a “super food” that improves our well-being without side effects when taken in small amounts for a long period.