Garlic is not only a valuable food product, but it is also an excellent seasoning for food. But, in addition to benefit, it can harm the human body.
First of all, it is worth noting that almost all the beneficial properties of garlic appear only when consumed raw. What can not be said about its harmful properties.
About the dangers and benefits of garlic
Garlic is highly valued not only as a food product and seasoning for food, but also as a natural healer. The benefits of garlic, in most cases, are remembered as improving the immune system, preventing and treating colds. But it is endowed with many other virtues, which are rarely mentioned. But what is the harm of garlic, few people know about it. The most common harm of garlic is referred to as bad breath after eating. But he also has other negative qualities. However, why does garlic often stand in a special place for human health? It's all about the bioactive ingredients it contains. Because of this, it is a bioactive supplement. But this fruit also contains toxic particles. It must be handled with care, because you can get both benefit and harm.
So, garlic is able to produce hydrogen sulfide in its natural form. In excess dosages, such a substance is poisonous and harms the body. But you need to know that hydrogen sulfide has an antioxidant substance that stimulates blood circulation and promotes vasodilation.
The benefits and harms of garlic can be in equal amounts if you do not know how to take the fruit and for what diseases it should not be used.
Useful qualities of garlic
How useful is garlic?
It has a huge number of useful qualities that many do not know about.
Biochemical composition
The benefits of garlic for the human body are very large. It is endowed with a rich chemical composition. It has a high energy value (100 grams of fruit provides 149 calories). Rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates, acids, dietary fiber, ash, water. There is also an extensive composition of minerals. A sufficient amount of vitamins of group B, PP, C, D, phytoncides, essential oils.
Healing characteristics
There are more than 100 sulfur compounds in the garlic fruit, which have important health characteristics. Thanks to sulfides, the fruit juice kills staphylococci, typhoid pathogens, copes with dysentery, fungi. Sulfides are able to hold together particles of poison, make them harmless and reject.
The fruit contains valuable components - adenosine, allicin, diallyl - trisulfide. After conducting experiments on animals, experts determined that diallyl trisulfide inhibits the destructive processes of heart tissue and prevents heart attacks.
Adenosine is able to control the formation of platelets, the process of blood clotting.
The substance Allicin gives the fruit a pungent taste and a specific smell. It has the following characteristics:
- supports the heart;
- lowers blood pressure;
- normalizes the lipid composition of the blood;
- reduces cholesterol;
- inhibits thrombosis;
- promotes better absorption of glucose;
- enhances immunity;
- improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
- has anticancer property;
- belongs to natural antibiotics.
We must not forget that the excessive use of garlic for food or for medicinal purposes can lead to irreparable results.
How useful or harmful garlic depends on the biochemical composition of the fetus. It is important not to overdose it in food. The following beneficial properties of garlic are noted:
- It has a positive effect on the nervous system, due to vitamin B1, which is active in the processing of glucose, which gives cellular energy. But thiamine breaks down when exposed to light and at the time of heat treatment, so it is better to eat garlic in its unprocessed form.
- Having this vegetable in your diet, you can prevent SARS. Phytoncides in the fruit kill viruses and harmful bacteria.
- As an antiseptic, garlic prevents the development of many intestinal infections. If there are doubts about the quality of drinking water or some kind of food, it is useful to eat a garlic clove.
- This fruit improves the functioning of cartilage tissue. Therefore, with arthritis, hepatosis, it is recommended to use garlic.
- It is good to add it to fatty foods, as it promotes bile secretion and improves bowel function.
- Since the garlic fruit has an enriched composition of vitamins and chemical compounds, it is very useful to take it in the spring when beriberi.
- It relaxes blood vessels and lowers blood pressure, which is important for hypertensive patients.
The use of garlic in traditional medicine
In folk medicine, there are many recipes using garlic. Here are some of them:
- To remove warts, rub them with garlic. Or take a clove of the fruit, crush it and add the lard of the pig. All this is applied to the warts until they are completely disposed of.
- Pinworms are removed with the help of garlic. Take 10 grams of chopped garlic and pour boiling water (100 ml) or fresh milk for microclysters.
- When there is a runny nose, sore throat, whooping cough, it is useful to breathe garlic smell several times throughout the day. For convenience, they make a necklace of garlic (thread 4-5 large garlic cloves on a thread).
- With the help of garlic, you can treat a sore throat by gargling with garlic tincture. To do this, take one garlic clove, chop it and pour warm boiled water in a volume of 200 ml. Leave all this for one hour, and then strain through cheesecloth.
- As a prophylactic against influenza, the fruit is crushed, placed on a cotton swab, wrapped in a thin layer of gauze and placed in the nose.
- With angina, accompanied by shortness of breath, it is good to eat garlic in combination with honey and lemon. To do this, you need to take five garlic fruits, 10 lemons, one kilogram of honey. Squeeze out the lemon juice, combine with honey and chopped garlic, close and put in a cool place. It should be infused for seven days. Take daily, 4 teaspoons at a time, with a one minute break between doses.
- To lower blood pressure and cleanse the vessels, make a tincture of alcohol. Take a bottle and fill a third with chopped garlic fruit and pour vodka. Let stand for two weeks, shaking occasionally. You need to drink the tincture as follows: dilute 5 drops of the tincture with one teaspoon of cold water and drink three times a day before meals.
- You can lower cholesterol by taking 4 garlic heads and 4 lemons with skin. Twist everything in a meat grinder. Put in a glass container and pour three liters of boiled cold water and mix. Close the decanter with a lid, wrap with dark-colored paper and put in a dark place. After three days, the tincture can be consumed one tablespoon, three times a day before meals.
- To prepare the elixir of youth, take 350 grams of chopped garlic and juice from 24 lemons. Mix everything, place in a glass container, tie with sterile gauze and leave for 24 hours. Shake the mixture before taking and take at night, mixing one teaspoon of the mixture with 0.5 glass of water.
- Garlic is useful for those who are overweight and for diabetics, as it improves metabolic processes in the body. The properties of garlic can enhance fat burning, so it is useful to add it to salads.
Harmful characteristics of garlic
Not always such a vegetable benefits health, there are cases when the harm of garlic progresses. So, with kidney diseases, liver, gastrointestinal tract, duodenum 12, anemia, gastritis, pancreatitis, the described fetus cannot be taken. The harm of garlic will be with exacerbation of hemorrhoids, diseases of the genitourinary system, individual intolerance. An overdose of the fetus sometimes leads to headaches and an epileptic syndrome. It should not be eaten by pregnant women and when breastfeeding babies, by people on a diet, as it gives appetite.
From the conclusion is summarized - everything should be in moderation so as not to harm health. The properties of garlic are very valuable for human health, but this is not a panacea for all diseases.
