Health Benefits of Eating Raw Garlic

As everyone strives to get healthier, there is a move toward using more natural methods for building immunity against illnesses. One such method that is taking deeper root is eating raw garlic. There are many health benefits of eating garlic in its raw form. Obviously, incorporating this into a diet should be done in moderation and with an awareness of how it might interact with any medications that consumed. But increased consumption of this raw vegetable is beneficial in both the short and long term perspective.

Fights Against Cancer

There is scientific evidence that eating raw garlic can be instrumental in the fight against certain types of cancer. Lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers are all significantly impacted according to studies, both as a form of treatment and as preventative measures.

Allicin: the Quiet Health Champion

Raw garlic that is crushed or chopped or simply chewed releases a sulfuric ingredient that is known as allicin. This compound emits the distinctive garlic smell as well as sending medicinal signals throughout the body.

A Lot of Punch in a Little Package

While a clove of garlic may be small, eating raw garlic introduces multiple nutrients into the body that prove highly beneficial. Included in a 1 oz serving of raw garlic is magnesium, Vitamins B6 and C, selenium, and fiber, as well as several others. Additionally, it is low in calories, contains protein and only 9 g of carbohydrates.

Other Direct Benefits

There are other health benefits that have seen proof through scientific studies in recent years. Raw garlic can lower cholesterol, improve insulin status for diabetics, and creates a natural way of decreasing inflammation throughout the body.

Fighting the Common Cold

Eating raw garlic can work as a natural health benefit against the effects of the common cold. It combats the common cold by boosting the way the human immune system works and stimulating the necessary agents to fight against the invasive germs.

Lowering Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a silent killer. People who suffer from chronic high blood pressure experience increased illnesses and health challenges. Adding raw garlic to their daily intake (according to previously conducted research) could work to lower their overall blood pressure. Eating raw garlic reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attack typically faced by those who suffer from hypertension.

How Much Garlic Should be Eaten?

If a person decides to start eating raw garlic as a part of their daily routine, the wisest course of action is to add it in gradually. As with anything, shocking the system (even with healthy alternatives meant to benefit the body) can produce negative effects. An overload of garlic is counterproductive to the efforts being made to gain the upper hand over illnesses and disease.

Starting to add a clove of garlic a day, followed by an eventual increase after time, can be an effective way to incorporate this natural health remedy into an everyday diet. It is possible to take supplements that mimic many of the same health benefits as eating raw garlic, but nothing beats the real thing.

A Word of Caution

One note of caution for anyone adding garlic to their daily diet. The odor that arises when cutting and cooking garlic enters into the body when the garlic is chewed or chopped and eaten raw. The breath and sometimes even the skin may emit a strong garlic smell to other people. It is a completely natural and nothing to be alarmed over.