Are you someone who loves garlic and eats it for that reason alone? Or are you someone who is trying to improve your diet for health reasons? Here are some good reasons to start, or continue, eating garlic to improve your health.

A Brief History of Garlic Garlic is one of the most widely used herbs and is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops. It has long been used medicinally, and was claimed to protect against the plague and strengthen the heart. It was a popular remedy for sore throats the common cold.

Garlic Boosts the Immune System Modern day scientists began examining garlic to determine the accuracy of garlic’s many medicinal claims. It has been found that garlic has strong potency to fight bacteria, cancer, and heart disease. It seems to have the ability to increase the body’s immune function, helping to control a variety of infections, and son overall acts as an effective weapon against premature aging.

Allicin - The Important Amino Acid in Garlic Allicin is a chemical component of garlic that is released when a clove of garlic is chopped or crushed, and it’s what gives garlic its strong aroma. It is the amino acid that acts as an antibacterial and antiviral agent. It fights bacteria, and even some infections that are normally resistant to antibiotics. It is important to know that allicin is very unstable and sensitive to heat. To maintain the most benefits of allicin chop the garlic finely, eat soon after, and cook very lightly, if at all. It should be added to recipes close to the end of the cooking process.

Different Ways that Garlic Fights Aging

• Garlic lengthens cell life.
• Garlic fights bacteria – it works as an antibiotic against strep, staph, and yeast infections, as well as some strains of the flu.
• Garlic fights cancer – two sulfur compounds in garlic (ajoene and diallyl sulfide) have been shown to battle cancer.
• Garlic for your heart – it lowers bad LDL cholesterol while raising good HDL cholesterol.
• Garlic protects against blood clots – the sulfur-rich ajoene acts as a blood thinner. It may even help to lower blood pressure.
• Garlic is rich in antioxidants – it outranks spinach, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Antioxidants block free radicals which can lead to cancers and heart disease.

How Much Garlic Should You Eat? You’ll get the most benefits by eating � to 3 cloves of garlic per day. Start slowly to make sure you are not allergic. Also too much garlic can cause heartburn and gas. If you take any anticoagulant medication, check with your doctor, as garlic has a blood thinning action.

Buying Garlic Supplements The advantages to using garlic herbal supplements are: no garlic breath, and many capsules are “enteric coated” to keep allicin from being released until it reaches your small intestine. Pay attention to the labels on garlic product and choose the ones with the highest “mcg” listing of allicin.

The health benefits of garlic are undeniable. It you already eat it, great! If not, certainly try to incorporate it into your diet. Remember, fresh is best. Be consistent with its use – small daily doses should allow you to see beneficial result. For more information see Health Benefits of Garlic. Here’s a great Pesto Recipe using fresh minced garlic.