Is Garlic Good For You?

Garlic

Garlic is part of the onion family and grows in bulbs with around 15 individual cloves that we use to cook with. It grows right across the globe and is a common ingredient in just as many cuisines. 

But beyond the kitchen, it’s proven a popular medicine in many ancient civilisations too from Egyptians and Babylonians to the Greeks, Romans and traditional Chinese medicine.

Is raw garlic good for you?

Travel back in time a few hundred years and you’d find garlic prescribed to treat many different health problems. Recent studies have confirmed that quite a few of these beneficial health effects are true.

It’s now known that its key compound is called allicin which is activated when cloves of garlic are crushed or chewed. 

Why is garlic good for you?

Eating garlic regularly can reduce blood pressure, even lowering levels of cholesterol that lead to a reduced risk of heart disease. It can also help boost your immune system, perhaps even fighting the common cold!

It’s also rich in so many nutrients that we need to keep us fighting fit and functioning normally, like manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium and fibre.