Garlic is a member of the genus Allium and is closely related to the onion, rakkyo (an Asian onion), scallion, chive, leek, and shallot, among other vegetables. Historically, it has been used by humans for thousands of years, and it was particularly popular in Ancient Egypt, where it was utilized for both culinary reasons as well as for its health and medicinal advantages. This article will examine the possible health benefits of garlic, as well as any research that has been conducted to support these claims.
Garlic facts in a nutshell
- Garlic has been utilized medicinally in a variety of cultures for hundreds of years.
- Whether eaten raw or cooked, may offer a variety of health advantages.
- It is possible that it has considerable antibacterial properties.
History
Garlic has a plethora of medical benefits, according to certain sources.
Garlic has been utilized for thousands of years in a variety of dishes all throughout the globe. It was reportedly in use during the time of the construction of the Giza pyramids, about 5,000 years ago.
According to Richard S. Rivlin's article in the Journal of Nutrition, the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (approximately 460-370 BC), regarded today as "the founder of Western medicine," recommended garlic for a variety of ailments and diseases. A physician named Hippocrates advocated for the use of garlic to cure respiratory issues, parasite infestations, poor digestion, and exhaustion.
Garlic was given to the first Olympic competitors in Ancient Greece, and it is said to be the world's first instance of "performance-boosting" substances being used in sports.
Garlic migrated from ancient Egypt to the sophisticated ancient civilizations of the Indus Valley, where it is still grown today (Pakistan and western India today). From then, it found its way to the People's Republic of China.
People in ancient India regarded garlic as having medicinal qualities as well as being an aphrodisiac, according to specialists at Kew Gardens in England, the country's royal botanical research center of excellence. It was forbidden for the higher classes to consume garlic because they disliked its pungent odor; nevertheless, it was forbidden for monks, widows, teenagers, and those who had made a vow or were fasting due to the stimulating nature of garlic.
Garlic has been used to treat a variety of ailments throughout history in the Middle East, East Asia, and Nepal, including bronchitis, hypertension (high blood pressure), tuberculosis (TB), liver disorders, dysentery, flatulence, colic, intestinal worms, rheumatism, diabetes, and fevers, among others.
Garlic was brought to the New World by the Europeans, particularly the French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Uses
Garlic is now extensively used to treat a variety of diseases involving the circulatory system and the heart, such as atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high cholesterol, heart attack, coronary heart disease, and hypertension, to name just a few.
Aside from being a cancer prevention agent, some individuals are also using garlic to help prevent other types of tumors such as lung tumors and prostate tumors, breast tumors, stomach tumors, rectal tumors, and colon tumors.
It is essential to note that only a few of these applications are supported by scientific evidence.
Short-term heating, according to a study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, decreases the anti-inflammatory properties of fresh raw garlic extracts, according to the researchers. This may be an issue for certain individuals who are sensitive to the taste and/or odor of fresh garlic or who are unable to handle it.
The following are some instances of scientific research on the therapeutic advantages (or lack thereof) of garlic that have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Lung cancer
According to research performed at the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, those who consumed raw garlic at least twice a week throughout the seven-year study period had a 44 percent reduced chance of getting lung cancer.
During their study, which was published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, the researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,424 lung cancer patients and 4,543 healthy people to come up with their findings. They were questioned about their food and way of life, including whether or not they smoked and how frequently they consumed garlic.
“A protective relationship between raw garlic consumption and lung cancer has been found with a dose-response pattern, indicating that garlic may possibly function as a chemo-preventive agent for lung cancer,” the study's authors concluded.
Brain cancer
Garlic contains organo-sulfur chemicals that have been shown to be efficient in killing the cells of glioblastomas, a form of fatal brain tumor.
DAS, DADS, and DATS, three pure organo-sulfur compounds derived from garlic, were studied and found to be effective in the treatment of brain cancer cells, according to researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina. DATS was the most effective of the three pure organosulfur compounds studied.
Ray Swapan, Ph.D., a co-author of the study, said, "This research demonstrates the tremendous potential of plant-derived chemicals as natural medicines for regulating the malignant development of human brain tumor cells." There is a need for further research in animal models of brain cancers before this treatment approach may be applied to humans with brain tumors.”
Osteoarthritis
Women who ate a diet high in allium vegetables had reduced rates of osteoarthritis, according to a study published in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders by researchers at King's College London and the University of East Anglia, both in the United Kingdom. Garlic, leeks, shallots, onions, and rakkyo are just a few examples of the many different types of allium vegetables.
They said that their results not only showed the possibility of a link between food and osteoarthritis outcomes but also demonstrated the potential for utilizing chemicals found in garlic to create therapies for the disease.
The long-term research, which included more than 1,000 healthy female twins, discovered that those who ate a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, "especially alliums such as garlic," showed fewer indications of early osteoarthritis in the hip joint than those who did not.
This antibiotic has the potential to be very effective
Using diallyl sulfide, a garlic component, researchers found that it was 100 times more efficient than two commonly used antibiotics at killing the Campylobacter bacteria. The findings were reported in the journal Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
Campylobacter bacteria is one of the most frequent causes of intestinal illnesses and is found in almost every household.
Dr. Xiaonan Lu, a senior author from Washington State University, expressed his excitement about the findings, saying, "This study is extremely interesting to me because it demonstrates that this chemical has the potential to decrease disease-causing bacteria in the environment and our food supply."
Protection for the heart
Garlic may include compounds that are heart-protective.
Garlic oil contains diallyl trisulfide, which has been shown to protect the heart during cardiac surgery and after a heart attack, according to researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. It's also possible that diallyl trisulfide might be utilized as a therapy for heart failure, according to the researchers.
It has been shown that hydrogen sulfide gas may protect the heart from injury.
However, since it is a volatile molecule, it is difficult to administer as a therapeutic agent.
As a result, the scientists chose to concentrate their efforts on diallyl trisulfide, a component of garlic oil, as a more reliable method of delivering the heart-healthy effects of hydrogen sulfide.
After conducting tests on laboratory mice, the researchers discovered that, after a heart attack, the mice who had received diallyl sulfide had 61 percent less cardiac damage in the region at risk when compared to the animals who had not received the treatment.
Scientists discovered in another research, which was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, that garlic oil may be beneficial in protecting diabetics from developing cardiomyopathy.
When it comes to diabetic individuals, cardiomyopathy is the main cause of mortality. Chronic fibrosis of the myocardium (heart muscle), which is abnormally thickened, swollen, and/or rigid, is the cause of this illness.
The researchers gave diabetic laboratory rats either garlic oil or maize oil as a food source. When compared to the animals who were given maize oil, those that were fed garlic oil showed substantially greater alterations linked with protection against heart injury.
According to the study's authors, "In conclusion, garlic oil has considerable potential for protecting hearts against diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy."
It will be necessary to conduct human research in order to validate the findings of this investigation.
High cholesterol and high blood pressure are two serious health problems
A study conducted by Ankara University researchers looked at the impact of garlic extract supplementation on the lipid (fat) profile of individuals with excessive cholesterol levels in their blood. The results of their research were published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemical.
The research included 23 participants, all of whom had high cholesterol levels; 13 of them also had high blood pressure levels. They were split into two groups: group A and group B.
The high-cholesterol, the normotensive group was a subset of the general population (normal blood pressure).
The hypertensive patients with elevated cholesterol (high blood pressure)
They were given garlic extract supplements for four months, and their blood lipid indicators, as well as kidney and liver function, were evaluated on a monthly basis.
In other words, the garlic extract supplements were shown to lower high cholesterol levels as well as blood pressure in individuals with hypertension who had high cholesterol. The experts went on to say that their study was limited in scope and that further research was needed.
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