One of the most beneficial vegetables on earth, garlic is found in every kitchen in the world. Apart from giving food a specific flavor, it also treats a number of health issues.
Even though it’s normally consumed cooked, raw garlic is even a more powerful natural remedy.
According to research, garlic has proved extremely beneficial for improving heart health. For one thing, it reduces high blood pressure and cholesterol, thus preventing coronary heart disease and the risk of heart failure. It can also effectively reduce the effects of atherosclerosis.
As an extra bonus, garlic can also relieve common health issues including hay fever, traveler’s diarrhea, cold and flu, bug bites and fungal infections.
Regular consumption of garlic can also reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis, diabetes and an enlarged prostate.
Moreover, garlic can boost your immune system and improve your body’s ability to eliminate toxins. Whet it’s combined with ginger and onion, garlic can even support detox from chemotherapy.
How to Use Garlic
As mentioned earlier, eating raw garlic is far more beneficial than eating it cooked because its active ingredient, allicin, remains in its natural (i.e. healthiest) form. For optimal health benefits, crush or chop a garlic clove 15 minutes before your meal. This will activate a chemical reaction that makes allicin more easily absorbed by your body.
Another thing also boosts the health benefits of garlic and it’s eating it on an empty stomach. The thing is when your stomach is full with food, it’s harder for your body to digest and absorb all the nutrients in garlic.
As garlic is known for its pungent taste, a great way to consume it is to mix it with honey:
- Chop 2-3 cloves of garlic nicely.
- Mix this with 1 tsp. honey.
- Take this remedy every day. In a week, you’ll feel much better and stronger.
How to Make a Garlic Flu Tonic
If you have sensitive skin, wearing gloves when preparing garlic is strongly recommended because some of the natural oils can cause a skin rash or burn.
Ingredients:
- half a yellow onion (roughly chopped)
- 5 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)
- 2 red chili peppers (roughly chopped)
- 1 heaping tablespoon of ginger (roughly chopped)
- juice of one lemon
- organic, unfiltered and raw apple cider vinegar
Direction:
- Get a 350-500ml mason jar. Put the roughly chopped onion, garlic, chili peppers and ginger inside.
- Next, add the lemon juice.
- Fill the mason jar with apple cider vinegar, leaving about 1cm at the top.
- Close the jar and store it in a pantry.
- Your flu tonic is ready to use!
Via Be Extra Healthy Now healthyfoodteam.com
