Allium sativum is a scientific language for garlic which is a plant that belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae and genus allium which are still close relatives of onions, onions, leeks and various other types of onions. Based on its long history, garlic has been used as an ingredient in cooking and medicine since 7000 years ago. Garlic itself has a special characteristic that makes it very easy to be marked like a tuber which has a puith color, and a very pungent aroma. The aroma issued by garlic itself consists of 33 types of sulfur compounds contained in the tubers, you know .
In addition to sulfur, it turns out garlic contains a variety of active compounds that are good for the body such as fiber, protein, vitamins A, B1, C, enzyme compounds, and minerals consisting of copper, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and 200 other chemical compounds. So what are the benefits of garlic for health or beauty? Check out the full explanation below:
Health Benefits of Garlic
1. Protect the liver
The liver is one of the important organs in the human body which has a function as a neutralizing poison. Research published by Sener et al in 2005 states that garlic is able to ward off the adverse effects of chemical drugs and nicotine by inhibiting the production of glutathione compounds.
Glutathione compound is a compound that can be produced by the liver which has a function in the process of detoxification of toxins in our body. If you love your heart, it is strongly recommended that you no longer hesitate to include garlic as one of your daily food recipes.
2. Prevent heart disease
Heart disease is a disease that has the highest ranking of causes of death or the average number of deaths due to heart disease to be number 1 in the world. The number of Americans who die of heart disease is more than the people who died in World War II.
Heart disease itself is mostly caused by unhealthy lifestyles, consumption of foods that are not good for health and lack of body activity. A study in India states that regular consumption of garlic can reduce the risk of heart disease. In that study stated that those who were not given food intake of garlic every day, had a death rate 2X higher than those who diligently consumed garlic.
3. Treat diabetes
Diabetes is one of the many metabolic diseases that attack adult society today. This disease is also commonly called diabetes which is characterized by a loss of body control over blood sugar in the blood and abnormal insulin function. Insulin itself is a hormone produced from pancreatic beta cells that functions to control blood sugar levels because high blood sugar levels can damage human tissue.
Ohaeri et al conducted a study in 2001 and reported that garlic can reduce blood glucose levels surprisingly. Another study conducted by Eidi in 2016 also stated that extracts from garlic can increase serum insulin in the human body.
That is why garlic is concluded to be able to prevent diabetes and even the compounds present in garlic are very effective from the effects of glibenclamide which is one of the drugs that are often consumed by people with diabetes.
If you are one of the sufferers of hypertension, of course it is very familiar with the tubers of this herbal plant, right? True, garlic is very popular as a natural remedy for lowering blood pressure. Even in 2006, Capraz et al stated that garlic is an herbal plant that has a high effectiveness for therapy. In addition, Benevides et al also conducted a study in 2006 and stated that the polysufide compound in garlic can stimulate blood vessel dilation (vasodilation) and reduce diastolic pressure. Not only that, extracts from garlic can also be used as a blood thinner or blood thinner in which blood flows smoothly without plaque in the arteries.
5. Strengthening the immune system
The immune system or the immune system is one of the systems in the body that works as an antidote and also prevents the arrival of disease and helps the healing process when you are sick.
If the work of the immune system itself is disrupted, it is certain that you will experience illness. Garlic contains a compound called allicin, alliin, amino acids and sulfur which can boost the immune system by stimulating the immune system again such as macrophages and natural killer cells.
6. Prevent cancer
It turns out that spices in the kitchen are always able to prevent cancer. Cancer itself is a nightmare for all humanity because this disease is very difficult to cure. Cancer itself is caused due to various factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, bacteria, viruses, chemicals or can also be from free radicals. These factors can cause changes or mutations in healthy body cells and cause these cells to lose control of their division. Cells that have undergone mutations or cancer cells will be able to grow but not be controlled and damage cells that are still healthy in our body.
Garlic has a rich content of antioxidants that can prevent the effects of free radicals which are one of the main factors of cancer causes. In another study conducted by Dorant et al in 2006 stated that men who routinely consume garlic have a lower risk for prostate cancer compared with those who do not consume garlic.
The seventh benefit of garlic is that it can overcome cholesterol problems. High levels of bad cholesterol or what can be called LDL in the blood will certainly be harmful to your body's health. Therefore, to be able to overcome this problem, you can use garlic as one solution. Garlic in its way can reduce excessive levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body by 10-15 percent.
8. Overcoming skin problems
Who would have thought that garlic has an excellent property for the beauty of our skin and body. The benefits of garlic for beauty is that it can be used as an ingredient for how to get rid of pimples , scars, and can even help remove blackheads on the face.
9. Cure diarrhea
Allicin compounds present in garlic can be a good antibacterial in white which can produce an allinase enzyme that is useful for inhibiting the growth process of pathogenic bacteria such as enterobacter and Helicobacter pylori which are the main causes of diarrheal disease itself.
How to treat diarrhea by using garlic is to consume raw garlic or it can also with dried garlic at least 1 item every day.