Garlic might ruin your breath for the night, but it is a very healthy part of your meals.
Garlic (Allium sativum) is well known as a natural health remedy that has long been used to treat various ailments. Garlic contains high levels of manganese, calcium, vitamin B1, B6 and C, phosphorous, copper, potassium, selenium and tryptophan. Garlic has been used throughout its history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The key medical ingredient in garlic is allicin, which is known to have anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-oxidants properties. And it has a large impact on cardiovascular disease, according to healthonlinezine.com.
Cardiovascular disease can be reduced by ingesting garlic. Studies have shown the amazing benefits of taking garlic in relation to heart disease. Cholesterol and triglyceride reduction are by no means garlic's most compelling benefits when it comes to cardio protection. The benefits come in the form of blood cell and blood vessel protection from inflammatory and oxidative stress. Damage to blood vessel linings by highly reactive oxygen molecules is a key factor for increasing our risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and atherosclerosis. Garlic unique set of sulfur-containing compounds helps protect us from oxidative stress and unwanted inflammation. The sulfur-containing garlic's constituents that help lower our risk of oxidative stress are Alliin, allicin, allixin, allyl polysulfides , diallyl sulfide (DAS),diallyl disulfude (DADS), diallyl trisulfide (DATS), N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), N-acetyl-S-allyl cysteine (NASC), S-allylcysteine (SAC), S-allylmercaptocysteine (SAMC), S-ethyl cysteine (SEC), S-methyl cysteine (SMC), S-propyl cysteine (SPC), 1,2-vinyldithiin (1,2-DT), Thiacremonone.
In addition to the ability of garlic to help prevent our blood vessels from becoming blocked, this allium vegetable may also be able to help prevent clots from forming inside of our blood vessels. It can help prevent certain cells in our blood (called platelets) from becoming too sticky, and by keeping this stickiness in check, it lowers the risk of our platelets clumping together and forming a clot.
Garlic's numerous beneficial cardiovascular effects are due to not only its sulfur compounds, but also to its vitamin C, vitamin B6, selenium and manganese. Garlic is a very good source of vitamin C, the body's primary antioxidant defender in all aqueous (water-soluble) areas, such as the bloodstream, where it protects LDL cholesterol from oxidation. Since it is the oxidized form of LDL cholesterol that initiates damage to blood vessel walls, reducing levels of oxidizing free radicals in the bloodstream can have a profound effect on preventing cardiovascular disease.
The selenium in garlic can become an important part of our body's antioxidant system. A cofactor of glutathione peroxidase (one of the body's most important internally produced antioxidant enzymes), selenium also works with vitamin E in a number of vital antioxidant systems, according to whfoods.com.
Garlic is rich not only in selenium, but also in another trace mineral, manganese, which also functions as a cofactor in a number of other important antioxidant defense enzymes, for example, superoxide dismutase. Studies have found that in adults deficient in manganese, the level of HDL (the "good form" of cholesterol) is decreased.