Garlic, usually associated with bad breath is actually a healthy food. Considered as a “cure-all” since olden times, garlic can treat many ailments from cold to plague. The benefits of garlic were realized in early 19th century when the French priests did not have infectious fever on eating garlic.

When used along with other treatments garlic can treat acne due to its antibiotic property and blood cleansing ability. Garlic should be used in food in the crushed and chopped form. This helps in releasing the active compounds. One can also place garlic cloves in olive oil bottle, and then drizzling on the salad. Garlic is used a lot in Mediterranean cuisine or far eastern food. Thus, the occurrence of cardiovascular disease is low in the people of these areas.

Garlic contains allicin. This destroys hydroxyl radicals (OH). This prevents the oxidation of LDL, which is a form of cholesterol. Allicin in the garlic increases in the blood antioxidant enzymes namely atalase as well as glutathione peroxidase. This prevents the damage of nicotine. It slows the process of ageing of the liver by the inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Garlic also has anti-bacterial properties. It has one percent potency of penicillin and can destroy bacterias like Listeria, E.coli, Candida albican, Salmonella, Cryptococcal meningitis, and Staphylococcus. Most bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, but not to garlic.

Clinical trials have shown that in patients suffering from hypertension, garlic supplements helped in reducing the blood pressure by 1- 5 %. This reduces the possibility of a stroke attack by 30-40 % and heart disease occurrence by 20-25 %. For the improvement of health, one should consume one clove of garlic daily and 2-3 cloves for the prevention of cold.