I am a firm believer that there is never enough garlic. Okay, maybe there is, but I haven’t found it yet, but I’m also that person that could eat raw garlic and have. Which in small amounts is good because there are some awesome health benefits of raw garlic.
Don’t worry, I don’t walk around smelling like garlic, though I won’t lie, I’ve maybe frightened people with garlic breath once or twice. Turns out toothpaste is no match for garlic.
Let me preface this by saying I’m not a doctor and this is in no way medical advice, rather things that I have learned and have done in my life. All medical advice should be from a doctor and be sure to ask your doctor before trying anything, may it be: natural remedies, exercise, supplements, etc.
Garlic In Our Everyday Lives
But garlic is another great herb I ALWAYS have around. Garlic powder, dried garlic, garlic salt, and fresh garlic, and if I could find it a little easier, I’d keep pickled garlic around.
It tastes good, seasons food, and it is good for you!
What Are The Health Benefits Of Garlic
Garlic is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal and I can vouch for it!
While I never had to use it for fungus, when my family gets sick I load up homemade soups and hashes with garlic! I’m sure the other stuff still plays a hand in it, but I’ve noticed a big difference in recovery compared to not using garlic.
Again, there are some things garlic can’t heal, trust me I’ve tried, and it required MUCH stronger medication from doctors.
Why Is Garlic Good For You?
So besides being antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal, how is garlic good for us? Well it is full of vitamins and minerals we need in order to be healthy.
Mind you, this is from raw garlic, though garlic powder does contain most of these vitamins and minerals as well. I know, raw garlic is rough, but added into things, pickled, or soaked for dressing makes it delicious!
Health benefits of Garlic:
As mentioned before, garlic, particularly raw garlic, has a number of vitamins and minerals. They are:
- antioxidants
- vitamin A
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
- Copper
- Iron
- Calcium
- Selenium
- Manganese
- zinc
Isn’t that awesome? We cook with it and eat it, but just consider it a seasoning and don’t really thing about the nutritional value it contains. Nutrients aside, it also helps with a number of health issues like:
- The heart
- Works as natural antibiotics
- Is good for insulin resistant people
- Has anti-cancer effects
- It is an anticoagulant and can help prevent thrombosis
- Great for the common cold
- Good for lowering your cholesterol
- Good for hypertension
- As well as peptic ulcer
- Toxicity
- And gas pain (in small amounts).
Side Effects Of Too Much Garlic
Now, you can generally use more garlic when cooking without repercussion. However eating it raw is a different story. Do not eat more than 1-2 cloves a day as it can make you very sick. Like everything else too much of a good thing can be bad.
Some of the side effects of too much garlic is:
- Liver toxicity
- Bad breath
- Body Odor
- Nausea
- Heartburn
- Vomiting
- diarrhea
- Affect bleeding (it’s a anticoagulant)
- Gas
- Bloating
- Hypotension
- Excessive sweating
- Dizziness
- Rashes
- Hyphemia
- Worsen vaginal yeast infection
Garlic Interactions With Medication
Garlic, like most things, can interact with our bodies badly and interact with other things we are putting into our bodies badly. It is a natural medicine and eating it raw while taking certain things will work out badly. That is one of the first rules about home remedies and trying to heal your body naturally…understanding interactions.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about medication raw garlic can interact with:
- Tylenol
- Birth control
- Chlorzoxazone
- Cyclosporine
- Theophylline
- Warfarin
- HIV medications
- Blood clot medication
- NSAIDS
Garlic Interactions With Other Herbs
Yes! Herbs interact with other herbs. That’s why certain ones are mixed for medicine and our well being and why others should not be mixed. It’s funny, because in this day and age we tend to just mix things when cooking, when trying to heal our bodies, mainly for taste, but it can be dangerous.
Cooking wise, you should be fine, most people don’t add too much herbs and spices, but eating too much everyday or too much in one day of a particular spice (I’m looking at you nutmeg) can be dangerous. It’s always good to understand fully what is going into your body.
What herbs should I avoid when eating raw garlic:
- Fish oil
- Vitamin E
- Clove
- Capsicum
- Ginger
- Horse chestnut
- Turmeric
- Willow
Cooking with garlic salt, powder, or a couple cloves probably won’t hurt you. In fact it’ll probably boost your health, but using garlic as medicine or a supplement is when things can get tricky if you don’t understand it. But, I’ve used garlic for years for my families health.
When we get sick, it is one of the most important ingredients in my “sick soup.” A soup that people swear by, so it is something I’ll continue to use for flavor (I love the smell and taste) and for a little boost to our immune systems when cold and flu season comes around.