Here in Florida, where it is moist and humid all the time, mosquitos are everywhere. And they don’t like garlic.
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 3 John 1:2 (KJV)
For thousands of years, people have been improving their health by taking raw, cooked and supplemented garlic. As you will see in a moment, the list of it’s beneficial properties is truly astounding. But we also want to tell you about one benefit you may not be aware of – it wards off mosquito and bug bite attacks, too!
Researchers in Brazil announced Thursday the “presence of the Zika virus” in Culex mosquitoes (the common house mosquito) in the eastern city of Recife. The findings were released with a word of caution: “The obtained data will require additional studies in order to assess the potential participation of Culex in the spread of Zika and its role in the epidemic.” The Zika Virus has pa lot of people in a panic, and to protect themselves they are applied chemical-based bug repellant on their skin which is not always a good thing. Garlic can help.
Top 10 Actually Proven Health Benefits of Garlic:
For the past two decades, I have personally taken between 600 mg – 1800 mg of Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract on a daily basis. This was worked to keep my blood pressure and cholesterol naturally low, as well as bolster my immune system. And it also has kept me nearly bug bite-free in all that time as well. Here in Florida, where it is moist and humid all the time, mosquitos are everywhere. Yet I rarely get more than a bite per year because the garlic I take is also a natural insect repellant. I watch with a wry smile as people around me slather their skin with cancer-causing chemicals like DDT to keep the bugs off, urging them to use garlic instead.
If you are worried about catching a blood-borne illness from insect bites, you better start talking garlic right away. And here are some of the more traditional and well-known benefits of daily garlic supplementation:
- Cardiovascular Benefits: 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. Garlic’s vitamin B6 helps prevent heart disease via another mechanism: lowering levels of homocysteine. An intermediate product of an important cellular biochemical process called the methylation cycle, homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls. 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. 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.
- Anti-Inflammatory Benefits: Our cardiovascular system is not the only body system that may be able to benefit from garlic’s anti-inflammatory properties. There’s preliminary evidence (mostly from animal studies, and mostly based on garlic extracts rather than whole food garlic) that our our musculoskeletal system and respiratory system can also benefit from anti-inflammatory compounds in garlic. Both the diallyl sulfide (DAS) and thiacremonone in garlic have been shown to have anti-arthritic properties. And in the case of allergic airway inflammation, aged garlic extract has been show to improve inflammatory conditions (once again in animal studies).
- Cholesterol Levels: Most of the research on garlic and our cardiovascular system has been conducted on garlic powder, garlic oil, or aged garlic extracts rather than garlic in food form. But despite this research limitation, food studies on garlic show this allium vegetable to have important cardioprotective properties. Garlic is clearly able to lower our blood triglycerides and total cholesterol, even though this reduction can be moderate (5-15%). 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. This cardiovascular protection has been linked to one particular disulfide in garlic called ajoene. Ajoene has repeatedly been shown to have anti-clotting properties. 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.
- Antibacterial and Antiviral Benefits: From a medical history standpoint, the antibacterial and antiviral properties of garlic are perhaps its most legendary feature. This allium vegetable and its constituents have been studied not only for their benefits in controlling infection by bacteria and viruses, but also infection from other microbes including yeasts/fungi and worms. (One particular disulfide in garlic, called ajoene, has been successfully used to help prevent infections with the yeast Candida albicans.) Very recent research has shown the ability of crushed fresh garlic to help prevent infection by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa in burn patients. Also of special interest has been the ability of garlic to help in the treatment of bacterial infections that are difficult to treat due to the presence of bacteria that have become resistant to prescription antibiotics. However, most of the research on garlic as an antibiotic has involved fresh garlic extracts or powdered garlic products rather than fresh garlic in whole food form.Overgrowth of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori in the stomach—a key risk factor for stomach ulcer—has been another key area of interest for researchers wanting to explore garlic’s antibacterial benefits. Results in this area, however, have been mixed and inconclusive. While garlic may not be able to alter the course of infection itself, there may still be health benefits from garlic in helping to regulate the body’s response to that infection.
- Cancer Prevention:A high intake of garlic (roughly translated as daily intake of this food) has been found to lower risk of virtually all cancer types except cancer of the prostate and breast cancer. However, moderate intake of garlic (roughly translated as several times per week) has been repeatedly found to lower risk of only two cancer types—colorectal and renal cancer. This difference between “high” versus “moderate” garlic intake may be a real difference that suggests we all need to eat more garlic if we want to maximize its cancer-related benefits. Or it may be a difference that is more related to research complications involving the options given to research participants when reporting their food intake. Still, garlic has a consistent track record with respect to general anti-cancer benefits, and there are good research reasons for classifying garlic as an “anti-cancer” food. source
The best part about taking garlic in supplement form from the the Kyolic company is that there is no odor attached to it, yet all the potency remains. (NTEB receives no compensation, financial or otherwise, from the Kyolic corporation.)
