A very well-known natural remedy, garlic has several health benefits and has been used to treat many health problems. Here you will find some of the best 15 amazing benefits of garlic.
15 Amazing Benefits of Garlic
1: Fight bacteria and viruses
Antibacterial and antiviral properties of garlic are well known. They can help prevent food poisoning when they kill bacteria, like E. coli and salmonella. Garlic also helps with bacterial, fungal, worm, yeast and viral infections.
2: Improve metabolism
Diallyl sulfides in garlic increase Ferroportin in the body, and it helps to improve the metabolism of iron.
3: Relieve toothache
Antibacterial and analgesic powers in garlic can help reduce the pain of toothache.
4: Reduce weight
Garlic helps to slow down the formation of fat cells in the body.
Anti-inflammatory factor of garlic, which slows down the formation of fat.
5: Treat skin infections
Chemical called ajoene helps treat skin infections caused by fungus, such as ringworm and athlete's foot.
6: Thin blood
The same chemical works in the prevention of blood clots. This can be dangerous if you are having surgery.
7: Regulate blood sugar
Another property of garlic is to increase the release of insulin and help regulate blood sugar levels in diabetics.
8: Low blood pressure
Allicin in garlic helps to lower the blood pressure and polysulfides are converted to hydrogen sulfide. This sulfide also helps to control the blood pressure.
9: Lower cholesterol
Able to reduce the level of cholesterol is another feature of garlic.
It also helps to reduce the formation of plaque.
10: Improving allergy symptoms
Juice of raw garlic can be used to stop the itching from rashes and bug bites. Garlic can also improve airway issues due to allergic reactions.
11: Protect the Heart
Its sulfides protect heart health. Garlic helps prevent artery hardening. Blood thinning properties of garlic also helps to prevent clots in blood vessels.
12: Prevent cancer
The use of garlic every day is the way to reduce the risk of some cancers. Allyl sulfides in garlic prevents forming of cancer cells.
13: Treat respiratory conditions
The antibacterial properties of garlic can reduce the number of colds you get. It can also help in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections, asthma and shortness of breath. Garlic may also be used as an expectorant, to help in loosening phlegm body.
14: Warts and calluses
When the garlic is put on the warts and calluses, it is believed to help with these conditions.
15: Fan the flame
Garlic can increase circulation in the body that increases the body's ability to feel passionate. So start eating 2 to 3 cloves of garlic everyday and have a healthy happy life..
Growing Garlic
Garlic is easy and fun to grow. So, for optimum bulb size you want to plant in the late fall just after the first frost.
To get my garlic off to a great start, I've broken apart the heads into cloves and I soaked them in kelp extract overnight.
Garlic likes to be planted in loose soil with lots of organic matter. I add a little bit of compost to increase the organic matter.
Space garlic rows about 18" apart and plant the cloves every 4 - 6". You want to plant the cloves with the blunt end down. This is the end with the root nodes.
Cover the clove with about 2" of soil.
Mulching is really important. You want to do a light mulch over of all the garlic you've planted. In northern areas you want to use a much heavier mulch. If the winter mulch is very heavy, you're going to want to remove some of it in the spring time.
Garlic is easy to grow and early in the season you're going to treat it just like you would your lettuces or greens.
You want to water it regularly and then foliar feed it with kelp and fish. Weed regularly and mulch heavily, because garlic doesn't like competition.
Garlic likes even moisture throughout the growing season. The mulch and drip line is really going to help you achieve that.
An important summer activity is trimming the scapes. So the scape is this curly flower stock, and it produces these bulbils and you can grow garlic from these bulbils. It does take about two to three years to grow garlic from these bulbils, so most growers just cut the scapes. It's time to cut the scapes when they curl down back into the leaves like these. Cutting scapes will help improve the size of the bulb. And keep the scapes.
They're really yummy in stir fries or steamed in butter like garlic green beans.
For most varieties harvest time happens between mid-July and the beginning of August.
Watch your plants closely. When the leaves' tips start to turn brown, you're getting close to being ready to harvest
And at that time, stop the water and wait about 2 weeks or so. Once the plants are about 1/3 brown, you can check the bulb size by brushing away the mulch.
You can also dig up one or two plants to see if they're ready. It's better to harvest too early than too late.
After you harvest, cure your garlic by tying it in bunches, or braiding it if it is a softneck garlic, and hanging it in a dark place with good air circulation for all sides of the bulbs.
For me a day without garlic is like a day without sunshine, so plant some garlic and enjoy it throughout the year.
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