Five benefits of garlic supplementation
Garlic doesn’t only taste good, it also has a number of health benefits. This isn’t breaking news since in traditional Chinese medicine, garlic has been used to treat many conditions, including parasites, respiratory issues, digestion problems, and to boost energy levels. Besides bad breath, what other effects might you expect?
Boost your immune system
Garlic cloves are loaded with natural antioxidants. Antioxidants help strengthen your immune system, allowing you to fight off illness and disease. Garlic supplements are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which really boost the body’s immune system and natural defenses, allowing you to stay illness free, even over the colder flu season months.
Garlic is a great anti-inflammatory
Garlic has been scientifically proven to contain anti-inflammatory properties, making it a great treatment for muscle spasms, and irritating skin psoriasis. One capsule taken daily should be enough to help alleviate any painful swelling and inflammation, and could help to effectively treat irritating skin psoriasis, helping to get rid of painful rashes for good, although I prefer just mixing it into food rather than swallowing pills.
Lower cholesterol
Garlic supplements have been found to be very beneficial in helping to lower what is known as “bad cholesterol” thus helping to prevent heart disease, and even heart attacks. Experts have been extremely impressed by garlic supplement’s abilities to significantly lower bad cholesterol and prevent plaque build-ups and deposits in the main blood vessels of the body itself.
Garlic might help clear acne
Nobody wants to get spots, and acne can be a real problem for a number of people. Garlic however, contains ingredients which may help you naturally get rid of acne. Although there is further research needed, it has been confirmed that garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties (study: inhibitory effect of garlic extract on oral bacteria) which may protect against acne. The effects may vary from person to person, but it certainly won’t hurt to give garlic supplementation a try. If it doesn’t clear up your acne, at least you will still benefit from reduced cholesterol levels and a stronger immune system. I couldn’t find any conclusive research indicating that garlic might help acne when applied topically though.
Boost testosterone
Garlic contains ingredients which have been proven to help boost testosterone levels and for this reason is used as an alternate treatment for impotency. Experts believe this is due to the fact that garlic is rich in beneficial vitamins and minerals, and can help to improve blood flow and circulation to the testes.
There is still a lack of research in humans, but at least one study performed on rats (Garlic supplementation increases testicular testosterone and decreases plasma corticosterone in rats fed a high protein diet) suggests that in combination with a high protein diet (starting at 25%), garlic might cause in increase in testosterone and a decrease in corticosterone.
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