Garlic Benefits and Uses

Garlic is one of the most powerful natural remedies on the planet and has been rumored to be good for….well…just about everything at one time or another. Garlic is really a powerhouse for a million different reasons, but one huge reason is because it delivers wonderful things into our body while making our meals dance with flavor. Eating garlic might leave our breath quite…dragon-like…but it also will make our food absolutely delicious. Getting plenty of garlic is a pleasure and that shoots it to the top of many lists all by itself. Supplements are only good for us if we are able to ingest them, right?

Although garlic is certainly good for us and delicious, it is also good for some other ailments and reasons. Here are a few of them that might surprise you:

Athlete’s Foot

Huh? That was my reaction when I heard that garlic could cure athlete’s foot. Amazing but true, this home remedy is also rather simple to put together. Take a few cloves of garlic and crush them up in a tub of warm water. Add a bit of rubbing alcohol and soak the affected areas in it. Your feet will feel like a million bucks in a few days if you do this each day for about ten minutes.

For Cold and Flu Relief

People add garlic all the time to meals for simple flavor reasons, but adding it to our favorite feel good meals when we are sick can also spur on our immune systems. Garlic has wonderful antimicrobial effects and will almost always provide the boost you need to get better quickly. Add it to soups in particular for a nice “get me better” meal with punch.

Heart Health

Garlic has long been known to cut down on the plaque in our arteries. Those arteries are absolutely vital to heart health and when they are in good shape, the heart often follows suit. Garlic makes everything a bit more slippery in the arteries by reducing the stickiness and clotting factors. Your heart will love it as much as your mouth.

Yeast Infections

Much like the athlete’s foot solution, yeast infections respond well to garlic because it is an antifungal…and a strong one at that. Who knew that you could help to cure a yeast infection by eating a really tasty food?

Garlic and supplements

This really boils down to the individual and the ailment. The vast majority of people, however, will do just fine with adding it as a regular into their meals. Garlic goes well with most things and there are a million ways to prepare it. The key is to embrace foods that have it already and add it to your favorite recipes.

That said, some folks swear by garlic supplements. They seem to be particularly popular for those with cholesterol issues and other problems similar. Ask your doctor how garlic might be able to help you with any problems and in the meantime, enjoy it often as a part of your daily meal plan!