Those are famous words from the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, often called the father of Western medicine. He actually used to prescribe garlic to treat a variety of medical conditions. Modern science has recently confirmed many of these beneficial health effects. 1. Garlic Contains Compounds With Potent Medicinal Properties Garlic is a plant in the Allium (onion) family. It is closely related to onions, shallots and leeks. Each segment of a garlic bulb is called a clove. There are about 10–20 cloves in a single bulb, give or take. Garlic grows in many parts of the world and is a popular ingredient in cooking due to its strong smell and delicious taste. However, throughout ancient history, the main use of garlic was for its health and medicinal properties. Its use was well documented by many major civilizations, including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Chinese. Scientists now know that most of its health benefits are caused by sulfur compounds formed when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed or chewed. Perhaps the most famous of those is known as allicin. However, allicin is an unstable compound that is only briefly present in fresh garlic after it’s been cut or crushed. Other compounds that may play a role in garlic’s health benefits include diallyl disulfide and s-allyl cysteine. The sulfur compounds from garlic enter the body from the digestive tract and travel all over the body, where it exerts its potent biological effects. SUMMARY Garlic is a plant in the onion family that’s grown for its distinctive taste and health benefits. It contains sulfur compounds, which are believed to bring some of the health benefits. 2. Garlic Is Highly Nutritious But Has Very Few Calories Calorie for calorie, garlic is incredibly nutritious. One clove (3 grams) of raw garlic contains: Manganese: 2% of the Daily Value (DV) Vitamin B6: 2% of the DV Vitamin C: 1% of the DV Selenium: 1% of the DV Fiber: 0.06 grams Decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1 This comes with 4.5 calories, 0.2 grams of protein and 1 gram of carbs. Garlic also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients. In fact, it contains a little bit of almost everything you need. SUMMARY Garlic is low in calories and rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. It also contains trace amounts of various other nutrients.
