If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that my family loves garlic.  Most of my main dish recipes have some form of garlic in them.  Garlic makes any dish taste great and smell wonderful.  I buy lots of fresh garlic, and I buy garlic olive oil.  I also use garlic powder and granulated garlic.  I just can’t seem to get enough of it.

Besides its great taste and aroma, garlic also has many wonderful health benefits.  A good way to take advantage of those benefits is to add raw chopped or pressed garlic to your meals.  Studies have shown that garlic helps keep blood pressure under control, lowers cholesterol, and reduces the risk of heart disease.  Garlic also has anti-bacterial and anti-viral benefits, and some anti-cancer properties.  Garlic can treat cold symptoms too by improving the immune system.

Garlic is rich in a variety of powerful sulfur-containing compounds which provide many of these health benefits.  However, garlic is also a good source of manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and selenium.  Powerful stuff to help keep you healthy.

My husband and I also take Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract in the capsule form.  Research has shown that this formula helps support cardiovascular and circulatory health.

So, while you probably already knew about the culinary benefits of garlic, now you know some of the nutritional and health benefits.  The only warning I have for you is to be sure you know the difference between a clove of garlic and a head/bulb of garlic.  My husband had an interesting experience when he cooked up a pasta dish that called for 4 cloves of garlic.  I think you can guess the ending here.