Garlic and Blood Pressure - do you know!?

What Is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure is a potentially dangerous problem suffered by many people, often without them being aware of it. It has been estimated that in the USA alone more than 50 million people suffer from high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is in essence hypertension – the blood is being pumped through the system unusually fast and powerfully. This constant exertion of greater than normal force can damage the arteries, possibly leading in turn to kidney failure, heart attack and/or stroke. If you suspect you may have high blood pressure then it is essential that you discuss any symptoms with your doctor.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure is usually divided by doctors into “essential hypertension” and “secondary hypertension”.

“Secondary hypertension” refers to the case where the high blood pressure is the result of some known factor such as kidney disease. “Essential hypertension” refers to the case where there is no obvious single cause of high blood pressure.

There are many factors that can contribute to essental high blood pressure, the most common of which are lifestyle related. Smoking and high levels of saturated fat intake can both contribute significantly to an elevated level of blood pressure.

If your doctor doesn’t identify a particular cause then he or she could well recommend diet and exercise as the best start. Losing some weight, lowering bad cholesterol levels and reducing salt intake can assist many people to lower their blood pressure levels. For others the preferred treatment will be medication.

Can Garlic Help?

Garlic is not a substitute for prescription medicine or lifestyle changes, however it has long had a reputation for assisting with blood pressure management. The research data is not conclusive, however it does appear that there is some evidence to support the role of garlic in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure (1).

It appears that the reputed beneficial effects of garlic on blood pressure come more from the garlic sulphides than from allicin. Unlike allicin, garlic sulphides are not destroyed by cooking.

Garlic might also assist blood pressure indirectly by helping to manage cholesterol levels.

Finally, extra garlic can be used as a seasoning, thus reducing the need for salt.

If you think you have high blood pressure then you should consult your doctor first before considering any home diagnosis or treatment.

Benefits of Garlic - a divine herbal plant

Over the years, garlic is considered to be a well known herbal plant having ample benefits. Its medicinal and culinary advantages are proven. Garlic benefits have made it popular among housewives.

It gives a good flavor to the food and the plant is grown as an underground root or bulb. Also, garlic has many health phyto nutrients which are indeed beneficial for coronary heart diseases and also for infections, arthritis etc. Let us have a quick look over several garlic benefits.

The cloves of garlic have many notable minerals, anti-oxidants, minerals and also phyto nutrients. These nutrients are crucial as they have several health benefits. The garlic also have a number of sulphur compounds like diallyl disulfide, propyl disulfide and diallyl tri sulfide.

These sulphide compounds are important but are disrupted on crushing. Allicin contained garlic are known to reduce hardness of our blood vessels as it releases nitric oxide. Those who have high blood pressure are benefited to a great extent by garlic as it reduces the blood pressure rate.

It also obstructs the formation of blood clot and hence checks the possibility of coronary heart disease and heart stroke.

The patients of stomach cancer cannot overlook garlic benefits.

There are studies that have proved that regular usage of garlic can reduce the chances of having stomach cancer. Allicin contained in the garlic is an indispensable compound as it has a number of anti bacterial as well as anti-fungal properties.

Garlic benefits can be rightly called as health benefits as garlic is a very good source of minerals and vitamins.

The bulbs of garlic are indeed very good source of minerals and vitamins. It has plenty of minerals like magnesium, manganese, selenium and zinc. Selenium is crucial to our body as it is protects the health of the individuals containing garlic.

Garlic also has the benefit of having manganese which is an important co factor for the various antioxidant enzymes.

The mineral contains many flavonids along with the anti-oxidants. Iron of the garlic helps in the production of red blood cells. It contains beta carotene and Vitamin C which helps the body in fighting diseases and keep harmful radical at bay. 

Over the years, people have been using garlic for its superb culinary properties. This herbal plant has known to have high medicinal value as it is used to treat several human ailments.

The plant is also to cure several diseases like ulcers, tumors, wounds, snake bite, heart diseases, arthritis, cancer, pimples, tumors, measles and many more diseases.

It also prevents several other infections like common cold and also used in treating dog bites. It is also said to be a sure shot treatment for arthritis.

Some people like to name it a wonderful drug which is a potent treatment for several diseases. Not only this, garlic is known to cure common cold, acne, headaches. It has anti-viral properties and effective in removing blemishes of skin. It also cleanses the blood of your body.