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Garlic has a rich chemical composition. Sulfur, which is contained in it in large quantities, gives a specific pungent aroma to this vegetable. Sulfides lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, can increase blood pressure, and reduce the risk of developing cancer of the stomach and intestines. By stimulating the secretion of digestive juices, garlic and dishes seasoned with it can improve the digestion of food.
Garlic is a natural antibiotic and antiviral agent. Garlic phytoncides and essential oils have a detrimental effect on viruses and bacteria, thanks to which it helps with colds and intestinal infections, and also improves human immunity. In the intestinal lumen, this vegetable effectively fights helminths, being an antiparasitic agent.
The property of garlic to thin the blood makes it a popular prophylactic for cardiovascular diseases accompanied by vascular thrombosis (strokes, heart attacks, varicose veins, phlebothrombosis). Selenium, which is part of the vegetable, has pronounced antioxidant properties, so it can be considered as a prophylactic anticancer agent.
However, not only the beneficial properties of garlic are known. In some conditions and diseases, the use of this vegetable in food, doctors recommend limiting, and in some cases completely abandoning it.
For the organs of the gastrointestinal tract
Garlic juice when eating a raw vegetable aggressively affects the walls of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. With its moderate intake by a healthy person, such an irritating effect does not cause significant harm to the body. In persons suffering from chronic inflammatory or erosive and ulcerative diseases of the digestive system, garlic can cause an exacerbation of an existing disease and even perforation of the thinned walls of the stomach or intestines.
People with inflammatory diseases of the liver and pancreas should also not eat garlic: eating this vegetable can provoke an exacerbation of chronic inflammation or a pain attack.
For blood clotting
In a very limited amount, raw garlic should be consumed by people who take anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, since the spicy vegetable enhances their effect.
For the same reason, it is not recommended to eat garlic:
- women before and during menstruation;
- people before and after operations;
- patients planning to visit a dentist in the near future;
- persons with a tendency to increased bleeding.
The property of garlic to reduce blood viscosity can cause nasal, gastric, uterine or other bleeding localization.
For the brain
Garlic contains chemical compounds that inhibit brain activity, in particular, the sulfone-hydroxyl ion. This chemical has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and have a depressing effect on the medulla.
The effect of sulfone ion on brain activity was studied back in the 50s of the last century, when large-scale pilot tests were carried out. Studies have found that the reaction rate of pilots who consumed garlic before the flight was several times slower than the reaction rate of those colleagues who refrained from eating this vegetable before the flight.
For immunity
In addition to its immune-boosting effects, garlic can cause allergic reactions by triggering the immune system to react. Doctors believe that the immune system responds to allicin contained in the vegetable, a sulfoxide compound that is formed when garlic cells are mechanically damaged.
In some sensitized people, the reaction to garlic may manifest as a rash, itching, redness of the skin, and other severe skin and non-skin manifestations. Particularly sensitive allergic people can react to garlic with an asthma attack, Quincke’s edema, anaphylactic shock. These conditions are life-threatening and, without proper emergency care, can lead to death.
Maternity and nursing
Garlic is a product that can provoke allergies. The body of a pregnant woman has an increased sensitivity to various allergens. The immunity of a woman who is expecting a child is constantly in tension, therefore, during this period, eating foods that have pronounced sensitizing properties should be avoided.
It is especially dangerous to eat garlic (even in the absence of an allergy to it in a pregnant woman) before childbirth. The ability of this vegetable to reduce blood viscosity before delivery can provoke the occurrence of such complications in childbirth as bleeding. Nursing mothers should also not eat spicy vegetables. Vegetable phytoncides enter breast milk, changing its taste (milk begins to taste bitter), and provoking allergic reactions in the newborn.
imported garlic
For lovers of a spicy vegetable, imported garlic can also be dangerous. We are talking about a vegetable that falls on domestic shelves from China. Chinese producers use various growth stimulants, fertilizers and pesticides when growing this vegetable.
After harvesting, before transportation, the vegetable is additionally processed so that it does not deteriorate during transportation and storage. Eating such garlic as food can cause food poisoning, so it is not recommended to eat it: it is better to give preference to a vegetable grown in our country.
Garlic should not be treated like a regular food item. This vegetable should be taken as a spice and used in strictly limited quantities. With great care, it is necessary to eat a spicy vegetable for people who drive vehicles and work with mechanisms of increased danger, people with chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, with blood clotting disorders, allergies, pregnant and lactating women.
- Sources of
- Sergeeva G.K. – Onions, garlic and horseradish for your health / Sergeeva G.K. – M .: Phoenix, 2014. – 160 p.