Brilio.net - There are various types of kitchen ingredients for cooking, ranging from sauces, soy sauce, oil, to spices. One of the spices that is the mainstay of many mothers for cooking at home is garlic. Garlic can provide a savory taste and fragrant aroma to cooking, making it more delicious when eaten.
Not only for cooking, garlic can also function as an alternative herbal medicine to maintain health. This was shared by a doctor named Saddam Ismail through YouTube content. According to him, one of the benefits of consuming garlic regularly every day is that it can lower cholesterol. So, how do you consume it?
It turns out that garlic that is to be consumed as a health ingredient must be fresh, not cooked. Not always chewed directly, garlic can also be crushed or cut before eating. Reported from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, if exposed to hot temperatures when cooked, some of the active substances in garlic that are beneficial for health can be partially lost, so it is better in raw condition if you want to consume it for health purposes.
photo: Pexels/RDNE Stock project
"Consuming 1 to 2 small cloves per day can lower cholesterol, this is when done for 2 months, remember 2 months. It's not consuming garlic today, tomorrow morning cholesterol will go down or go down immediately, that's impossible, yes. It takes a process," explained Saddam, quoted by BrilioFood from Saddam Ismail's YouTube on Thursday (26/9).
photo: YouTube/Saddam Ismai
There have been many studies that have looked into the relationship between garlic and a person's cholesterol levels. Reported from verywellhealth.com, garlic is known to contain allicin, a sulfur that can have the effect of lowering bad cholesterol if consumed frequently.
However, a 2013 study at the University of Adelaide, Australia, showed that although it can lower bad cholesterol or LDL (low density lipoprotein), allicin in garlic cannot increase good cholesterol or HDL (high density lipoprotein) in the body. So, if you want to increase it, you can't just rely on garlic, but you have to find other healthy food sources, such as eggs, whole wheat, and others.
photo: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska
In addition, in addition to having allicin and good for lowering cholesterol, reported from urmc.rochester.edu, garlic also has other nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folic acid, and many more. Well, a number of these benefits are also efficacious for reducing the risk of cancer, treating acne, controlling hypertension or high blood pressure, maintaining heart health, maintaining brain health, preventing baldness, strengthening bones, to fighting ARI (upper respiratory tract infections).
photo: Pexels/Nick Collins
Although it is believed to be safe for daily consumption, the portion of garlic consumed also needs to be considered, because everyone's health condition is different. The doctor who is familiarly called Saddam on his YouTube account Saddam Ismail explained that it is important to consult a doctor first if you have certain health conditions but want to use garlic as an alternative herbal medicine.
"You can consume 1 to 4 cloves, but if you have health problems, such as severe digestion, asthma, low blood pressure, ulcers, thyroid, or are taking medication, you should consult a doctor first, that's important," he concluded.
Wow, the benefits of this kitchen spice for the body are really interesting, huh? Peeking at the comments column on Saddam Ismail's YouTube upload, quite a few netizens admitted that they were very helped by the information about garlic. Quite a few admitted that they have often consumed it. This video has also been watched more than six million times.
"I really like garlic, it's delicious and has lots of benefits," said YouTube @HerbalTV.
"Thank you, Doc, now I know the benefits of garlic for our health," said YouTube @alikaputri8404.
"Thank you, Doctor. The information is truly amazing for lay people like us about the benefits of garlic when consumed or eaten raw.," said YouTube @sugiarto5953.