Garlic for Weight Loss and Other Health Benefits

Losing weight isn’t a cakewalk. It takes blood, sweat, and hard work to shed unwanted body fat. Sadly, there are no shortcuts to becoming a healthier and fitter you! But, what we do have are –  healthy and active ways to do the same. Garlic is one such ingredient that you can try for weight loss.  Yes, this odoriferous herb has numerous health benefits, known since ancient times. This bulb-shaped, medicinal herb helps cut down fat and its accumulation in innumerable ways. Let’s find out more about it below:

Table of Contents

• How garlic helps for weight loss
• Other Health Benefits of Garlic
• Summary

How garlic helps for weight loss

Garlic is an indispensable part of the Indian kitchen as it is often craved by recipes to enhance its aroma and taste. Apart from increasing the taste of the food, the herb is known to aid weight loss. Its beneficial ingredients such as vitamin B6 and C, fiber, calcium, protein, and manganese play a major role in burning unwanted health-deteriorating fat. 
Adding garlic into your diet helps boost energy levels and increases metabolism; burning fat efficiently. It also acts as an amazing detoxifying agent by flushing out toxins that are a hindrance to the digestive system. Below are a few home-made recipes that will aid weight loss and can be made with little to no preparation. 

Begin by incorporating garlic in your daily routine 

1. Garlic with lime juice

Take lukewarm water, add one tablespoon of lemon juice and a 1-2 pieces of crushed garlic cloves to it. Mix and drink while it’s still warm. This heavenly combination of both ingredients will not only help in stimulating weight loss but also help in reducing free radical damage and improve immunity due to the presence of vitamin C.   

2. Raw garlic and honey

Take 2-3 garlic cloves, peel off their outer skin. Crush the peeled cloves and then mix it with honey. Allow the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes and then consume the concoction there after. This mixture helps to improve immunity and reduce the risk of seasonal cold and cough. 

3. Ginger, garlic, and lemon tea

Take 1-2 pieces of garlic clove; add a small piece of ginger to it. Grind them to get a fine paste. Now, boil about two glasses of water in a pot and add the paste to the pot of boiling water. Let the whole concoction boil for about 5 minutes. Cover the concoction and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture and simultaneously add lemon juice to it. If you do not like the taste of the concoction, add some honey to it to enhance the flavor. This mixture largely aids digestion and helps flush out toxins from the body.

4. Unpeeled garlic cloves covered in honey

For this recipe, remove the outermost layer; make sure you do not peel the clove cover. Now, take a mason jar and add 3-4 cloves inside it and pour raw honey over it. For the next few days, store the combination of the two, leaving it in the refrigerator. Let the goodness of the two infuse and then consume the magical combination on an empty stomach. In the long run, this mixture will help to improve your overall immunity, heart health, and skin health.

5. Garlic milk

This magic potion is not known to many! This recipe will aid in weight loss and will help in keeping your gut healthy and happy. 

1 cup of fresh milk

5-6 garlic cloves

1 tbsp turmeric powder

Pinch of black pepper

½-1 tsp Organic honey (to enhance taste)
Crush the garlic cloves or grind it. To maximize health benefits, crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes to trigger an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic. Now, heat milk in a pan and allow it to boil. To the boiling milk, add the crushed garlic and then add black pepper and turmeric. Simmer on low heat till the garlic is softened. Take off heat and strain the mixture through a strainer. Drink the mixture when luke warm, with a tsp of honey to enhance the taste. This recipe helps in improving overall digestion and reduces migraine pain drastically.  

Other Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic helps cure cold and infection 

Consuming garlic with warm water can help get rid of infections like cough and cold. 

1. Helps boost the immune system

The antioxidant compounds, namely ally disulfide, allyl cysteine, alliin and allicin have been reported to provide protection from free radicals damage. This boosts immunity. 

2. Lowers the blood pressure 

The sulfur in garlic stimulates nitric oxide production in blood vessels. This relaxes and improves their elasticity, helping to lower blood pressure and further reducing the risk of strokes and hardening of arteries. 

3. It flaunts anti-aging properties

Hydrogen sulfide, a compound found in garlic can slow down the hardening of arteries and prevent strokes and attacks by ensuring free flow of blood all through the body. Another compound called Allicin is said to have anti wrinkle properties. Along with the above compounds, Vitamin C in garlic also helps in collagen production thereby aiding healthy skin. 

4. Helps in the process of liver detoxification

Garlic contains selenium, a mineral that helps to detoxify  the liver. It also has the ability to activate liver enzymes that can help your body to naturally flush out toxins. 

5. Helps increase estrogen levels in women

With menopause, there are sudden drops in estrogen levels and with the consumption of dry garlic daily, the deficiency of estrogen can be compensated, resulting in healthy bones. 

Summary

Indubitably, garlic is one herb that will add goodness to any food. Not only elevating the flavor and fragrance, but also in aiding other health benefits such as weight loss. The healthy bulb of food has a powerful punch of health benefits that has manganese, phosphorus, calcium in it. So, irrespective of what you are eating, a little hint of garlic in it won’t hurt! Whether you plan to eat it raw, uncooked or cooked, it is still beneficial for consumption. Now, that you have come across the health benefits of garlic, you wouldn’t mind swallowing down one or two to reap the herb bestowed with ample benefits.