Fight Cold in Just 3 Hours With This Food!

This is good news for garlic lovers out there! A recent research have concluded that eating raw garlic or crushing it and adding raw honey, may actually work in fighting a cold, in as little as 3 hours.

Research

A small clinical trial published by the Journal of Nutrition, have proven that consuming a meal with 5 grams of raw and crushed garlic or about 2 cloves equivalent, showed significantly higher levels of activity of those genes that were involved in the production of immune-boosting white blood cells and cancer-fighting processes. This were collected in the blood of the participants, 3 hours after eating garlic.

Related: 5 Benefits of Eating Raw Garlic Daily

The researchers cannot say for sure if garlic would start fighting an actual cold as quickly as it activated the participants’ genes. But previous research have proven that there is something special about garlic when it comes to fighting colds.

A study conducted in 2012, found that participants who took garlic supplement daily, experienced greater activity in white blood cells, have less severe cold symptoms and fewer days with cold symptoms, compared to those who received a placebo.

Furthermore, a study back in 2001, discovered that individuals who supplemented with garlic were less likely to get a cold and they recovered faster if they did get infected.

How it Works?

What makes garlic so great at fighting colds? Researchers said that certain nutrients in garlic, such as minerals like selenium, certain enzymes, vitamin C and sulfur-containing compounds may have something to do with it.

To try the raw garlic cure, crush or slice cloves and eat them or you can use them in a raw preparation such as a salad dressing. Crushing raw garlic releases an enzyme called alliinase, which in turn triggers the formation of allicin, a compound containing antibacterial properties.

See Also: The Many Benefits of Fermented Garlic and How to Make It

But if you rather cook with garlic, crush or chop it and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before heating. Heating preserves allicin’s health benefits.
Lastly, supplementation is proven to be effective as well. Experts suggest using an allicin powder extract, that has been standardized to contain a consistent amount of allicin per pill.

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