Garlic is an integral ingredient in kitchens around the world, with many hardcore garlic lovers adding two or three more cloves than a recipe usually requires. Garlic (also known lahsun) has also been a significant part of Eastern recipes for hundreds of years.
Besides spicing up meals (and maybe warding off vampires), garlic is also a great contributor to weight loss, according to some studies.
But just how do you use it for this purpose?
Fear not, we’ll explain everything. In this article, we’ll be looking at how eating this kitchen favorite regularly can help you on your weight-loss journey.
Carry on reading to find out more.
The Historical Journey of Garlic
For thousands of years, garlic has been used for both medicine and food. Evidence of its use can be found in ancient Egyptian pyramids as well as ancient Greek temples. The bulbous plant was also said to be prescribed to the first-ever Olympic athletes in ancient Greece and may have been the world’s first “performance-enhancing” substance.
Evidence of garlic being used to treat diseases can also be seen across many cultures of the ancient world. Thanks to modern science, we can now confirm many of these benefits. These include boosting your immunity, reducing your blood pressure, contributing to a healthy heart, and, of course, helping you lose weight.
How Garlic Helps You Lose Weight
There are five key ways eating garlic can aid you on your weight loss journey. These are as follows:
1. Your Metabolism Is Boosted
The regular consumption of garlic has been shown to boost your metabolism significantly. A 2016 study on the effects of garlic and obesity showed that consuming fermented garlic significantly reduced body fat, triglyceride, and overall levels of cholesterol in the body.
2. Garlic Suppresses Your Appetite
Eating garlic can help you regulate your hunger, which is ideal for losing weight. By suppressing your appetite, you are less likely to ingest more calories.
3. It Has Detoxifying Properties
By flushing your digestive system of toxins, you are directly contributing to the regulation of your body weight. Garlic helps you do just that.
4. It Burns Fat
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, garlic can significantly help you burn fat. This is perhaps one of the most crucial aspects of weight loss and so, for this reason, you should consider eating garlic regularly.
5. Garlic Improves Liver Function
Your liver plays a significant part in the metabolizing of fat. Another study from 2016 suggests that consuming garlic regularly can help people with fatty liver disease lose weight quickly.
How to Implement Garlic Into Your Diet
Experts everywhere (including those ancient texts) argue that the best way to consume garlic is by eating it raw. While the taste isn’t exactly everybody’s cup of tea on its own, there are some ways you can incorporate raw garlic into your daily food routine.
Here are some tips to help you out:
1. Add It to Your Salad
Chopping up one or two cloves of garlic and sprinkling it into your salad is an easy way to get your daily garlic fix.
2. Make Honey, Garlic, and Lemon Tea
If you’ve never tried this combination before, you may be a bit wary. However, the combination of these three ingredients is not only extremely healthy but is also surprisingly tasty.
3. Add It to Your Morning Omelette
Mince up a few garlic cloves and add them to your egg omelette for some extra flavor.
4. Make Some Garlic Guacamole
Everybody loves a bowl of guacamole. By adding some crushed garlic to your avocado mix, you’re guaranteed to reap the benefits of the elevated flavor. Not only that, but this is a perfect meal for weight loss.
Garlic: Man’s Best Friend
Hippocrates once said “Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food.”
Throughout history, garlic has been a big part of that belief by providing us with not only delicious seasoning but helping us cure various illnesses. Additionally, research has shown us that garlic is also a great way to tackle weight loss. So, next time you want to start a new diet plan, you may want to consider including garlic.
Has garlic played a role in your weight loss journey? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.
