Centuries ago, before the advent of modern medicine and high-end medical equipment, our ancestors relied on nature’s wonders to stay healthy. One of the most popular traditional medicines, garlic is still renowned across the world for its remarkable ability to fight numerous diseases and conditions. Besides being an ingredient that has extensive culinary usage, garlic’s rich antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties make it a natural healing agent as well.
You can prepare garlic oil by crushing and soaking its cloves in vegetable oil or by steam distillation. You can use garlic oil both orally and topically.
Nutritional Value Of Garlic
You can use garlic oil as a great skin care ingredient. It enhances skin health without any side effects:
Garlic, known for its antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties, fights many skin conditions like psoriasis, athlete’s foot, ringworm, warts, corn, etc.
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A study by Fitoterapia Journal reported the antifungal properties of garlic against Candida, Malassezia, and the dermatophytes (1). Another study by the Journal Nutrition found garlic’s ability to ward off skin cancer, owing to its high concentration of phytochemicals (2).
Caution
Avoid overheating the oil as it may burn your skin.
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Troubled by the embarrassment and pain acne is causing you? You may want to try garlic oil to fight this stubborn problem.
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Garlic is chock-full of essential nutrients and antioxidants known for their acne-combating benefits. It contains selenium, allicin, vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, and zinc. Zinc has sebum-controlling properties (3). Garlic, being an anti-inflammatory agent also helps soothe inflamed skin caused by acne (4).
Caution
Avoid leaving it on your skin for more than 10 minutes as it may cause a stinging sensation.
Get healthy and luscious locks with this wonder ingredient.
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Garlic oil contains numerous nutrients that help boost hair growth and improve its texture. These nutrients also help fight against many diseases of the scalp.
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Garlic oil is a rich source of sulfur, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B1 and vitamin B6, which are all important nutrients needed for faster hair growth and improved scalp health. It also prevents breakage and strengthens hair roots. A study conducted by the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology found garlic to be useful in the treatment of alopecia areata, a form of recurrent hair loss condition (5). Regular oiling of your hair and scalp with garlic oil can also boost the blood circulation in the scalp, thereby increasing the absorption of essential nutrients and improving hair health.
Caution
Avoid overheating the oil as it may burn your skin.
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When wearing black becomes impossible because of the white flakes that keep falling off your hair, it’s an indication that your dandruff condition has gone out of control. The best thing you can do is to rely on garlic oil to help you treat your dandruff.
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Garlic oil possesses antifungal properties that can fight the infection that is giving rise to dandruff. Garlic oil also contains sulfur that helps calm inflamed and irritated skin, thus providing relief from the signature itchiness caused by dandruff (6).
Caution
Avoid overheating the oil as it may burn your skin.
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Here are some amazing health benefits of garlic oil that make it a one-stop remedy for a multitude of problems:
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Allicin, an active compound contained in garlic, exhibits antimicrobial activities against many bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses such as Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Giardia lamblia, as per a study by The Journal of Microbes and Infection (7).
Caution
Make sure you consult your doctor for the recommended dosage as you may experience side effects like heartburn, nausea, gas, or diarrhea on overconsumption of garlic oil.
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Suffering from a terrible toothache? Worry not! Here’s yet another concern that garlic oil helps tackle.
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The magical compound allicin not only helps reduce tooth pain and inflammation but also reduces bacterial activity and prevents tooth decay.
Caution
Make sure you brush your teeth after using garlic oil for a toothache as it can cause bad breath.
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Numerous research studies also highlight the benefits of using garlic oil to fight cardiovascular diseases.
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A study by the Bratislava Medical Journal suggests that garlic provides cardioprotective benefits as its organic polysulfides get converted into hydrogen sulfide by erythrocytes (8). This helps relax vascular smooth muscles and lowers blood pressure. Garlic oil also provides anti-inflammatory benefits.
Caution
Check with your health care provider for the recommended dosage of garlic supplements. Be aware of the possible drug interactions it may have.
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Cholesterol is an important factor that contributes to cardiovascular health. Garlic oil helps reduce bad cholesterol.
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Garlic oil, when taken in combination with fish oil, has a great cholesterol-reducing effect, as reported by a study by the American Journal of Nutrition (9). The study suggests that fish oil, when combined with garlic oil, displays the ability to lower total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triacylglycerol concentrations, as compared to just fish oil, which has the ability to increase LDL-C.
Caution
Garlic oil and fish oil may lead to mild side effects like bloating or digestive troubles, so check with your doctor for their recommended dosage. Be aware of the possible drug interactions these supplements may have.
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Another magical benefit of garlic oil is that it lowers the risk of cognitive decline caused by neurodegenerative diseases.
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According to a study conducted by the Journal of Nutrition, the antioxidant properties of garlic, in addition to fighting cardiovascular diseases, also reduce the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (10).
Caution
Check with your health care provider for the recommended dosage of garlic oil and its interactions with other drugs.
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Cancer is one of the most serious modern-day epidemics. Every day, an increasing number of cancer cases are reported. Garlic oil contains compounds that can help fight cancer cells.
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As per an Anticancer Agents in Medical Chemistry study, the diallyl disulfide compounds contained in garlic have the ability to suppress breast cancer cells (11). This compound enhances the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid, a breast cancer suppressor, and suppresses the effect of linoleic acid, a breast cancer enhancer.
Caution
Consult your doctor for the recommended dosage of garlic oil, its potential drug interactions, and side effects. Stop the intake of garlic oil a week before undergoing surgery as it can increase bleeding time.
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Garlic oil is an age-old remedy to treat ear infections.
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The best part about using garlic oil for treating ear infections is the two-fold benefit it provides. Not only does it fight the bacterial activity causing the ear infection, but it also relieves you of the pain caused by the infection (12). No wonder garlic oil is such a widely used ear infection remedy, given its antiseptic, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.
Caution
Though it is safe to use garlic oil topically for treating ear infections, stop the treatment if the pain persists and the infection worsens. Reach out to your healthcare provider immediately.
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If you often complain of some or the other health trouble – may it be a bout of cold, fever, or an infection – your immunity is suffering a huge blow. You must then embrace the wonders of garlic oil.
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Garlic oil is a natural immunity booster, rich in many health-boosting nutrients like vitamins C, B1, and B6, allicin, iron, and phosphorous.
Caution
Check with your healthcare provider for the recommended dosage, possible drug interactions, and side effects of garlic oil supplementation.
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Weakened bones are a common problem for women after they reach a certain age, especially for the ones who have undergone ovariectomy. Garlic oil also helps prevent bone resorption.
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A study conducted by Phytotherapy Research found that the supplementation of garlic oil helps a great deal in preventing ovariectomy-induced bone resorption by preventing the decrease in bone density (13).
Caution
Consult your doctor for the recommended dosage or garlic oil or its capsules based on your medical condition and history.
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If you are a heart patient, your doctor may have repeatedly emphasized the importance of exercising. Turns out, garlic oil can remarkably enhance your exercise tolerance too.
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A study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that garlic oil supplementation helps reduce heart rate at peak exercise, and thus enhances exercise tolerance in patients with coronary artery disease (14).
Caution
Check with your healthcare provider for the recommended dosage, possible drug interactions and side-effects of garlic oil supplementation.
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Heading for a game outdoors? Don’t forget to carry a bottle of garlic oil along to ensure that the mosquitoes don’t ruin the fun for you.
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Garlic oil manages to help keep the pesky mosquitoes at bay, a study by the International Journal of Pharmaceutical, Chemical, and Biological Sciences suggests (15). The study reports that garlic oil is a good natural insect repellent that can be ingested, applied on the skin, or sprayed around to ward off the mosquitoes.
Caution
Do a patch test before applying garlic oil on your skin to rule out possible allergic reactions. Avoid overheating the oil as you may burn your skin.
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Many studies report garlic oil as a remedy for cold sores.
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A report on garlic by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center suggests that it exhibits many antibacterial and antifungal properties that can prevent the development and growth of skin virus (16).
Caution
While the enzymes contained in garlic oil speed the recovery of cold sores, they can also cause some burning sensation on your skin due to their acidic nature. Make sure you consult your doctor before using this remedy to treat a cold sore.
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Diabetes is one of the most common and gravest health concerns in today’s day and age. Studies find garlic oil to be useful in the prevention of diabetes as well.
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When supplemented with anti-diabetic agents, garlic displays improved diabetic control in Type 2 diabetes patients (17). The active compounds allicin, allyl propyl disulfide, and S-allyl cysteine sulfoxide present in garlic help raise the levels of insulin in the blood and ensure that adequate levels of insulin are present in the body. Another study found that garlic oil, apart from controlling high blood sugar in diabetic patients, also lowers the risk of diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease (18).
Caution
Garlic can increase the activity of anti-diabetic drugs, so ensure that you consult your doctor for the safety and recommended dosage of garlic oil. Commercially purchased garlic oil may contain added sugar. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before use.
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Disclaimer:
After preparing the garlic oil, let it cool down, store it in an airtight container, and refrigerate. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you should use the oil within a span of one to two weeks to prevent serious bacterial infections such as botulism or salmonella.
The following is the nutritional value provided by 1 cup of raw garlic (19).
Cholesterol
So, having learned the many advantages of garlic oil, are you willing to embrace it for a lifetime of good health? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.