Garlic is something that's well known for a lot of different things. One of the first things that comes to most people's mind is the pungent aroma of garlic. Next, on most people's list of associations of garlic include its potential benefits at warding off vampires. However, garlic itself may actually have several potential health benefits. Potential health benefits of garlic:
- regulating cholesterol levels
- regulating blood sugar levels
- antimicrobial activity
- memory improvement?
Garlic (Allium sativum) is used both as a food as well as a medicinal herb. The results of a recent study involving rats published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (2008) suggests that administration of fresh garlic homogenate actuallly improved both brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) levels) as well as cognitive performance (Haider et al, 2008).
Reference:
Haider S, Naz N, Khaliq S, Perveen T, Haleem DJ. Repeated administration of fresh garlic increases memory retention in rats. J Med Food. 2008 Dec;11(4):675-9.
