(NaturalNews) Garlic has been used for thousands of years all over the world, and modern science is now backing up its medicinal properties. A recent study by researchers at Washington University has found that garlic can be up to 100 times as effective at treating bacterial infections as most mainstream antibiotics, as reported by Natural News.

Garlic is not just antibacterial, but it is also packed full of antioxidants that work to improve your overall health. It is high in sulfur, which can help to detoxify your system and remove unwanted toxins, as well as removing other substances that make your body more vulnerable to infection.
 

Health benefits of garlic

According to Natural Health 365, aged garlic extract has shown significant promise in its ability to reverse the deadly buildup of plaque in arteries. A study conducted at the independent biomedical research facility LA BioMed, Torrance, California, has proven that adding aged garlic extract supplement to diets reduces the amount of soft plaque – known as low-attenuation plaque – that has built up in the arteries of patients.

Participants in the study were already known to be suffering from metabolic syndrome, which carries with it a number of cardiac disease risk factors. And this isn't the only amazing way that garlic can improve your health. Here are some more reasons to eat garlic:

Garlic is full of antioxidants that fight cancer-causing free radicals

Garlic contains allicin, which is an antioxidant that removes infectious pathogens from the skin – preventing acne

Raw garlic can help control hypertension – again thanks to allicin

Garlic contains sulfur compounds that shorten the life span of the common cold

The anti-cancer properties of garlic can reduce the risk of lung cancer by nearly 50 percent for nonsmokers

Garlic thins the blood and reduces the risk of blood clots

Garlic's anti-inflammatory properties ease the pain of osteoarthritis