- Health advice
- May 18, 2021
Curious about how Aged Garlic affects immune system health?
While most people think of garlic as great in cooking, you probably already know that it can help to keep you healthy. You might even know that there are different forms of garlic, which each have different properties. But did you know that studies show Aged Garlic Extract can make a real difference in helping your immune system to fight off winter colds and flu? Here’s a quick rundown on what makes this kind of garlic special, and how it supports your immunity.
What exactly IS Aged Garlic Extract and why is it different?
Aged Garlic Extract is a unique ingredient that starts off its life as fresh, organically grown garlic cloves. Those cloves are picked, peeled, sliced and then naturally aged in controlled conditions for up to 20 months. As the fresh garlic ages, the harsh, unstable, strong-smelling sulfur compounds within it gradually transform into completely new compounds. These new compounds, including the researched molecule S-Allyl Cysteine (SAC) (1,2), are milder, more stable, and odour-free. That means the resulting extract provides all the benefits – immunity and otherwise – of fresh garlic (plus a few more), without causing garlic breath.
How Aged Garlic Extract supports your immune system
One 2011 study compared the immune responses of people who took Aged Garlic Extract for 90 days with those of people in a control group(3). After 45 days, the people who took the extract had more of two kinds of immune cells that help to fight off viral infections. And while people who took the extract experienced the same number of colds as the control group, their symptoms were less severe and shorter-lived. In other words, Aged Garlic Extract may not be enough, on its own, to stop you catching a winter cold (for that, you also need a strong nutritional foundation). It can, however, strengthen your immune system; and may help you to fight off common viral infections more quickly than you’d otherwise do.
Mr Vitamins recommends
The Nutra-Life Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract. This range includes a premium liquid and two capsule-based formulations: one original formula, and one high-potency.
‘Ask a naturopath’ which Aged Garlic formula is right for you and your family.
Resources:
- https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jir/2015/401630/
- http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/3/716S.full
- http://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(11)00231-7/abstract
