Why garlic is the good pal of heart?

Alternative medicine has been touting the health benefits of garlic for centuries, from its anti-bacterial and anti fungal properties, to its positive effects on the cardiovascular system.

Now US researchers say they have figured out precisely why the pungent clove makes such a valuable health tonic. It boosts the body’s own production of a compound that relaxes blood vessels, increase blood flow, and prevents blood clots and oxidative damage.

David Kraus, a physiologist in the department of environmental health sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said “This will help us to standardize over the counter garlic supplements, and ensure they have the ingredients that produces the key compound”. In laboratory tests, the researchers at the University found that it was this chemical messenger- Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) – which is essential at low levels for cellular signaling that appears to relax blood vessels, enhancing blood flow. The team conducted a series of experiments with the garlic juice and adding minute amounts of red blood cells. The cells immediately started to produce Hydrogen sulphide.