What Are The Health Benefits Of Garlic And Vinegar?

Garlic may be the most important vegetable in recorded history, notes Mark Bittman, journalist and author of "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian." He explains that it has been both a culinary and medicinal plant for thousands of years. Bittman is equally enthusiastic about vinegar for the flavor and complexity it adds to foods. Not only do garlic and vinegar provide benefits for the palate, but they also provide health benefits.

Garlic and Health

MayoClinic.com lists garlic's many possibilities for preventing and reducing disease, though they admit that much more study is needed to move garlic's benefits from "possible" to "certainty."

Garlic's possible benefits include: reductions in blood pressure, the most likely benefit according to MayoClinic.com; small reductions in total cholesterol level and LDL, or bad cholesterol; reductions in gastric and colorectal cancer; benefits for those with some types of meningitis; reductions in high blood pressure; improvement in circulation in the legs; tick repellent; reducing the severity of colds; and reducing blood sugar.

According to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, garlic is a good food source for selenium, a mineral used as a supplement to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and it may be effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Vinegar and Skin Ailments

There are many uses for vinegar in alleviating skin irritations. Elissa Altman, editor of "Baking Soda, Banana Peels, Baby Oil and Beyond," recommends a solution of 1 tbsp. vinegar to 1 pint of water for relieving the itch of jellyfish stings, sunburns, insect bites and poison ivy rashes. MayoClinic.com recommends running a vinegar-soaked rag through locks of hair to remove lice nits.

Vinegar and Blood Sugar

Unfortunately, vinegar is not a cure-all for detoxifying the body, improving the immune system, treating arthritis or improving blood circulation, according to Richard Lee, writing for Harvard Family Health Guide. However, Lee notes that daily intake of vinegar may help people with diabetes control their blood sugar. Lee goes on to warn that taking too much vinegar can lower potassium levels in the blood and also that straight vinegar can remove enamel from teeth. He recommends rinsing your mouth after taking a dose of 1 tbsp.

Garlic and Vinegar in Weight-Loss Diets

Perhaps the most certain benefit of garlic and vinegar are as highly flavored and versatile food items that can help you reduce your intake of more fatty or sugar-filled foods. Roast whole heads of garlic in a 375 degree oven to spread on bread instead of olive oil or butter. Learn how to make vinaigrette with different flavors of vinegar and heart-healthy olive oil instead of more fattening mayonnaise-based salad dressings.