Garlic – the Miracle Herb!
If you were to list those things in life that you wouldn’t want to do without, I doubt that garlic would rank high on your list. But Louis Diat, the late great French chef, took garlic very seriously when he wrote, “Without garlic I simply would not care to live.”
Garlic is a strange herb:
- It’s cherished for its culinary qualities.
- It’s praised for its health benefits.
- It’s shunned for its tendency to produce bad breath and body odor!
Since ancient times, garlic has been used by health practitioners to treat a wide variety of ailments. Today, modern science has confirmed many of those benefits.
Garlic possesses powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-oxidant properties.[1] This explains why garlic is used for so many different health issues.
The primary compounds in garlic that produce its medicinal benefits include: allicin, ajoene, allyl sulphides, and alliin.[2] These are sulfur-rich compounds that contribute to the herb’s strong odor.
Garlic’s Medicinal Applications
The compounds in garlic are so versatile that it’s difficult to narrow down their applications to a short list. Below are just a few of garlic’s many uses:
1. Garlic is an anti-viral.
Garlic can help prevent and shorten colds, flus, bronchitis, and other viral infections.[3] One 12-week study conducted through the “cold season” demonstrated that those who took garlic supplements had 63% fewer colds with shorter durations than those who took placebos.[4]
Dosage: For prevention and treatment, simply add garlic to your soups and dishes. Toss raw, minced garlic into a salad. Also, either take a garlic supplement as recommended by the supplier or eat a fresh garlic clove with meals, two to three times per day.[5]
2. Garlic is an anti-bacterial.
Garlic was used as an antibiotic to prevent infections in wounds during WWI and II.[6] There is evidence to suggest that fresh garlic can kill food-borne bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella and prevent food poisoning.[7], [8] Also, bacteria don’t seem to be able to mutate to become resistant to garlic like they do with pharmaceutical antibiotics.[9]
Usage: Always follow safe food handling guidelines to avoid contaminated food. Studies shows that two to five teaspoons of garlic powder added to ground meat can provide protection against the deadly pathogen E. coli.
3. Garlic is anti-fungal.
The compounds in garlic also demonstrate effectiveness against yeast infections and parasites.[10],[11]
Usage: In the case of fungal infections on the skin, one can simply apply the juice of fresh, crushed garlic or olive oil infused with garlic to the infected area once or twice a day.[12] Or, try eating three to four cloves of garlic everyday for about five months, and you will see the fungus defeated. When taking raw garlic, always remember to drink lots of water to prevent stomach upset.
4. Garlic is an anti-oxidant.
The allicin in garlic helps lower blood pressure and lowers cholesterol. Additionally, ajoene helps prevent the formation of clots in the blood vessels. These factors make garlic good for the heart and help keep oxygen free radicals from damaging it.[13]
Also, the allyl sulphides found in garlic inhibit the formation of cancer cells in the body.[14] People take garlic to prevent breast, colon, rectal, stomach, prostate, and lung cancer and to treat bladder and prostate cancer.[15]
Dosage: People who wish to consume garlic and have no aversion to its odor can chew from two to three whole fresh raw garlic cloves daily. [16] Or, add fresh garlic to salads, soups, dishes and meats. For those who prefer it with less odor, enteric-coated tablets or capsules with approximately 1.3% allin are available. Clinical trials have used 600–900 mg (delivering approximately 5,000–6,000 mcg of allicin potential) per day in two or three divided amounts.
Administering Garlic as Medicine
Although garlic is considered a safe herb, it is strong and can cause intestinal distress if too much is eaten. One clove of garlic equals approximately 1 gram. For medicinal purposes, a person may wish to take 1 to 4 grams of garlic per day.
For those applications requiring allicin, fresh, crushed garlic is best because this releases and retains the most allicin. Many of the aged-garlic supplements that eliminate the garlic taste and odor have processed most or all of the allicin out of them.[17]
One very palatable way to introduce garlic into your diet is to create a salad dressing. Simply press a few garlic cloves with a garlic press and mix with extra virgin olive oil; add salt and your favorite spices.[18]
Garlic infused olive oil is considered a great prevention and cure for ear infections and may also boost the immune system when administered regularly.[19] Below is a recipe for making your own ear oil. Apply the ear oil with an eyedropper. Warm the oil in the eyedropper by running warm water over it before administering. Place just a few drops in each ear and repeat until the infection goes away.[20][21]
Garlic Ear Oil Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of organic extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil or sesame oil- 2 cloves of garlic
- A saucepan
- A small bottle and dropper
Directions:
- Bring 1/3 cup of oil and 2 whole peeled garlic cloves to a simmer in the saucepan.
- Let the oil and garlic simmer and bubble for about 5 minutes. Wait until the oil stops popping, and periodically press the garlic with a fork or spoon to help it release.
- Let your ear oil cool.
- Strain the ear oil, separating it from the garlic.
- Pour the strained ear oil into an eyedropper bottle.
Probably the most pleasurable way to take garlic is by integrating it into your diet. Add fresh garlic into soups and nearly any meat, vegetable or starch dish you might prepare.
If you don’t happen to be a garlic lover, perhaps the following quote will motivate you!
“Since garlic then hath powers to save from death, bear with it though it makes unsavory breath.” – Salerno Regimen of Health
My wife and I maintain an unspoken rule when it comes to dealing with garlic breath: If one of us eats garlic, we both eat garlic!
Steer clear of this risky new flu shot and reduce the fly symptoms with the Flu Remedy Report instead.
You can’t avoid the cold and flu season. Any time of the year carries viruses that attack your immune system. In fact, let me share some very common misconceptions about how you catch cold with Home Cures That Work.
If you liked this article, then you’ll love these:
- 5 Tips to Supplement the Flu Shot
- 9 Natural Remedies for Neutralizing Bad Breath
- Benefits of Olive Oil and Coconut Oil
Rob Fischer has been writing professionally for over 35 years. His experience includes writing curricula, study guides, articles, blogs, newsletters, manuals, workbooks, training courses, workshops, and books. Rob has written for numerous churches, for Burlington Northern Railroad, Kaiser Aluminum, and Barton Publishing. He has also trained managers in effective business writing. Rob holds two Master’s degrees, both focused heavily on writing. Rob has published eleven books and serves as an editor and ghostwriter for other authors.
