Garlic is one of the most valuable and versatile foods on the planet. Garlic belongs to the Allium family of vegetables which also includes onions, chives, shallots and leeks.
Today garlic is a widely recognized health enhancing supplement. Garlic promotes the well-being of the heart and immune systems with antioxidant properties and helps maintain healthy blood circulation. One of garlic's most potent health benefits includes the ability to enhance the body's immune cell activity.
The active component in garlic is the sulfur compound called allicin. Allicin is the chemical produced when garlic is chopped, chewed, or bruised. Allicin is quite powerful as an antibiotic and a potent agent that helps the body to inhibit the ability of germs to grow and reproduce. In fact, it's said that 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin.
There are now over 12 studies published around the world that confirm that garlic can reduce cholesterol.
Recently researchers in Oxford and America have published some summaries of all the good data on garlic.
Garlic is known to stimulate T-lymphocyte and macrophage action, promote interleukin-1 levels, and support natural killer cells. Strong activity of these key cells promotes healthy immune system function, and strengthens the body's defenses.
Garlic is an invaluable medicine for asthma, hoarseness, coughs, difficulty of breathing, and most other disorders of the lungs, being of particular virtue in chronic bronchitis, on account of its powers of promoting expectoration.
An older remedy for asthma, that was most popular, is a syrup of Garlic, made by boiling the garlic bulbs till soft and adding an equal quantity of vinegar to the water in which they have been boiled, and then sugared and boiled down to a syrup. The syrup is then poured over the boiled garlic bulbs, which have been allowed to dry meanwhile, and kept in a jar. Each morning a bulb or two should be taken, with a spoonful of the syrup.
For ear infections: Wrap a small piece of garlic in some tissue, and insert it into the ear. Leave it there overnight if possible. Pain is almost immediately removed and the infection tends to start clearing up overnight. See our full article Garlic can Fight and Cure Ear Infections
For scratchy throats: Put a small slice of garlic in your mouth and suck on it for 10-15 minutes. You can put it between your teeth and cheek, then scratch it with your teeth a little to help stimulate juice from the garlic slice. This juice slides down your throat and removes the pain.
Garlic can heal the pain caused by insect bites like those of scorpions and centipedes. The juice of fresh garlic mixed with salt can be applied to bruises, sprains and ringworms.
At the first sign of a cold, chop up 4 cloves of raw garlic and eat or use it as a garnish in soups etc.
Cut raw garlic and rub the cut edge on the tooth and gums a couple of times a day to stop toothache.
Take fresh garlic cloves and crush them, apply to warts until they disappear.
Crush a clove or two onto a dessert spoon then add olive oil and down the hatch. you get the benefits of raw garlic with none of the breath issues.
Garlic to clear sinuses. Melt some butter and add minced garlic cloves, spread on toast and eat.
Garlic for herpes. Take a garlic clove and cut in half. Eat one half and take the other half and rub into the affected areas. (may sting a little)
Use raw garlic juice on rashes and bug bites, it stops the itching immediately.
8 to 10 of garlic juice mixed with 2 TBLS of honey four times a day cures a persistent cough.
Garlic for tonsillitis. Peel a clove of garlic and cut them in half lengthwise. Boil for a couple of minutes in about 1.5 cup water and add a pinch of salt, teaspoon of butter, a pinch of pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg.
Cut a garlic clove into small pieces. Swallow them all in one go with a little water to cure bloating, stomach cramps and constipation.
10 drops of garlic juice with 2 teaspoon of honey cures asthma.
The more popular version of garlic unfortunately tends to be the "odorless" pills and capsules found in health food stores. Odorless garlic as an antibiotic or general health promotion herb is useless if it doesn't have its smell. Garlic oil and powder supplements are produced by distilling fresh garlic, and then diluting it with other substances. This process destroys the majority of allicin in garlic. Therefore, the supplements rely on the human stomach to convert some of the remaining garlic components into allicin. Although a few garlic powder supplements are able to generate some allicin within the stomach, the amount converted, if any is converted at all, is dependant upon optimal stomach conditions.
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