Today, we know garlic is an excellent herb for creating and maintaining overall health, but it also has many lesser known, but powerful qualities. For example, many people don't know that it's a naturally powerful antibiotic. This natural antibiotic is effective against toxic bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Available in pills, capsules, liquid and actual raw cloves, garlic is one of the most popular healthy herbs around today.
Garlic helps platelet stickiness or aggregation to help reduce blood coagulation, and promote heart health.
The antioxidant properties of garlic help scavenge harmful free radicals, which can damage LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood stream.
Garlic also promotes increased bile production to help reduce levels of fat in the liver. Garlic pills also help ward off coughs and colds.
Current research has shown that a number of readily available foods such as garlic and onions that make up a healthy diet, actually have a major impact on cancer prevention. The protective effect of garlic seems to be greater than that of onions, even though onion consumption has been shown to reduce the risk of stomach cancer. These cancer fighting foods seem to have the ability to interfere with the development of cancerous tumors.
Not surprisingly the presence of all these antioxidants in garlic have a very positive effect on the immune system in general and can therefore protect the body against all types of bacterial and viral attacks. Research has recently even shown it to have an inhibiting effect on MSRA which is currently reeking such havoc in U.K. hospitals.
Garlic also acts as a good cold medication, decongestant and expectorant. It is a surprisingly good source of vitamins C, B6 and the minerals selenium and manganese all of which have long been associated with immune system boosting as well as other benefits.
Allicin is the most potent substance found in garlic and this has been shown to not only lower blood pressure, insulin and triglyceride levels in laboratory animals fed a sugar rich diet, but also to prevent weight gain.
A study published in the American Journal of Hypertension reported that animals who developed high insulin levels, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides were given either allicin or served as a control.
The researchers concluded that allicin may be of practical value for weight control.
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.
