Garlic..good for you

[Guest guest]

In response to the post I made the other day about finding out some info on the anti-virals, I looked up some stuff on garlic. Garlic is an awesome herb. I think we should be using it to help us fight whatever chronic infections we may have.

Remember, Stoff said the first part of healing is to put viruses into remission. Antibiotics cannot kill viruses. But there are other products that have anti-viral activity, and I am exploring these. Garlic is one of them. Here is what I found out about garlic. You can also do an Internet search if you want to read more about garlic on your own. Some of this info will be taken directly out of books I have in my library. I'll list these at the end.

Garlic is probably the most well-recognized medicinal herb. It is used by traditional medicines all over the world. The chemistry and pharmacology of garlic is well studied--over 1000 research papers have been published in the past 25 years.

Garlic preparations are known for their antibiotic, antifungal and antiviral activity. During World War II, Russia ran out of antibiotics to treat its many casualties so they reverted to the original antibiotic: raw garlic was rubbed on the wound. It became known as "Russian Penicillin".

Dr. Weil says, "The best home remedy I have found for colds is to eat several cloves of raw garlic at the first onset of symptoms. Eating raw garlic does not appeal to everyone, but garlic loses its antibiotic properties when you cook or dry it, and commercial garlic capsules do not preserve the full activity of the fresh bulb. You can make raw garlic more palatable by chopping it fine, mixing it with food, and eating it with a meal. Or, cut a clove into chunks and swallow them whole like pills. If it gives you flatulence, eat less. If you eat garlic regularly, and have a good attitude about it (Patty asks, "what's that supposed to mean????"), you will not smell of it. Chewing some fresh parsley after eating garlic also minimizes the odor.

According to studies reported in the Journal of the National Medical Association, and Medical Hypotheses, garlic has been shown to be a powerful anti-biotic against gram-negative, gram-positive and acid-fast bacteria. It has even been shown to be effective against strains of bacteria that usually resist treatment, including staphylococcus, mycobacteria, salmonella, and the species of Proteus bacteria.

Studies in the test tube show that garlic is effective against both the influenza B virus and the herpes virus hominis type I virus. Researchers have suggested that in the test tube, the garlic was shown to be directly effective against the viruses; in some experiments conducted in the body, part of the effectiveness of the garlic may be due to its effects on the immune system, which then mounts an attack on the viruses, too.

Numerous articles from American and foreign literature describe the inhibitory action of garlic (Allium sativum) on candida organisms. One tells of the effect of garlic juice on staphylococcus aureus and E. coli, as well as candida albicans. Candida albicans was found to be the most sensitive of these three organisms to garlic juice. Still another article noted that all but 2 out of 26 strains of candida albicans were sensitive to aqueous dilutions of garlic extract.

Here is Garlic's reputation for rejuvenating brain and immunity, according to Investigative Nutritionist Carper:

Remarkable new research in Japan reveals that eating garlic can restore brain functioning and immune functioning in aged rats, two faculties that typically deteriorate with age. Garlic may even help prevent and reverse Alzheimer's like senility, according to Dr. Hiroshi Saito, professor of pharmaceutical studies at the University of Tokyo, who has screened dozens of natural and synthetic products in a search for new drug treatments for senile dementia. He documented that garlic extract suppresses destruction of rat brain cells (neurons) and, more startling, even stimulates the branching of new brain neurons. Thus, garlic helps ensure brain cell survival and "leads to neural regeneration, " says Dr. Saito, meaning old brains can grow younger.

Dr. Gilles Fillion of the Pasteur Institute in France says this about Garlic's Prozac like effects:

"I suspect garlic is anti-stress, anti-anxiety and acts as a sort of anti-depressant like Prozac, although with a much milder effect. Eating garlic may just make you feel better." Dr. Fillion has found that garlic affects the release of serotonin--a ubiquitous brain chemical involved in regulating a wide spectrum of moods and behavior, including anxiety, depression, pain, aggression, stress, sleep and memory. Higher levels of serotonin and serotonin activity in the brain tend to act as a tranquilizer to calm you down, induce sleep and relieve depression. Dr. Fillion believes garlic helps normalize the serotonin system. A Japanese study of mice once found that garlic extract was 60 percent effective as Valium in relieving stress.

My Holistic Herbal book says this:

Garlic is among the few herbs that have a universal usage an recognition. Its daily usage aids and supports the body in ways that no other herb does. It is one of the most effective anti-microbial plants available, acting on bacteria, viruses, and alimentary parasites. The volatile oil is an effective agent and as it is largely excreted via the lungs, it is used in respiratory infections such as chronic bronchitis, catarrh, recurrent colds and influenza. It may be helpful in the treatment of whooping cough and as part of a broader approach to bronchitic asthma. It may be used as a preventative for most infectious conditions, digestive as well as respiratory. For the digestive tract, garlic will support the development of natural bacteria flora whilst killing pathogenic organisms. In addition, it will reduce blood pressure when taken over a period of time as well as reducing blood cholesterol levels. It has been used externally for the treatment of ringworm and threadworm.

A clove should be eaten three times a day. If the smell becomes a problem, use garlic oil capsules. Take three once a day as a prophylactic or three times a day when an infection occurs.

Another book I have says to derive garlic's legendary antiseptic powers, experts recommend a minimum of twelve whole cloves a day--preferably taken raw.

That's alot of garlic!

Here is a Ukranian remedy for old age debility:

Grind one pound of garlic, add it to a jar with the juice of twenty four lemons and leave covered for twenty four days. After which take one teaspoon at night.

When I had a kidney infection recently, I got up in the middle of the night, and ate 5 whole large cloves of garlic. The next night when I got into bed with my husband he told me I smelled like garlic. <sigh>.

Okay, I'm ready to eat some garlic anyway.

Patty

Sources:

Dr. Weil: Natural Health, Natural Medicine

Dr. Earl Mindell: Garlic, the Miracle Nutrient

Dr. Crook: The Yeast Connection

Burton Goldberg: Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia & Environmental Illness

Carper: Stop Aging Now

Hoffman: Holistic Herbal