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Good Old Garlic
Garlic Allium sativum
Family: Alliaceae
Energetics: warming, drying
Taste: Pungent
Plant Properties: Circulatory stimulant, alterative, diaphoretic, expectorant, antimicrobial, antiseptic, carminative, immune-modulating, vermifuge, antispasmodic, counter-irritant, emmenagogue, anti-diabetic, anti-histamine, detoxifier, hypotensive, anti-cholesterol, anti-atherosclerosis, cholagogue, aphrodisiac
Therapeutic uses: Hypertension, fungal infections, bacterial infections, optimising cholesterol levels, colds, flu, bronchial congestion, small intestinal bacteria overgrowth, digestion, asthma, dysentery, cancer, parasites, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance
Applications: Food, oil, vinegar, honey
Origins: Garlic only grows wildly in Central Asia; it's now farmed worldwide
Perfectly Pungent Panacea
We typically cook with the small cloves inside the bulb of the garlic plant. Savoury, pungent and indescribably tasty, garlic has long delighted people's taste buds with its strident, aromatic punch that adds depth and dimension to multitudes of dishes. Beyond imparting mouth-watering piquancy to recipes of all kinds, garlic also offers some incredibly healthy benefits when eaten. Indeed there are so many very good reasons to include garlic in our everyday diet. Garlic contains powerful phytochemicals and has been used as effective natural medicine throughout history in various cultures. Garlic admirably aids in fighting disease, combating inflammation and healing wounds with its antibiotic, antifungal actions. The powerful immune-boosting benefits of garlic make it a super food for protecting against myriad common ailments.
It's nutrient-dense
Garlic is packed with nutritious vitality-donating goodness. One clove of garlic is a nutritional powerhouse, containing essential nutrients like vitamin B6, fiber and selenium, manganese, zinc, sulphur, iron, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium and more.
Medicinally Potent
Garlic is one of the most effective anti-microbial plants available, acting on bacteria, viruses and alimentary parasites. It is one of the finest treatments to fight residual cold and flu symptoms. The antifungal properties of garlic work to hinder yeast infections and fight off multiple viral symptoms. Where some strains of staphylococci are antibiotic resistant, garlic can effectively clear the infection and reduce inflammation.
Smelly health Benefits
We are all familiar with that pungent breath after eating garlic; well this is how garlic does its job. Did you know that if you rub fresh garlic onto the soles of your feet, within hours its sulphurous smell is easily detected on the breath? This permeating quality of garlic is an important part of its medicine; the sulphur compounds contribute heavily to its smelly health benefits. These thio-Sulfinite chemicals in garlic bulbs are converted into allicin when it is sliced, chopped or crushed. Garlic’s volatile oil is largely excreted via the lungs and accordingly is very helpful to treats infections of the respiratory system such as chronic bronchitis, respiratory catarrh, recurrent colds and influenza. In general, garlic can be used as a preventative for most infectious conditions, digestive as well as respiratory.
Garlic Boosts the Immune System
Our body’s immunity protects us from illness when the situation calls for it, however garlic augments its innate defence actions, offering an extra boost to the immune system to help prevent colds and the flu virus. Garlic particularly shines when our own capacity to protect against illness is struggling or compromised.
Garlic makes it harder for pathogens to take hold; fighting them off by boosting the white blood cell response.
Garlic The Antibiotic Ally
Garlic’s active allicin is considered a potent natural antibiotic and its effectiveness is noteworthy. The good thing is, garlic doesn’t kill off our beneficial bacterial flora while it kills pathogenic organisms, like most antibiotic drugs will do and so augmenting any treatment safely with garlic during an infection is an easy and prudent move. When garlic is used in conjunction with conventionally prescribed antibiotics, garlic can provide added support in battling infections. Garlic can be used topically against fungal infections, warts and middle ear infection (otitis media). Add a crushed clove to mullein oil for ear infections; strain the oil before using of course. Apply garlic oil to fungal infections.
Garlic is a Heart Tonic
Garlic is known to be a cardiovascular system tonic that helps reduce the risk of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke that are two of the most significant health concerns worldwide. High blood pressure is a considerable risk factor for heart disease and the cause of 13.5 percent of deaths worldwide. If we eat garlic everyday with our food it significantly helps lower high blood pressure or hypertension, especially if we are thus predisposed.
Garlic Lowers Cholesterol
Thanks to garlics’ cardio-protective compound allicin, it regulates cholesterol including lowering LDL or "bad," cholesterol. Furthermore, eating garlic does not influence our HDL or good cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty and critical component in the blood. An imbalance, with too much “bad” LDL cholesterol and not enough “good” HDL cholesterol, can lead to some serious health issues. A few cloves of garlic can be be safely consumed everyday to help avoid high cholesterol, especially if there is a family history of heart disease or are dealing with heart-related issues.
Garlic’s Promising Anticancer Properties
The health benefits of garlic, in the realm of cancer prevention, have become a subject of much research and it is revealed that garlic can help protect the body against lung, prostate, bladder, stomach and liver cancer. Regular consumption of garlic can also help lessen the risk of colon cancer, especially in women who have a 35% lower chance of getting it. More research is required to fully understand the specific anticancer activity of garlic and how its bioactive molecules kill or inhibit the growth of cancerous cells.
Garlic Packs an Antioxidant Punch
Garlic, with its high volume of antioxidants, can help prevent oxidative damage from occurring in your body. These antioxidant properties can help prevent certain cognitive diseases, like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Garlic helps fend off free radicals reducing oxidative stress and combats systemic inflammation. Garlic is so high in antioxidants like polyphenols and flavonoids, containing more than 20 polyphenolic compounds.
Garlic the Athlete’s Best Friend
This ingredient is one of the earliest performance enhancers available to alleviate weariness and boost the endurance of workers and athletes. Indeed garlic strengthens the body and heart which is key to maintaining overall fitness Ultimately, incorporating garlic into our diet helps delay fatigue during physical exertion, making it a natural ally for those aiming to enhance their athletic performance.
Garlic Detoxes the Body
Incorporating garlic into the diet, we not only add rich flavour to our dishes but also assist our body in the crucial task of detoxifying from the challenges of the modern world. In our day-to-day lives, we are exposed to a wide range of chemicals and compounds. Some of these chemicals and compounds include: Pesticides and chemicals used in agriculture, radiation etc. from nuclear plants personal care products containing chemicals, household cleaners and other household products. Garlic is a powerful detox food that arms us to shed these toxins from our body. It does this by promoting glutathione production by various liver enzymes. It also provides other important detoxifying components, including multiple bioactive selenium and sulphur compounds.
Garlic Improve Bone Health
Fortifying the bones and safeguarding against age-related bone concerns is yet another natural benefit of garlic. Garlic has emerged as a valuable ally for bone health, particularly for menopausal women. When women experience bone loss during menopause due to reduced estrogen production, garlic can assist in reducing oxidative stress. Garlic plays a supportive role by encouraging estrogen production, potentially halting bone loss and offering protection against conditions like osteoarthritis.
Garlic’s Colourful History
You cannot talk about garlic and not elaborate on its fascinating and colourful history. Indeed garlic has inspired belief in its healing abilities for many centuries. Right up until modern times, garlic still boasts a well-respected prominence in both the Materia Medica for herbalists and recipes of discerning cooks. The name “garlic” is of Anglo-Saxon origin, being derived from gar (a spear) and lac (a plant), in reference to the shape of its leaves. Garlic is among the oldest known horticultural crops.
Garlic was very important to the Egyptians and they prescribed it for abnormal growths, parasites, insect infestation and general malaise. Garlic was paid to pyramid workers and was believed to improve their strength and stamina. Garlic cloves were found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb, which dates from 1500 BC. Assyrians used garlic as an antibiotic and to pack into rotten teeth cavities. Excavations of ancient Greek temples revealed preserved garlic. Ancient Greek Olympians used garlic to increase strength and ate much of it before they competed. To this day there is a curious superstition in some parts of Europe, that if a morsel of the bulb be chewed by a man running a race it will prevent his competitors from getting ahead of him. The Greek physician Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), recommended garlic for 23 different ailments; including animal bites (also of shrew and scorpion), tapeworms, epilepsy, lack of desire and neutralising the effects of the poisonous plants aconite and henbane.
Historical protection against plague and pestilence
Roman sailors and soldiers used garlic for strength and courage. Dioscorides (40-90 AD), the chief physician for Nero’s army, prescribed garlic because it “cleans the arteries and opens up the mouths of the veins.” At the time, arteries were thought to carry air and veins to carry blood throughout the body. Hippocrates (460-370 BC) recommended garlic for pulmonary ailments, to aid in the release of the placenta, to treat sores, as a purgative agent and for abdominal growths, especially uterine. In Islam there is a Mohammedan legend: 'when Satan stepped out from the Garden of Eden after the fall of man, Garlik sprang up from the spot where he placed his left foot, and onion from that where his right foot touched.'
The Chinese used garlic as a food preservative that eliminated the noxious effects of putrid meat and fish and also unwholesome water. Historically garlic was prescribed to remove poisons from the body, prevent plague, support digestion, treat diarrhea and control worm infestations. In the Middle Ages garlic was consumed with beverages to alleviate constipation and to prevent heatstroke. Vikings and Phoenicians stocked their ships with garlic for medicinal and spiritual purposes. French gravediggers drank a crushed infusion of garlic to protect them from the plague. In 1858 Louis Pasteur discovered that garlic has antibacterial properties. During both World Wars, it was used as a battlefield antiseptic, nicknamed “Russian penicillin.”
Garlic excites the passions
Garlic was always known to improve male potency and has much historic cultural use in aphrodisiacs. Studies today show how it improves libido and semen production. In Ayurvedic medicine garlic is considered "rajas", which is a food that excites the passions, especially sexuality. Male celibates, particularly in India, still do not consume garlic; it was forbidden for monks of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism alike as a shared cultural heritage. Garlic (along with onions and leeks) has a heating property that was believed to not be conducive to making progress on the spiritual path.
Many modern more open-minded spiritual adepts have proved that garlic is no obstacle to the development of Consciousness on their spiritual growth. They consider that to deny their body garlic’s remarkably cleansing and purifying properties is self-limiting and not particularly intelligent action; especially when garlic could be so beneficial for health. All plants are Divine gifts that humans can enjoy for their healing properties and energy. Spiritual growth depends on the consistent and devoted effort of deepening meditation to better know the Self; this includes the embodied self with all its cruder appetites and extraordinary capacities. Human Consciousness is unassailable and so much vaster and eternally pure than we can imagine, for it to be so easily sullied by the benign act of eating garlic.
Garlic - The Vampire Repellent
History is laced with stories of how vampires are repelled by garlic, it may be the smell, it's traditional use or both. Garlic along with salt and silver are all associated with different warding off evil creatures like vampires. Garlic was and still is in parts of the world hung in entryways, windows and by the bed, to keep vampires at bay. Some European beliefs around vampires stated they were created by a disease of the blood, likely porphyria, so a powerful antibiotic like garlic would “kill” a vampire as it countered a vampire's biology. Garlic’s use as a preservative and healing herb, keeping rot, decay and putrefaction from spreading to preserve the body was an obvious choice to ward off evil including vampires. " Dracula," Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, cemented the idea that the Count could not bear the smell of garlic. This portrayal has influenced countless adaptations in movies, TV shows and other media, in which garlic remains a powerful vampire deterrent.
Folkloric Garlic remedies – not for faint-hearted
