Garlic

This valuable food was revered in the distant past.  The Egyptians considered garlic and onions sacred, of possessing magical powers to ward off evil spirits and the effects of their bad deeds.  The Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, Babylonians and Jews all used garlic as a food and as a medicine.  But why don’t we use it more??  Considering it’s trillions of different medicinal benefits and the epidemic of chronic diseases in our society, it makes great sense to make sure one eats a clove of garlic a day!

Garlic contains ‘allicin’, which is antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial and antiparasitic!  So therefore it’s great to boost the immune system and to help fight infections.  Some studies have shown it to be more potent than many common antifungal medication.  It’s a natural antibiotic, and in World War 1 it was used to treat wounds and infections and to prevent gangrene.

It is almost as effective as some cholesterol lowering drugs, and reduces blood stickiness and dilates blood vessels - so it helps lower blood pressure and is good for the heart.  Garlic has anti-cancer compounds and it also helps lower blood sugar so it’s good for diabetics.  It helps excrete toxic heavy metals by binding to them (e.g. cadmium from cigarettes, lead from exhaust fumes, mercury from large oily fish and leaking dental fillings, and aluminium from old pots and pans), and escorting them out of the body.  It can help those who suffer with asthma, arthritis, digestive problems, liver diseases, and to help keep mosquitoes away…Is there anything it cannot do??!!

Most people can benefit from taking garlic, but not those on anticoagulant medication, those preparing for surgery and possibly breastfeeding mothers as it may cause wind in the baby.  Take 1 clove or capsule a day.  If you are fighting an infection make this 2-6 a day.  If the thought of taking garlic disgusts you due to the lingering smell, try the odourless brands available in good health food stores.  They work just as well, but the active compound allicin that gives garlic its characteristic odour is activated in the intestine, so it doesn’t cause bad breath.  Or, chew on a few sprigs of parsley or mint or on a few caraway or fennel seeds to help dispel the smell!

Why not make some soup with Wild Garlic?  The plant is wild all over the countryside at the moment and has beautiful white flowers that look like white bluebells, with a very strong smell of garlic.  Just substitute Wild Garlic for the Wild Nettles in the last article for another very healthy soup!