Food For Health - Garlic

Garlic is known as nature's antibiotic. Called "King of the Vegetable Kingdom" by Paavo Airola, a leading authority on biological medicine, it is one of the most versatile foods known to man. It is a nourishing food, a pungent seasoning and a natural medicine.

Garlic contains Allicin, which is a natural antibiotic. 1 milligram of Allicin has a potency equal to 15 standard units of Penicillin. The healing properties of Allicin are released when the garlic is "bruised" - crushed, chopped, mashed or chewed. Allicin is also responsible for the strong odor, which is why a garlic clove has little detectible odor until it is cut into.

I think it would be difficult to make an exhaustive list of all the healing benefits of garlic. But here are some of the ways garlic can be used as a beneficial, effective and healthy healer:

• Effictive against toxic bacteria, viruses and fungus.
  
• A known protectant against cancer and has been used to rid bodies of tumors and other types of cancers as early as 500 A.D. Contains more germanium, an anti-cancer agent, than any other herb.
• Effective in treating arthritis
• Improves circulation and stimulates the immune system
• Inhibits the parasitic fungus associated with AIDS
• Used to treat respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis and lung problems
• Fights Candida, Influenza, Common Colds, Heart Disease, Breast Cancer, Liver Diseases, and Infections
• Used in enemas and colonics to strengthen the colon and expell worms and other intestinal parasites
• Helps to control blood disorders
• Expels Phlegm from the respiratory tract, bowels and other parts of the body
• Stimulates the Lymphatic system to throw off waste
• Helps to control fevers
• Strengthens blood vessels
• Powerful detoxifier against pollutants and heavy metal toxicity
• Used as a cough remedy for centuries
• Externally used as a drawing poultice
• Used to wash wounds and ulcers
• Has a positive nourishing effect on stomach, spleen, lungs, heart
• Has a rejuvenating effect on all cells of the body
• Builds endurance and energy
• Provides defense against allergens
• Equalizes blood pressure - high or low
• Repels mosquitoes

There's not many ailments that garlic has not been found to have a positive effect on! We have used it a lot over the years to kill the infection that causes a sore throat, stop fevers, fight off a cold or flu, kill external infections and to ward off sicknesses that everyone around us was getting. In my post on fevers, I told how I used it to immediately break a fever in my kids when they were infants or toddlers.

The biggest deterrent for many people to using garlic, is the odor. Mainly the "garlic breath". You will only get garlic breath if the garlic mixes with your saliva. Since the wonderful healing properties of Allicin, along with it's smell, is only released when the garlic is "bruised", I take part of a garlic clove and chop it into tiny pieces on a spoon with the tip of a knife. Then swallow that down with a mouthful of water without chewing it or letting it mix with your saliva. That way you get all the healing benefits of the garlic without the garlic breath!

Fortunately, I like garlic. When I was younger I would often be found with a clove of it in my cheek. There are several fresh springs that bubble up out of the ground near my parents' house where I grew up. This created some very wet marsh-like areas where the mosquitoes often bred prolifically during certain times of the year. When I went to the barn to milk the goats in the evening, the warmth of the bodies and the milk would attract them. If the goat sensed a mosquito buzzing around her bag, she'd kick at it with her hoof. Sometimes, if I wasn't fast enough, she'd catch the edge of the milk bucket and the milk would end up on the barn floor. Grampa told me to hang garlic in the barn to keep the mosquitoes away, but it didn't seem to have any effect just hanging there, odorless, in it's papery skin. So one night I stuck a clove in my mouth and just bit it lightly enough to release some of the juice inside. When the mosquitoes started buzzing over the warm milk bucket, I'd give them a good puff of garlic breath. To my delight, they buzzed around like little crippled helicopters and fell to the barn floor! At first I thought I killed them, but after several minutes they'd start to buzz in the dust and revive. If they came back, I'd give them another puff!

I never tried my "killer breath" on anything - or anyone - else, and really wasn't interested in boys yet, but I had a good time knocking out mosquitoes while I milked and never lost any more milk on the barn floor. To keep mosquitoes from biting you, just rub a little garlic oil on your skin. You won't be bothered - probably by anyone!

Garlic is easy to grow and is a smart addition to your garden. It deters insects from invading the plants around it. You can grow it in a window box or planter in your house or apartment. Let an occasional plant go to seed so you can continue to grow more. You'll have not only fresh garlic to add to delicious recipes, but also some of nature's best medicine right at your fingertips. What a great way to add to your self-reliance!