If you’ve had spaghetti, pizza, Italian dressings or any other foods from the Mediterranean or Indian regions this year then chances are you have had garlic in some form or another. Besides being a flavorful spice and optional spread for your favorite breads, garlic is a potent healing food herb that has been used for thousands of year to cure the sick. Due to its bitter and sour odor that it gives off, it has been given the surname: “The Stinking Rose”. Once you get past the odor that causes your breath to kick, developing a relationship with this blessed bulb can do wonders for your health.
While using it for cooking and it’s taste is good there are some specific ways that you can use it as a real medicine; a medicine that is significantly cheaper than store bought medicines and without the long list of side effects that store bought medicines cause. The biological makeup of garlic makes a powerful agent against viruses and bacteria. In fact fresh garlic, especially when juiced have been shown to be as strong as certain anti-fungal drugs that exist today. Consuming fresh or juiced garlic is effective against bacteria and yeast growth such as candida. This is done so due to the fact that when garlic is sliced or extracted, it releases a molecule called allicin. This allicin is the anti-oxidant that initiates healing and starts a chemical reaction throughout the whole body that seeks to eliminate toxins. Garlic has been considered so powerful that it is recommended for light, mild or even chronic non-dangerous infections of the mouth, ears, throat and skin, garlic can be used to treat, bronchitis, cystitis, thrush, colds, catarrh and the like.
In addition to being a medicine for viruses and bacteria, garlic has been proven to be a strong medicine for the heart. Regular consumption of garlic aids in protection against heart disease, strokes and helps reduce blood pressure. This can be an ideal natural medicine to use also for those who suffer from diabetes as well. Being that Heart Disease and heart related illness claim more lives than all forms of cancer combined, garlic should be consumed regularly when possible as a great preventative medicine. The ancient Egyptians and the Greeks were aware of the fact that garlic “keeps the arteries open”. This understanding is important not only for the flow of blood and nutrients in your body, but also for the flow of energy in your body. Blocked or clogged pathways in your body eventually causes illness; garlic is a power natural food and medicine that keeps your “pathways open” and allows you to detoxify naturally.
It doesn’t stop there. Some of the specific health uses and benefits of garlic include:
- Acidophilus growth in the gut.
- Anti-stress agent.
- Liver protective agent.
- Strengthen and powers the immune system.
- Treats allergies.
- Treats arthritis.
- Treats as cancer prevention.
- Fights colds.
- Treats fatigue.
- Clears varicose veins.
- Fights hypertension.
- Fights pneumonia.
- Treats sore throats.
- Etc.
So if you are intending to use it as a medicine for any illness listed above or for overall health, just how much should you consume? At a minimum it is recommended that you eat or juice 1 to 2 cloves of garlic a day either as a preventative measure or to treat an illness that is active; especially for a bacterial or fungal issue. Please be aware that garlic does lower the blood pressure significantly, so please consult with your doctor if you are already taking blood pressure lowering medications.
Garlic remedies for specific health issues:
- Ear Infections: Add two to four drops of warm liquid garlic extract in each infected ear. Don’t use the same dropper for both ears.
- Eye Problems: Combine equal amount of liquid garlic extract and pure water in an eyedropper and place two drops in each eye every four hours.
- Mouth Sores: Place 1 teaspoon of liquid garlic extract in your mouth. Swish for one minute before swallowing.
- For Pets: Place two drops of liquid garlic extract in the ears to ward off mites.
By now you know just how important this little bulb should be in our daily lives, if it is consumed regularly if not daily in some form in this practice. If you aren’t excited about consuming it raw in bulb form, try it in a mixed juice form:
Mixed Healing Garlic Juice:
- 1 handful of spring greens.
- 1 small tangerine.
- 1 half organic apple.
- 1 small to medium carrot.
- 1 small to medium garlic clove.
- Agave to taste.
Add all ingredients to a juicer that keeps the fiber. Blast until it is all liquid. Consume immediately, do not store.
So if you’re cooking tonight, consider adding garlic in some form or another for maximum healing. If you’re really brave eat a bulb raw; over time it gets easier. There are natural ways to treat ourselves with little to no side-effects other than some reports of lowering blood pressure, discover what garlic can do for your health and healing process.
-Dr. David (Daud) K. Scott N.D.;CHNP.
NATURES' FIRST PATH: HOlISTIC MEDICINE. 