The Odoriferous Herb

Garlic Is Mother Nature's Pungent Cure-All

I don't know about you, but one of my very favorite aromas is garlic wafting through a kitchen, especially when it's in a great tomato sauce or stir fried with some vegetables. Whether it's in a pan with olive oil or roasting in the oven, the smell of garlic sets my appetite on overdrive!

While not everyone shares my predilection for this odoriferous herb, there can be no denying that its appeal extends far beyond its smell or taste.

Time and again, garlic has come through as one of the most versatile healing herbs known to humans.

The value of garlic (Allium sativum) has been recognized since ancient Egypt, when slaves went on strike to increase their garlic rations. In the 1950s, the great Albert Schweitzer, M.D., used garlic in his African clinic to treat dysentery, typhus and cholera.

During the Second World War, garlic was used as a disinfectant for wounds and as protection against gangrene in injured soldiers.

Now, research is showing that it protects against two of the most dreaded diseases of our time: heart disease and cancer.

Some have even argued that since our ancestors ate a diet rich in a variety of plants and herbs now missing in modern diets, we should consider phytonutrient-rich plants such as garlic to be essential nutrients!

I think this is a great idea, and you can easily incorporate into your own personal diet plan just by taking aged garlic supplements.

Garlic Basics

Garlic is a member of the lily family. Its genus (Allium) also includes onions. When a clove of garlic is crushed or chewed, an odorless sulfur-containing compound, alliin, is transformed to allicin, which gives garlic its characteristic odor. Allicin is the element of garlic that has been most intensively studied and which appears to have the most medicinal value. Allicin naturally breaks down to other compounds, including daily sulfide and ajoene, which are thought to have unique healing effects on the body.

Garlic Keeps Your Blood Vessels Clear

While early studies on the heart-protective effects of garlic showed that garlic supplementation tended to decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol and raise "good" HDL, more recent research has conflicted with those results.

Whether garlic affects blood cholesterol levels or not, it still dramatically reduces the buildup of plaque (the fatty deposits that clog blood vessels) in the arteries.

In one study from the journal Atherosclerosis, 152 subjects had the amount of plaque in two major arteries measured, and then took garlic powder for 48 months. The results showed that the growth of the plaques was slowed by five to 18 percent, and that in some subjects the plaques actually became smaller.

Several studies on non-human subjects show the same trend. It appears that garlic protects the heart by way of its potent antioxidant effects. Oxidized LDL, not just LDL, is what causes plaques to grow. In study after study garlic has shown itself to be a superior preventative against LDL oxidation. Garlic also protects against clogged blood vessels by decreasing the tendency of blood to clump or clot.

Garlic Protects Against Infections Of All Kinds

Whether you want to stave off bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections, garlic is good protection. Garlic has been shown in test-tube studies and animal studies to be deadly to Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers, and to the dreaded food-borne bacteria Salmonella, E. coli, Staphylococcus and Listeria.

Bacteria do not develop resistance to garlic—a good reason to favor garlic over antibiotics! Phytochemicals in garlic are also effective at stopping cold, flu and herpes viruses in their tracks. The growth of Candida albicans, the fungal yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections and intestinal candidiasis, is slowed by garlic. Garlic kills parasites such as Giardia and Entamoeba, both common causes of chronic diarrhea.

Cancer Prevention With Garlic

Studies on gastrointestinal, colon, and breast cancer show that in populations that consume more garlic, cancer risk is significantly lower. It appears that phytochemicals in garlic interfere with the growth of several kinds of cancer cells.

Garlic is also rich in selenium, the cancer-fighting mineral, and in sulfur, which supports the detoxification process. Several studies have shown that carcinogenic chemicals are detoxified more efficiently throughout the body when garlic is added to the mix. It also helps control the production of free radicals, which have been strongly implicated as a cause of cancer.

Can Garlic Prevent "Senior Moments?"

One interesting study in the journal Experimental Gerontology described the effects of garlic extract on learning and memory impairment in aging mice. Mice specially bred to age more rapidly than their normal counterparts were used.

About half of the mice were fed a 2 percent garlic diet for eight to nine months. It was found that the garlic-supplemented mice better retained their ability to learn and remember than their counterparts who didn't consume garlic. I believe that everyone can benefit from adding garlic to their diets. Cook with it whenever you can. Fresh and powdered are both beneficial. I also recommend you take supplemental garlic. The aged garlic extracts, containing at least 0.6 percent allium, have been the most thoroughly studied.

Margie – “The Arthritis Lady” http://www.yoursuccesslinks.com

REFERENCES:

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