If you aren't getting garlic in your daily diet, you are missing out on some great health benefits. The other side of that is if you prefer to
take garlic in supplement form, you need to do your homework and find a
brand that processes it in a way that doesn't destroy the
nutrients - or add unwanted chemicals during the processing.
Garlic may have more universal recognition than any other herb that is in use today, anywhere in the world. Some of us cook a lot with garlic and then many of us either don't like to handle it or for some reason simply don't use it much in their recipes.
Garlic History
Garlic is a member of the lily family and has been prized for over 5000 years, dating back to Egyptian pharoahs and ancient Chinese emperors who treasured it for its health benefits. Did you know that Egyptian slaves received a daily ration so they could continue to build their pyramids? The garlic bulb has been handed down through the centuries as a preventive medicine and cure-all that many medieval folk healers claimed would even ward off vampires, witches, and other unwanted imaginary creatures.
Daily usage of garlic supports your body in ways that no other herb does. The strong odor of garlic is primarily due to the allicin in it and sulfur containing compounds that account for most of its medicinal properties. Research studies have shown that the potency and the effectiveness of garlic is greatly affected by the processing method. This is why we suggest doing your homework on a garlic supplement before taking one. The brands that deodorize improperly, such as drying garlic in the sun for 18 months or using chemicals like alcohol can product products that are significantly less effective in terms of the health benefits they will provide.
In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that eating garlic appears to boost our natural supply of hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is actually poisonous at high concentrations — it’s the same noxious byproduct of oil refining that smells like rotten eggs. But the body makes its own supply of the stuff, which acts as an antioxidant and transmits cellular signals that relax blood vessels and increase blood flow. http://well.blogs.nytimes.
A little history about garlic being associated with broad spread anti microbial activity against bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi and also quite impressive for a little bulb: all the way back in the mid 1800's, Louis Pasteur noted its antibiotic properties and Albert Schweitzer, MD, treated with it in Africa. In studies the anti microbial effects were compared to commonly used antibiotics including penicillin, azithromycin and tetracycline. The same studies demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting the growth of some bacteria that had become resistant to one or more of the usual antibiotics.
Garlic Benefits
As an anti-fungal, garlic has been shown to be more potent that several of the prescription anti-fungals. Herbalists recommend garlic for specific ailments like: colds (especially recurring), coughs, flu, chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, ringworm, asthma, intestinal worms, fever, and digestive, gall bladder and liver disorders.
Garlic is the most beneficial in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, including providing several actions that help reduce total serum cholesterol while increasing HDL - the good cholesterol. HDL is a protective factor against heart disease.
Garlic has been shown to help decrease systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with high blood pressure and help reduce the risks of heart attacks in people who have heart disease.
Garlic is the best anti-clotting herb, with 9 different anticoagulant compounds.
It can help with altitude sickness.
It helps babies nurse better.
The anti-inflammatory action helps reduce the inflammation of arthritis.
Garlic can be used to treat yeast infections.
Do You Need Garlic?
Given all the health benefits and medicinal properties of garlic, it is an herb that everyone might want to consume every day. Most of the studies associated with garlic for health purposes are based on having 3 to 8 cloves per day. That might seem like a lot to you. Like anything that is healthy, some is better than none.
The Shaklee supplement, Garlic Complex, includes garlic that has not been deodorized, so the potency and effectiveness of the ingredients is strong. The rosemary and spearmint that are included in the formulation mask the odor so that people who eat Shaklee garlic can be close to you without being offensive! Two tablets are equivalent to one clove of garlic.
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