HOW
EFFECTIVE IS GARLIC AS A MEDICINE?
The ancient Egyptians revered it,
Greek Olympians chewed it before competing, and the Chinese listed it as cure
for dozens of ailments. For centuries there has been a mystical folklore about
garlic (scientifically known as Allium sativum) and its magical healing
ability. On blind faith, many used it to cure colds, flu and a whole shopping
list of ailments. People knew garlic made them feel better, but they didn’t
always understand how.
Today scientists have discovered not
only how certain microbial and cancer-fighting chemicals from garlic work but
why they work the way they do. With years of serious research behind them, these
researchers are now convinced that garlic has been highly effective in reducing
the two leading causes of death, cancer and heart disease and extending life
itself.
STUDIES AND RESEARCH
 |
Engraving
of garlic (Allium sativum) plant,
showing
the head (bottom left), leaf, stem, and flower.
(From William
Woodville, Medical Botany, 1793).
|
One
of the leading authorities on garlic research, Dr. Robert I. Lin, chairman of
the First World Congress of the Health Significance of Garlic and Garlic
Constituents, suggests that a daily dose of cooked garlic or garlic extract
along with good eating habits and a good lifestyle “can substantially reduce
the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease in society.”
Dr. Lin discovered that when garlic is
cooked, processed, or metabolized, it releases a compound called thiol or thiol
reagents that may modulate the body’s defense against cancerous cells. He also
proved that these substances could protect the body against the harmful effect
of radiation therapy and protect the liver against environmental pollution.
“Garlic is the best candidate as a
cancer-fighting substance,” says National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientist, Dr.
Herbert Pierson. He pointed out that research in both China and Italy show a
large reduction in stomach cancer by people who ate various forms of garlic on
a daily basis.
Even more interesting is the fact that
garlic not only prevents tumor growth, but also stimulates immune cells,
according to Dr. Benjamin Lau, physician and author of the book, Garlic for
Health. “Garlic apparently stimulates the body’s immune system,
particularly enhancing the macrophages and lymphocytes, which destroy cancer
cells.”
Garlic,
a member of the onion family, has been used medicinally throughout history. It
was enlisted as a curative alternative during Europe’s “Black Plague” in the
1300s and was used to treat typhus and dysentery during World War I. “Its use
goes back at least 7,000 years to Egyptian times, when the slaves who built the
pyramids were given a daily ration of it, not only to spice their food, but to
keep them healthy,” says chemist and author Peter Josling, who wrote the book The
Complete Garlic Handbook.
In
his Natural History, Pliny (A.D. 23-79) gave an exceedingly long list of
scenarios in which it was considered beneficial. The 2nd century Greek
physician Galen eulogized it as the “rustic’s theriac” (cure-all).
In
1858, French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) observed garlic’s
antibacterial activity, and it was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene
during World War I and World War II. More recently it has been found from a
clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5 percent fresh garlic shows good
antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an
unpleasant taste and halitosis (offensive-smelling breath).
In
recent times, garlic has been shown to cause modest reductions in blood
pressure and cholesterol levels, and has been suggested to have antibiotic
properties as well. As early as 1924, garlic was used as a tincture for the
treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis or phthisis.
In
2007 a BBC news story reported that Allium sativum may have beneficial
properties, such as preventing and fighting the common cold. This assertion has
the backing of long tradition. Chinese medicine used garlic for hoarseness and
coughs. It was adopted by traditional British herbalists both as an anti-cough
syrup and in a salve mixed with lard, which was rubbed on the chest and back of
patients. The Cherokee Indians also used it as an expectorant for coughs and
croup.
Dr.
Stephen Fulder, director of Consultancy and Research of Biomedicine at Oxford
University, reports that garlic is now one of the most popular self-medications
for lowering blood pressure.
Garlic
contains vitamins A and C, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, some 75 different
sulfur compounds, and a number of amino acids, which are the building blocks of
proteins. The sulfur-containing compound allicin, found in fresh garlic but in
only trace amounts in supplements, has been shown to protect against cancers in
studies done on animals.
One of the first large studies to
suggest a link between garlic consumption and cancer prevention was the Iowa
Women’s Health Study, published in 1994, which included more than 40,000 women.
Researchers found that of all the fruits and vegetables studied, garlic had the
strongest association with a decreased risk of colon cancer.
One reason for garlic’s beneficial
effects may be its ability to lessen the amount of free radicals present in the
bloodstream. According to a study published in Life Sciences, a daily
dose of one milliliter per kilogram of body weight of garlic extract for six
months resulted in a significant reduction in oxidant (free radical) stress in
the blood of patients with atherosclerosis. Since atherosclerotic plaques
develop when cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream is damaged or oxidized,
garlic’s ability to prevent these oxidation reactions may explain some of its
beneficial effects in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. A German study
published in Toxicology Letters indicates that garlic also greatly
reduces plaque deposition and size by preventing the formation of the initial
complex that develops into an atherosclerotic plaque. Called “nanoplaque,” it
is formed when calcium binds to proteoheparan sulfate and then to LDL
cholesterol. Garlic prevents the binding of calcium to proteoheparan sulfate,
thus decisively inhibiting plaque generation.
MEDICAL POTENTIALS
 |
| Four cloves of raw garlic, contain around 35 to 50 milligrams of allicin. |
Research presented at the 6th Annual
Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology held by the
American Heart Association in Washington, D.C., suggests that garlic can help
prevent and potentially reverse atherosclerotic plaque formation. The
laboratory studies, conducted by well-known German scientist Professor
Güautnter Siegel, M.D., from the University of Medicine in Berlin, Germany,
found that powdered garlic reduced the formation of nanoplaque (the first
building blocks of atherosclerotic plaque) by up to 40 percent and reduced the
size of the nanoplaque that did form by up to 20 percent
Laboratory research by Swedish
scientists and US published in the August 2005 Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences reveals the mechanism behind garlic’s cardiovascular
benefits. The compounds in garlic responsible for its pungency also excite a
neuron pathway providing cardiovascular benefits. Garlic’s pungency – and that
of the other members of the Allium genus, such as onions, leeks and
chives – results from its organosulphur compounds, allicin and diallyl
disulphide (DADS). In this current in vitro study, allicin and DADS were
found to activate perivascular sensory nerve endings, inducing the relaxation
and enlargement of blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving blood
flow throughout the body.
One of the breakdown products of
allicin is S-allyl Cysteine (SAC), a water-soluble chemical shown by studies at
Pennsylvania State University to kill or retard the growth of breast cancer
cells. Another study at the same university showed diallyl disulfide (DADS) and
diallyl trisulfide (DATS), both oil-soluble garlic components, kill or retard
the development of lung, skin and colon cancers.
Why is solubility important? There are
two systems of circulation in the human body, one for water-soluble solutions
(the arterial/venous system) and one for fat or oil-soluble compounds (the
lymphatic system). Since some cancer cells spread via the lymphatic system, the
oil-soluble DADS or DATS can seek them out. SAC can spread throughout the body
to find cancer cells via the circulatory system, due to its water-solubility.
The compounds retard the cellular division and, therefore, growth of cancer
cells in the body via both channels, increasing the chance of being able to control,
or slow down the rate of development of the cancer. It’s good to know that
garlic has both kinds of compounds.
“It has long been argued that garlic
can fight a wide range of infections and now we have provided biochemical
evidence for this claim.” The medical journal, Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy, have confirmed the chemotherapeutic “Effects Of Garlic.” The
researchers were able to study how garlic works at the molecular level using
allicin, garlic’s main biologically active component.
One study, explains how allicin fights
infection. This research supports the notion that garlic is an excellent
natural antimicrobial drug that can disable an unusually wide variety of
infectious organisms.
The second study helps to clarify the
role allicin plays in preventing heart disease and other disorders. Scientists
revealed and characterized a molecular mechanism by which allicin blocks
certain groups of enzymes. Allicin, created when garlic cloves are crushed,
protects the plant from soil parasites and fungi and is also responsible for
garlic’s pungent smell.
A natural weapon against infection,
the research revealed allicin disables dysentery-causing amoebas by blocking
two groups of enzymes, cysteine proteinases and alcohol dehydrogenases.
Cysteine proteinase enzymes are among the main culprits in infection, providing
infectious organisms with the means to damage and invade tissues. Alcohol
dehydrogenase enzymes play a major role in these harmful organisms’ metabolism
and survival. Because these groups of enzymes are found in a wide variety of
infectious organisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, this research
provides a scientific basis for the notion that allicin is a broad-spectrum
antimicrobial, capable of killing bacteria and viruses and warding off
different types of infections.
Experiments by competent scientists,
as well as experiences by ordinary people, have shown beyond any reasonable
doubt that consuming garlic generally has the following physical and
physiological effects:
● Raw Garlic is a potent natural
antibiotic. While not as strong as modern hardcore antibiotics, it can kill
strains of bacteria that have become immune or resistant to modern antibiotics.
The role of allicin in warding off infection may be particularly valuable in
light of the growing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. It is unlikely that
bacteria would develop resistance to allicin because this would require
modifying the very enzymes that make their activity possible.
● Garlic has anti-fungal and anti-viral
properties. The allicin compound in garlic kills staph microorganisms in
contact. (Note: Raw garlic can burn delicate skin).
● Garlic lowers blood pressure.
● Garlic lowers LDL Cholesterol.
● Garlic helps reduce atherosclerotic
buildup (plaque) within the arterial system. One recent study shows this effect
to be greater in women than men.
● Garlic lowers or helps to regulate
blood sugar.
● Garlic helps to prevent blood clots
from forming, thus reducing the possibility of strokes and thromboses (It may
not be good for hemophiliacs).
● Garlic helps to prevent cancer,
especially of the digestive system, prevents certain tumors from growing larger
and reduces the size of certain tumors.
● Garlic helps to remove heavy metals
such as lead and mercury from the body.
● Garlic dramatically reduces yeast
infections due to Candida species.
● Garlic has anti-oxidant properties
and is a source of selenium, which has been shown to have anti-tumor
properties, and also provides protection against heavy metal toxicity. A
cofactor of glutathione peroxidase (one of the body’s most important internally
produced antioxidants), selenium also works with vitamin E in a number of vital
antioxidant systems. Since vitamin E is one of the body’s top defenders in all
fat-soluble areas, while vitamin C protects the water-soluble areas, garlic,
which contains both nutrients, does a good job of covering all the bases.
AGAINST THE DREADED CORONAVIRUSES
This is just my personal experience. When
I was a young kid, bronchitis seemed to be my diagnosed annual ailment. I’m
always having persistent coughs and colds that last for a long time, even
months in some occasions. Doctors then would prescribe cough syrups, expectorants,
and loads of antibiotics. I felt my body, my immune system, going weak. Until I
get to learn herbalism. I started using natural herbs to treat my ailments,
especially when pharmaceutical drugs weren't particularly affective. It works – on my
coughs, colds, sore throats, and even in preventing the onset of flu! So, from
that moment on, whenever I feel like having a cold or flu, I would take herbs,
ginger and garlic in particular. Ginger for sore throat and itchy lungs, and
garlic for colds and flu. Both have been proven medically and scientifically to
have antibiotic properties.
The recent appearance of a new strain
of Coronavirus in Wuhan, China, alarmed the entire world population. This 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) possesses
a deadly epidemic threat. It is easily transmitted through contact with the
infected people and animals. Experts said that the 2019-nCoV is more contagious
but less deadly than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). With the current geographical movements, it is
almost impossible to stop the coronavirus outbreak from spreading globally.
The
common cold has been associated with more than a hundred different viruses,
including Human Coronavirus and Rhinovirus. Common symptoms include nasal and throat
discomfort, followed by sneezing, runny nose, coughing, nasal congestion and
breathing difficulty, onset of flu or flu-like symptoms, weakness, and
infirmity. Just like with the common
cold virus, many recent strain of the coronavirus can stay on objects and items
outside the body, from clothes to door handles, to glasses and accessories, and
can circulate in the air that people breathe. The common cold viruses that
belong to the same coronavirus family can survive on indoor surfaces for more
than 7 days, although their ability to cause an infection will be rapidly
reduced after 24 hours. It cannot survive on warm and hot environment.
As scary as it may sound, we need to
be fully aware that the novel coronavirus infection can only be lethal for
those with a weak immune system. Initial diagnoses say that people with a
strong immune system are unlikely to die from coronavirus infection. Elderly
people, children, people who suffer from diabetes, lung disease, cancer or
other chronic diseases are at a higher risk of the life-threatening condition
induced by coronavirus infection.
Now, so as not to be accused of
practicing medicine without a license or quackery, this is just my theory, take
it “with a grain of salt” and due diligence, review my research, and the logic
behind my idea.
Whenever I feel like having a cold or
flu, I either chew a few pieces of garlic, swallow it and drink a little water,
or take garlic oil capsule (available at herbal shops and drugstore). This I do half
to an hour after eating. The first option is better, as you will feel the heat
surging through your body. The next step is breathing in, inhaling air through your
mouth, and then breathing out, exhaling through your nose. This will hasten and
facilitate the “heat” from the garlic to pass through your lungs. I don’t
recommend inhaling garlic oil into your nose (like other herbalists do).
According to coronavirus researchers,
one peculiar primary characteristic of this microbe is it seeks your lungs and
attach to the walls with their antenna-like crown spikes. But the virus is
easily killed when exposed to heat.
Garlic has several anti-microbial
components and it packs a wallop of bio-heat to do the finishing kick against
fungi, bacteria and viruses. Get the logic?!
Of course one needs to have a healthy
immune system. This you do by eating healthy food and supplementing it with
intake of multi-vitamins and micronutrients (for this ailment, zinc is vital
and selenium, which is also present in garlic).
NOTE: You
also need to know if you are allergic to ginger and garlic and, if you’re
taking any forms of pharmaceutical drugs, if it is contra-indicatory to the
drug. Eating raw garlic or taking garlic supplement
may reduce the effectiveness of certain drugs like those you drink for blood
clotting. Garlic is also known to help protect our body from toxic chemicals,
consequently, it may treat certain drug components as toxic chemicals that need
to be removed from the body.
