Uses Of Garlic

1. What is Garlic?

Garlic, Latin name Allium sativum, belongs to the onion family Alliaceae including shallots, and leek. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both medicinal and culinary purposes. The garlic bulb is divided into sections called cloves.

Elephant garlic or Russian garlic is a variant of the species leek and not considered a true garlic. It has a tall, solid, flowering stalk and broad, flat leaves much like those of the leek, but forms a bulb consisting of very large, garlic like cloves.

Is Garlic Good for You?

Garlic is one of the most valuable and versatile foods on the planet. Garlic belongs to the Allium family of vegetables which also includes onions, chives, shallots and leeks.

Today garlic is a widely recognized health enhancing supplement. Garlic promotes the well-being of the heart and immune systems with antioxidant properties and helps maintain healthy blood circulation. One of garlic’s most potent health benefits includes the ability to enhance the body’s immune cell activity.

The active component in garlic is the sulfur compound called allicin. Allicin is the chemical produced when garlic is chopped, chewed, or bruised. Allicin is quite powerful as an antibiotic and a potent agent that helps the body to inhibit the ability of germs to grow and reproduce. In fact, it’s said that 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin.

There are now over 12 studies published around the world that confirm that garlic can reduce cholesterol.

Recently researchers in Oxford and America have published some summaries of all the good data on garlic. Garlic is known to stimulate T-lymphocyte and macrophage action, promote interleukin-1 levels, and support natural killer cells. Strong activity of these key cells promotes healthy immune system function, and strengthens the body’s defenses.

2. Brief History of Garlic

Garlic was rare in traditional English cuisine (though it is said to have been grown in England before 1548), and has been a much more common ingredient in Mediterranean Europe.

Builders of the ancient pyramids were said to eat garlic daily for enhanced endurance and strength.

Garlic was placed by the ancient Greeks on the piles of stones at cross-roads, as a supper for Hecate.

Roman emperors couldn’t eat enough of it, as it was considered an antidote to poisons which were very popular in certain political circles of the time.

The Spanish have long used garlic as a preservative which helps to add credence to its anti-bacterial properties and whole books have been devoted to the health benefits of garlic.

The inhabitants of Pelusium in lower Egypt, who worshipped the onion, are said to have had an aversion to both onions and garlic as food.

European beliefs once considered garlic a powerful ward against demons, werewolves, and vampires. To ward off vampires, garlic could be worn, hung in windows or rubbed on chimneys and keyholes.

3. Garlic Facts

Garlic has germanium in it. Germanium is an anti-cancer agent, and garlic has more of it than any other herb. In lab tests, mice fed garlic showed no cancer development, whereas mice that weren’t fed garlic showed at least some. In fact, garlic has been shown to retard tumor growth in human subjects in some parts of the world.

Another benefit of garlic is it helps regulate the body’s blood pressure. So whether you have problems with low or high blood pressure, garlic can help equalize it.

Garlic helps strengthen your body’s defenses against allergies; helps loosen plaque from the artery walls; helps regulate your blood sugar levels; and is the best choice for killing and expelling parasites such as pin worms from the human body.

In addition to all these health benefits, garlic is packed with vitamins and nutrients. Some of these include protein, potassium, Vitamins A, B, B2 and C, Calcium, Zinc and many others.

In a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, allicin powder was found to reduce the incidence of the common cold by over 50%.

Garlic and onions are toxic to cats and dogs.

Garlic can thin the blood similar to the effect of aspirin.

Drinking lemon juice or eating a few slices of lemon will stop bad garlic breath.

It is traditional to plant garlic on the shortest day of the year. Whether this is for symbolic or practical reasons is unclear.

4. Garlic Home Remedies

Garlic is an invaluable medicine for asthma, hoarseness, coughs, difficulty of breathing, and most other disorders of the lungs, being of particular virtue in chronic bronchitis, on account of its powers of promoting expectoration.

An older remedy for asthma, that was most popular, is a syrup of Garlic, made by boiling the garlic bulbs till soft and adding an equal quantity of vinegar to the water in which they have been boiled, and then sugared and boiled down to a syrup. The syrup is then poured over the boiled garlic bulbs, which have been allowed to dry meanwhile, and kept in a jar. Each morning a bulb or two should be taken, with a spoonful of the syrup.

For ear infections:  Wrap a small piece of garlic in some tissue, and insert it into the ear. Leave it there overnight if possible. Pain is almost immediately removed and the infection tends to start clearing up overnight.

For scratchy throats:  Put a small slice of garlic in your mouth and suck on it for 10-15 minutes. You can put it between your teeth and cheek, then scratch it with your teeth a little to help stimulate juice from the garlic slice. This juice slides down your throat and removes the pain.

Garlic can heal the pain caused by insect bites like those of scorpions and centipedes. The juice of fresh garlic mixed with salt can be applied to bruises, sprains and ringworms.

At the first sign of a cold, chop up 4 cloves of raw garlic and eat or use it as a garnish in soups etc.

Cut raw garlic and rub the cut edge on the tooth and gums a couple of times a day to stop toothache.

Take fresh garlic cloves and crush them, apply to warts until they disappear.

Crush a clove or two onto a dessert spoon then add olive oil and down the hatch. you get the benefits of raw garlic with none of the breath issues.

Garlic to clear sinuses. Melt some butter and add minced garlic cloves, spread on toast and eat.

Garlic for herpes. Take a garlic clove and cut in half. Eat one half and take the other half and rub into the affected areas. (may sting a little)

Use raw garlic juice on rashes and bug bites, it stops the itching immediately.

8 to 10 of garlic juice mixed with 2 TBLS of honey four times a day cures a persistent cough.

Garlic for tonsillitis. Peel a clove of garlic and cut them in half lengthwise. Boil for a couple of minutes in about 1.5 cup water and add a pinch of salt, teaspoon of butter, a pinch of pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Cut a garlic clove into small pieces. Swallow them all in one go with a little water to cure bloating, stomach cramps and constipation.

10 drops of garlic juice with 2 teaspoon of honey cures asthma.

5. How to Use Garlic to Lose Belly Fat
Garlic is a miracle food when it comes to weight loss. Garlic is an appetite suppressant. The strong odor of garlic stimulates the satiety center in the brain, thereby reducing feelings of hunger. Specifically, garlic reduces appetite by increasing the brain’s sensitivity to leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells to regulate appetite. Garlic causes the release of norepinephrine, a stimulant neurotransmitter that increases metabolism.
A team of doctors at Israel’s Tel Has homer Hospital found that when rats were given allicin and then fed a high-sugar diet, they had lower blood pressure and insulin levels and weight gain than rats not given allicin.

Ingredients

3 Garlic cloves

·       lemon juice from 1 Lemon

1 cup Water

Method

1.     Add lemon juice to one cup of water.

2.     Chew 3 garlic cloves and then drink the lemon water

3.     Repeat every morning on an empty stomach. It might take 2 weeks to see the results.

6. Easy Acne Treatment with Garlic  Acne is the most common skin problem faced by teenagers and young adults. It occurs when bacteria thrive in the clogged pores. The skin pores get clogged due to excess oil produced by the sebaceous glands. The triggers for excess oil production are hormonal changes, improper hygiene, stress and poor diet.
Slice open a clove of raw, fresh garlic and apply it to breakouts as a home remedy for acne. Your skin won’t smell terribly good, but the antibacterial properties of garlic will help lessen the appearance of acne, even those deep acne cysts that can otherwise be difficult to treat.

A good way of using it is by using it as a face mask this way

1.     Peel, crush, and squeeze 3 to 5 garlic cloves to extract its juice.

2.     Mix juice with 2 teaspoons fresh aloe Vera gel or juice.

3.     Using fingertips, gently massage the mixture on the skin.

4.     Leave it on for 15 minutes, rinse with water, and pat dry.

5.     Repeat the process daily.

Proper hygiene and diet prevent the breakouts but to deal with the present acne, simple ingredients like garlic is effective.

7. Homemade Garlic Mosquito Repellent
Since garlic has such a strong smell, it confuses insects in search of their favorite plants, so this spray works best before plant infestation.  So, for maximum effect, spray before pests have become a problem. David Stern, an organic farmer and director of the Garlic Seed Foundation in Rose, New York gives us this garlic recipe which he says works even for young bean and potato plants or even to spray the soil to get rid of nematodes. You must begin by making a garlic spray concentrate so that you can remix some of this concentrate with water to make the mixture to be used on your plants.

To make your garlic spray concentrate, you will need 2 to 3 whole garlic bulbs (1/4 lb of garlic), 1 quart of water (a little more than a liter), 4 to 5 drops of dishwashing soap (I like to use Murphy soap, a pure vegetable oil soap which is biodegradable), a blender or a food processor, a cheesecloth, and a 1-quart glass jar. Now follow the next directions

1.     Do not peel the garlic bulbs– just separate the cloves.

2.     Using a blender or a food processor, add these garlic cloves and 1 cup of water.  Chop until well blended.

3.     Since garlic leaves contain allicin, one of the ingredients that repels insects, you can replace the cloves with garlic leaves if you have lots of garlic plants growing in your garden.

4.     Now add the rest of the water and the dishwashing drops to the mixture and blend until the mixture has turned to liquid.  (This usually takes several minutes.)

5.     Strain the mixture through cheesecloth to remove bits of garlic that might clog the sprayer.  It’s a good idea to strain a second time if any debris remains in the garlic spray concentrate.

6.     You should now have about 1 quart of concentrated garlic extract.  Store the strained concentrate in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid until you are ready to use it.

Now to make your garlic spray you will use for spraying your plants:

Take 1 cup of the concentrate, mix with 2 1/2 cups of water, and pour this mixture into a pump spray bottle or a pressure sprayer.

Use this garlic spray mixture to spray the plants that are under pest attack or that you suspect are likely targets.

8. Garlic and Honey Syrup for Sore Throats
There are many raw garlic containing beverages and dishes that greatly help with strengthening our bacterial and viral resistance out there. They can also be used to cure a cold, sore throat and help to speed up the recovery when flu strikes.
Specially thanks to honey the garlic honey syrup for sore throat tastes rather nice considering how disgusting some syrups are, but adding a bit more of one or the other ingredient to your taste won’t hurt. If you want to put your own sore throat remedy together make sure you don’t jeopardize the effectiveness of the health benefiting compounds of these ingredients.
The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

·       3-4 fresh garlic cloves - crushed (not minced)

·       2 tablespoons powdered turmeric or two inch, crushed piece of fresh turmeric

·       ⅓ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup raw honeyJuice of ½ lemon

Instructions

1.     Place honey, lemon juice, ground black pepper and (powdered) turmeric in a small bowl and, using a spoon, mix until well combined.

2.     Now add your crushed garlic cloves (and the fresh turmeric, if you chose to use it instead of the powdered one). Mix again and let it rest and come together for about 10 minutes.

A few things to note…

·       You can eat raw turmeric with no worries, but avoid eating more than ½ - 1 small garlic clove per day as raw garlic consumed in larger quantities daily can be too harsh for your stomach and make you feel sick.

·       Take 2-3 tablespoons of the syrup per day.

·       Replace garlic cloves daily to maximize its effectiveness.

·       Store this syrup refrigerated for 4-5 days.

Do not give raw honey to children under 1 to avoid the risk of infant botulism.

9. To Treat Athlete ’ s Foot
Garlic has long been known for its microbial properties, specifically because it contains “ajoene”, which comes from the Spanish word for garlic, or “ajo”. This compound has been shown to be especially effective in the battle against athlete’s foot. In fact, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that 100 per cent of 50 people using a mild garlic solution were cured of their athlete’s foot, as compared to 94 per cent of people who used Lamisil, a popular topical solution.
Add a few cloves of crushed garlic to warm water in a foot bath and soak the affected foot for 30 minutes. Or alternatively, take regular supplements of garlic to build up your immune system to fight the fungus, if you are prone to athlete’s foot.

10. It Can Be Used to Kill Parasites
This might come as a surprise, but do not underestimate this common household herb. It is among the most effective herbs for ridding the body of any unwanted organisms. Garlic can slow and kill over 60 types of fungus and 20 types of bacteria, as well as some of the most potent viruses.

Garlic has a history of killing parasites and controlling secondary fungal infections. It also detoxifies while gently stimulating elimination, and has antioxidant properties to protect against oxidation caused by parasite toxins. The active components in garlic that kill parasites are allicin and ajoene. These compounds can kill amoebas including one-cell varieties, as well as pinworms and hookworms.

Allicin is not present in garlic in its natural state. When garlic is chopped or otherwise damaged, the enzyme allicin acts on the chemical alliin, converting it into allicin, the active component contributing to its success for killing parasites.

To get the most out of garlic, be sure to use it crushed or juiced. Start off with 1 clove and work your way up to as many as you can stomach.

11. Methods to Treat Ear Infections
Ear infection is a common problem that occurs due to the accumulation of fluids in the middle ear. It can be caused by: a cold, flu, allergies, bacterial, dust and a viral presence in the ear. Garlic is an excellent alternative to antibiotics to cure ear infection, and here will tell you exactly how!

Let’s have a look at some of the popular methods that can be used to treat ear infections.

Method – 1: (Garlic)

1.     Crush a few fresh garlic cloves and wrap in a small cloth.

2.     Place in the ear and let it sit for about 30 – 35 minutes.

3.     Take out the cloth to get relief from the pain.

Method – 2: (Garlic Juice)

1.     Mash a few garlic cloves well.

2.     Cover in a cloth and dab on the infected ear.

Method – 3: (Garlic with Mustard Oil)

1.     Heat a teaspoon of mustard oil or sesame oil, with 2-4 garlic cloves.

2.     Let the oil cook for few minutes and then apply this oil around or in your ear.

Method – 4: (Boiled Garlic Cloves with Salt)

1.     Boil 3 – 5 garlic cloves in water for 5 – 7 minutes.

2.     Remove from the heat and crush with salt.

3.     Put it in a cloth and place against affected area for few minutes.

4.     Repeat the process continuously.

Method – 5: (Garlic with St. Johnswort Oil)

1.     Mix half garlic, half St. Johnswort oil, a small amount of mullein oil and 3 drops of grapefruit seed extract.

2.     Pour it in the affected ear using an ear dropper.

3.     Repeat twice a day to get quick relief.