(NaturalNews) Garlic (Allium sativum) has the broadest spectrum of any antimicrobial substances we know of. "It's antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiprotozoan and antiviral," asserted Paul Bergner, Director of The North American Institute of Herbal Medicine and author of The Healing Power of Garlic and several other herbal medicine books. This along with even more health benefits have been confirmed by other researchers, many from mainstream medicine.
Garlic's Healing PropertiesTests have found raw garlic
more powerful than even penicillin and tetracycline. This is without destroying the digestive intestinal flora, which pharmaceutical antibiotics invariably do. It's also effective for TB and even Candida. Also, unlike heavy pharmaceutical antibiotic use, garlic does not diminish the immune system. It actually enhances the immune system.
Allicin, the active ingredient released when garlic is crushed,
stimulates the immune system. Dr. Abdullah and his colleagues at the Akbar Clinic and Research Center in Panama City, Florida, found raw garlic
dramatically increased the powers of the immune system's natural killer cells. Abdullah believes the immune boosting power of garlic could even be used to help AIDS patients.
Garlic
prevents cancer and contributes toward tumor shrinkage, especially stomach, colon, and breast and prostate cancers. The Russians have known this for decades. More recently, this has been formally recognized by Dr. John Pinto, Ph.D of the normally anti-alternative natural cancer remedy Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute.
In the 1970s, Robert I. Lin, president of Nutritional International in Irvine California,
successfully used garlic to detox lead from children. That's not a well know attribute of garlic, and it's another reason everyone should use garlic often in our heavily toxic heavy metal environment.
Garlic has been
used successfully for promoting cardiovascular health even among those who are having arterial or heart problems. Garlic dilates blood vessels to lower blood pressure, removes triglycerides, dissolves internal clots, and prevents oxidation of important lipids that lead to cellular destruction. All without side effects, of course.
Dr Irwin Ziment, a Los Angeles pulmonary specialist, regularly prescribes garlic as a decongestant and expectorant for common colds and as a
mucus regulator for chronic bronchitis. University of New Mexico research has discovered that
garlic destroys meningitis in-vitro (petri dish/test tube).
How to Include Garlic as a Super FoodEven though several studies have discovered even light use of raw and cooked garlic beneficial over non-garlic consumption, it's a good idea to consume mostly raw garlic daily to realize maximum benefits. The garlic must be freshly pressed and consumed after ten minutes and within one-half hour to forty-five minutes to absorb the allicin,
which is released only when garlic is pressed, chewed, or juiced.
If you have a
slow speed masticating auger juicer, three or four cloves juiced and mixed with purified water is an easy way to get a strong allicin dose. High speed juicers destroy enzymes. Nebulizing a small amount of freshly juiced and filtered garlic mixed with distilled water is great for regulating mucous in the lungs for chronic bronchitis and COPD sufferers.
Chewing a clove or two a day works just as well. You can disguise its pungent flavor by placing the cloves in food, even an organic peanut butter sandwich. Chewing fresh cilantro and parsley are common odor removing methods, with cilantro adding its heavy metal chelation to garlic's chelation process.
Researchers tend to agree that most garlic supplements don't match the allicin produced by freshly crushed raw garlic. Fresh garlic should be used, and it's recommended that you know the garlic source's soil quality or grow your own. Garlic's low cost and high health benefits should override odor and taste considerations.
Sources for this article include:
Tonics, by Robert A. Barnett 1997 Harper Perennial pages 135 - 146
http://www.cancure.org/cancer_fighting_foods.htmhttp://www.foods-healing-power.com/health-benefits-of-garlic.htmlAbout the author
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at
http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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