Glorious Garlic- Nature's Antibiotic

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Glorious Garlic- " Nature's Antibiotic "

 

Glorious garlic! It is one of the world's most healing foods. It was

being used both as a favorite food and as a powerful medicine

centuries before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. Besides the

savor it adds to foods, garlic is said to have given strength to the pyramid

builders, courage to the Roman legions, and fighting spirit to English

gamecocks…garlic's medicinal uses have been documented for centuries.

 

It was always a popular remedy for colds, sore throats and coughs - -

either eaten raw or taken as a syrup,

which was made by boiling garlic cloves and water for half a day.

 

Physicians and herbalists prescribed garlic as a diuretic and for candida,

intestinal disorders and rheumatism…

 

" Colonists arriving in America discovered that the Indians knew about the

healing powers of a native species of garlic and relied on the plant to treat a

variety of medical problems, from snakebites to intestinal worms.

" Garlic may have helped to cure many diseases because it is a potent

antiseptic. It was used in both World Wars. "

 

Garlic and its cousin, the onion, were regarded for both health-giving and

magical qualities in ancient cultures. Garlic was one of the first foods to

be deliberately cultivated, although wild varieties grew in abundance.

Evidence of its healing powers is detailed in 4,000 year-old records

from the ancient kingdom of Sumeria.

 

Depictions of garlic bulbs have been discovered on the walls of

Egyptian tombs that date back to 3200 B.C. -centuries before Joseph

and his brothers settled in Egypt.

 

During that same period, ancient records reveal that garlic was the principal

ingredient in many remedies that Egyptian healers prescribed for headaches, sore

throats and other complaints.

 

By the time of Moses, garlic was already being used as an anticoagulant,

antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor agent, as a relief for flatulence,

a diuretic, a sedative, a poultice, and as a cure for candida and internal

parasites.

 

At least 67 different varieties of garlic and onions have been identified as

growing in the Holy Land, so it's little wonder that the ancient Israelites

developed a fondness for it centuries ago.

 

It may be for health reasons that the Talmud specifies that several

different foods are to be seasoned with garlic regularly.

 

At various times, it has been recommended as a cure-all for a vast

array of ailments:

 

arteriosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, athlete's foot, bronchitis, cancer,

candida,

catarrh, chickenpox, cholera, the common cold, constipation, dandruff, diabetes,

dropsy,

dysentery, dyspepsia, epilepsy, fits, gangrene, hypertension, influenza,

jaudice,laryngitis,

lead poisoning, leprosy, malaria, measles, meningitis, piles, rheumatism,

ringworm, scorpion stings, scurvy, septic poisoning, smallpox, snakebite,

tuberculosis, and typhoid.

 

Research suggests that garlic may help protect against heart disease

and stroke by lowering blood pressure.

 

It contains allylic sulfides, which may neutralize carcinogens.

 

In fact, garlic has been linked to lower rates of stomach cancer.

 

The Environmental Nutrition newsletter published evidence from five

clinical trials showing that one-half to one clove per day lowered

cholesterol levels an average of nine percent in people with borderline and high

cholesterol.

 

Scientific interest in the healing power of garlic has exploded so

much over the last decade that the National Library of Science now

lists nearly 150 papers published on garlic's ability to maintain

good health!

 

In various studies, garlic powder, aged garlic extracts and fresh garlic all

have had positive effects in preventing cancer in animals; improving diabetes

management;

slowing the growth of human cytomegalo-virus (often seen in people with AIDS);

preventing fatigue; and relieving stress more effectively than the addictive

tranquilizer, Valium!

 

As little as half a raw clove will boost the body's natural protection against

blood clots (thrombosis), which causes heart attacks and strokes.

It takes only two raw garlic cloves a day to lower cholesterol levels in heart

patients.

 

The ingredient that gives garlic its strong smell, a chemical called " allicin " ,

is also what makes it such a potent antibiotic.

 

In hundreds of experiments, allicin extract from raw garlic has destroyed the

germs that spread such diseases as botulism, tuberculosis, diarrhea, staph,

dysentery, and typhoid.

 

One scientist reports:

Garlic has the broadest spectrum of any anti-microbial substance we know of.

It's antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiprotozoan and antiviral. "

Some researchers say that one medium-sized garlic clove has as much

antibacterial power as 100,000 units of penicillin.

 

Japanese scientists have distilled an antibiotic medication called " kyolic " from

raw garlic.

 

Because it was used so commonly as an antibiotic by Russian army medics during

World War II, it became known throughout all Europe as the Russian " Penicillin "

An astonishing 500 tons of garlic were trucked into Moscow to combat

one influenza epidemic in the 1950s.

 

European doctors still prescribe garlic to ward off colds, pneumonia, whooping

cough and

a wide array of intestinal disorders.

 

A natural ingredient in garlic called alliin is changed into the

antibiotic substance,

*allicin*, when it is chewed, chopped or crushed.

 

Western medical experts are now studying reports that the Chinese

used high doses of garlic to cure cryptococcal meningitis, a disease

that is often fatal.

The Chinese doctors way that it works by boosting the body's natural

immunity. In the U.S. several researchers are studying exactly what

effect garlic does have on the immune system.

 

In one study, AIDS patients who ate at least 1-3 cloves of garlic a day for

three months significantly improved their immune functions, which the disease

severely damages.

In some patients, chronic herpes sores were completely eradicated; in others,

cancer cells were destroyed.

Animal tests in Japan indicated that fresh garlic may be an effective weapon

against a form of breast cancer.

 

Another finding from the same study suggested that garlic was probably a better

antioxidant than Vitamin E, one of the top antioxidants known to

slow the aging process.

 

At the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas,

investigators looked at sulfur compounds from both garlic and onions

and concluded their ingredients blocked the formation of carcinogens

that lead to colon cancer.

 

Meanwhile, the National Cancer Institute has announced that the

sulfur in garlic is high on its list of potential natural " chemopreventatives. "

 

A study at Bombay Hospital's Research Center in India, found that those who ate

several garlic cloves daily (depending on the size of the person) significantly

reduced the risk of potentially deadly blood clots -

even in patients who already suffered from coronary disease.

 

In even smaller doses, garlic drastically reduced cholesterol

levels -on the average from 305 to 218 over a 60-day period.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California achieved equally

dramatic results when they tested Japan's garlic extract, kyolic.

 

An ounce a day (approximately eight to nine cloves) reduced dangerous

LDL cholesterol from 10 to 50 percent and boosted the production of

HDL cholesterol, which the body needs for good health.

 

Hypertension is a modern affliction that the people of biblical times probably

didn't have to deal with.

There is now ample proof that garlic has a near-miraculous ability to lower high

blood pressure.

 

The British Medical Journal " The Lancet " , recently reported that

studies conducted in Eastern European laboratories showed that

garlic produces a systolic blood pressure drop of 20 to 30 points

and a diastolic drop of 10 to 20 points.

 

That's more than enough to bring even the most severe hypertension

to manageable levels without drugs.

 

Dr. Eric Block, head of chemistry at State University of New York at Albany,

recently extracted a compound from garlic which he named " ajoene " .

In Spanish, " ajo " is garlic.

He found that ajoene prevents blood clots from forming.

 

" As an antithrombotic agent, *ajoene* is at least as potent as

aspirin, " he said.

 

For years medical experts have prescribed limited doses of aspirin to prevent or

dissolve dangerous blood clots.

 

Early tests also indicate that ajoene has few of the unwanted side effects

of anticoagulant drugs.

 

Many doctors are now going back to ancient folklore and home remedies that call

for garlic as a decongestant and an expectorant in the treatment of common colds

and chronic bronchitis.

 

Like chili peppers and other hot, pungent foods, garlic

works by turning on the body's natural " fire-fighting " faucets to

cool the heat.

This provokes the lungs and bronchial tubes to produce more fluids -

which in turn thin the mucus and help flush it out of the body.

 

While cooking may destroy or reduce the allicin and weaken the garlic's

potential, most of its therapeutic benefits remain.

Cooked garlic still lowers blood cholesterol, for example, and works as a

decongestant and cough medicine.

 

Whether in cooked, raw or in extract form, garlic may be one of the most potent

natural healing foods we have.

 

The ancient people of the Bible knew that basic fact of life.

Some of our scientists are just rediscovering it!

 

Taken from " Healing Foods of the Bible "

By Bernard Ward

_________________

 

www.alternative-medicine-message-boards.info

 

Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 10:14 am

Post subject:

Study: Anticandidal Mode of Action of Allium Sativum (Garlic

 

Medical Abstract Title:

Studies on the Anticandidal Mode of Action of Allium Sativum (Garlic)

 

Author:

Ghannoum M

 

Source:

Journal of General Microbiology. 1988; 134:2917-2924.

 

Abstract:

 

The mode of action of aqueous garlic extract (AGE) was studied in Candida

albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AGE against six clinical

yeast

isolates ranged between 0.8 and 1.6 mg ml-1.

 

Scanning electron microscopy and cell leakage studies showed that garlic

treatment affected the structure and integrity of the outer surface of the yeast

cells. Growth of C. albicans in the presence of AGE affected the yeast

lipid in a number of ways:

 

the total lipid content was decreased; garlic-grown yeasts had a higher level of

phosphatidylserines and a lower level of phosphatidylcholines;

 

in addition to free sterols and sterol esters, C. albicans and a lower level of

phosphatidylcholines; in addition to free sterols and sterol esters, C. albicans

accumulated esterified steryl glycosides;

the concentration of palmitic acid (16:0) and oleic acid (18:1) increased and

that of linoleic acid (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) decreased.

 

Oxygen consumption of AGE-treated C. albicans was also reduced. The anticandidal

activity of AGE was antagonized by thiols such as L-cysteine, glutathione and

2-mercaptoethanol.

 

Interaction studies between AGE and thiols included growth antagonism, enzymic

inhibition and interference of two linear zones of inhibition. All three

approaches suggest that AGE exerts its effect by the oxidation of thiol groups

present in the essential proteins, causing inactivation of enzymes and

subsequent microbial growth inhibition.

 

http://www.enzy.com/abstracts/display.asp?id=366

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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