Garlic: A Superfood for Health and the Immune System

In the Middle East, we eat fresh garlic or pickled garlic (from a Persian store) once a day. We use it for cold hands and feet, to help relax, and to help sleep at night. I've eaten as much as 4 pickled garlic cloves at one time though I know people who've eaten many more than that without getting garlic breath and sweat. Pickled garlic won't give you as much after smell as fresh garlic. Besides pickled garlic, you can take a few raw garlic cloves, peel, add enough olive oil to cover the garlic, cover bowl, put in microwave for a minute or two. This will turn the garlic brown and mushy. It tastes delicious.

It takes anywhere from 2 to 24 hours to notice either one or all of the above effects. If I eat garlic at night, I notice that my cold hands and feet are hot the next morning. The effect lasts 24 hours.

Shane,

Thank you for this information about cloves and olive oil to eliminate garlic breathe. I am having asthma and bronchial problems and completely forgot all about my natural remedies (it has been a number of years since I have asthma). Now I am eating garlic like it is my job. Thanks for the information!

Kelley

Hi everyone. About 2 years ago, I was diagnose with trigger finger (on my left middle finger). My doctor told me there was no treatment for it except if it gets worst, a rather painful injection of steriod would be needed. I decided to do some research into home remedies and came across a website (sorry i can't remember the url now) but it did mention about how garlic can help. So I started taking about a few pips of sliced raw garlic together with my dinner every night. What happen about a week after taking raw garlic with my dinner was that I noticed the pain on my middle finger had gone away and the triggering effect had also gone away.

I often have headaches and once I take garlic, soft gels, the headache disappears. I have been doing this for about 10 years.

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I had a toothache caused by a filling that came out. At first it didn't hurt, but I must have gotten food stuck and it really started to hurt... a dull throbbing pain. After reading about the garlic remedy, I cut a clove and put it between my gum and cheek. It was painful at first, but eventually (5 minutes or so...) the pain went away... only issue now is my right cheek is swollen... the area between my nose and my cheek is very puffy and has been for about 12 hours now. it doesn't hurt, but not sure what happened???

Response to Sami:

I am a former certified food safety manager - we were always warned about garlic kept in this way, especially at room temperature. This is a dangerous practice - garlic kept in this way be liable to botulism and clostridium. Old fashioned restaurant and pizzerias sometimes keep a pot near the stove or steam table this way - food stores sell it this way now, too, but don't be complacent. It's easily contaminated.

GARLIC - THE BEST ANTI-BACTERIAL & ANTI FUNGAL TREATMENT

For approximately 1 year I have had recurring bouts of strep throat and viral throat infections. These occurred every few months or so. 6 months ago I have was sick continuously for 2 months. I had NO energy and difficulty swallowing. My throat was always felt like it was on fire. Often it was bright red and/or covered in white spots. I was prescribed rounds of antibiotics and even had to take 3 penicillin shots. Nothing worked. UNTIL.

For about 3-4 weeks I drank fresh garlic (2 cloves crushed), ginger, honey, and lemon tea. I did this 3-4 times a day. Approximately 1 week after starting this course, I began to feel better. 2 weeks later I was 100% again. I still drink the tea and/or chew a piece of raw garlic whenever I feel a scratch in my throat or a little under the weather.

The best side effect for me was that the garlic tea course has also almost completely cleared up the acute toenail fungus I had on the majority of my nails. It was so bad that my two big toenails were almost completely yellow and hardened with areas of black; they even had begun to separate from the nail beds. For the first time in 3 years I can go nail polish free.

I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF GARLIC.

I had that too. but only lasted a few months then never came back since. that was over 2 years ago almost. I never get headaches ever. It left as quick as it came.

a great way to ingest garlic for multiple ailments is using it in a broth. It can be any kind of broth (no solids) so as to give your digestive system a break. Personally, I love the taste of roasted garlic. So I either sautee/bake fresh garlic and add it to the broth,then finely chop fresh garlic and add it as well (after heating-stir in and let sit a couple of minutes). The amount depends on ones tolerance for garlic. But that way I get the best of both worlds. The flavor of the roasted garlic and the allicin (the enzyme in garlic that fights disease) as well. cooking garlic kills most of the allicin so this is a good way to get it raw in a larger quantity. God Bless!

This treatment is very common in Europe especially in the countries of Eastern Europe. We have all sorts of remedies with garlic, herbal tea, honey, red wine, etc. If there is a problem with breathing due to bronchitis or a horrible cold or flu, beside the garlic treatment, you can always brew a big pot of herbal tea, cover yourself with a towel and inhale the steam. You'd feel much better in no time.

just 2 days ago i was in pain all day long. it was keeping me up all night. even advil wasn't working. had 4 fillings done at the dentist and even a month later i couldn't drink cold drinks because it would hurt right away and i couldn't drink juice without brushing right away because it would hurt really bad 30 minutes later. noticed a bubble on my gums. found out it was an abscess. started researching tooth abscesses. while searching the web found earthclinic which helped me before with hypothyroidism, for that i used coconut oil. noticed that garlic really works for infected teeth and abscesses. at first i just rubbed half a clove of raw garlic sliced in half on the abscess. didn't really help. so i chewed 1/4 clove of garlic and let the garlic juice sit on the infected area for at least 10 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes. by the 3rd night all the pain was gone. now i can drink cold juice without the pain like before although if i do drink cold juice and don't brush its still a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 for pain. thanks to everyone who posted their testimonials. can get back to my life now. earthclinic is a real lifesaver.

Vitamin E oil will stop and heal an outbreak, apply at first tingle or itchy feeling. Start adding lemon in your water to balance your ph ASAP do not consume food or beverages that cause acidosis or an acidic environment. Herpes will only break out if your ph is to acidic. I know lemon acid, but once consumed it becomes alkaline. Do some research on alkaline foods and acidic, both are needed but alkaline at a much higher ratio.

Yes I have heard of this sort of thing. My doctor gave me a nebulizer and told me to use ______ (garlic drops) in the nebulizer and she said it works miracles. Iv used garlic for many other things its amazing. Natures antibiotic. :-)

Garlic, garlic, garlic!!!
It's cheap.
It's convenient.
It works!

I've had a fungal/bacterial infection on both of my index fingers for 5 years and I tried all the remedies suggested but nothing worked so I gave up. Shortly afterwards I started cooking with garlic a lot and noticed the fungus on my left hand was clearing up fairly quickly. I did some research and found out garlic has powerful anti-fungal and antibacterial properties. I stared using it on my right hand and it worked! All you have to do is split a clove in half and rub the juices in and around where the fungus is for a few minutes (3-5). Do this every other day before you go to bed. Don't rub the juices in vigorously for more than 20 minutes or make a paste out of crushed garlic and wrap it around yor finger because it will burn, literally. A little goes a long way. You should start seeing results within 4 weeks if the fungus isn't too bad, 8 weeks for extreme cases. Toenails can take up to 3 months because they grow much slower than fingernails.

I am currently giving Garlic a go to help with boils and some other things. Some good ways to help scars heal is DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide or wood pulp oil) pure real Vitamin E liquid on the scar area after applying DMSO. Another method if you can obtain the equipment is IPL (intense pulsed light). It is infra-red light. I have seen this transform people from completely disfigured with terrible skin problems back to looking young and re-newed. In fact, my wife did this for a living for some time. Good luck!

What do you mean having milk with garlic boiled controls assimilation of cholesterol? I have a 94 year old neighbor who is as erect, incredibly active, looks younger and when I asked her what regiments she thought were helping her she answered that since she was about 25 she began to drink milk boiled with fresh garlic. Can you please explain more specifically how this combo aids in health? I remember Ted had warned that having milk with other foods would block the vitamins and minerals from being processed into the body and that, in fact, milk should be taken alone to get all the benefits of its vitamins and minerals.

Hello Douglas

You said that the reason garlic unique is that it increases the potency of whatever you combine it with.

Would it also increase Vitamin C by 5 to 10 times ???

Would it increase the potency of other herbals such as Oregano oil etc ?

Thank you for your very informative post
L.

Adding Garlic to my health regimen has improved my life so much. It started with chronic tonsillitis that nothing would help and it would be two years before I could get them out, I am now 31. I was having infections twice a month and in desperation I came to Earth Clinic and found the garlic remedy for infection. I took one clove 3x per day when an infection was starting and one clove before bed as prevention. I have not had a full blown cold since! What I do is slice up the clove and swallow in slivers like pills before bed.

Garlic also cures my recurring cold sores on my lips. As soon as I feel one coming on, I slice a clove of garlic and hold it firmly to the sore until it goes numb. I have to be honest that it hurts like nothing I have ever felt, but because it has worked so well, I endure it for 10 minutes or so. I swear I can feel it burning the infection away! Immediately the bump goes down and often does not even scab, just goes away.

Pertaining to your problem with bloating, gas, upset stomach - I struggled with stomach ailments for 10 plus years as well as sinus congestion and now within the last 5 years asthma - I have been aggressively researching over the last 5-6 years about natural remedies for these ailments and have been learning alot about how to stay healthy. FIRST AND FOREMOST - check your diet - you mentioned eating meat and potato meals - 2 types of foods that may be highly suspect in causing gas and bloating - It may not be the garlic at all but rather your diet that may be the cause of your stomach ailments. I used to eat a diet heavy in meat and starchy foods like potatoes and lots of carbs - I ended up in the hospital with serious stomachs pains in 1999 that was diagnosed as Gastritis - I started seriously looking at my diet and over the next 5 years or so made some big changes in what I eat on a regular basis. My diet now includes things like whole raw vegetables, fruits, and good sources of proteins, like legumes and nuts, seafood too (especially Salmon) for omega 3 oil. I cut out as much sugars, processed foods and toxins from my diet as possible and limit my intake of meats and starchy foods. Now, I rarely ever have any stomach problems any more. I also noticed other health benefits after changing my diet - lost 15 pounds, haven't had any cavities for last 7-8 years (used to have 1 or 2 each 6 month apt.), plantar wart went away (I had tried everything else and couldn't get rid of it), eyesight improved (confirmed by eye doctor apt.). I am still struggling with some congestion and asthma however and continue researching natural remedies for this. I suspect environmental causes and am researching these (things like potential allergies, cat dander, smoky air, mold in home, and pollution from living in city). I read about ACV on this site about a week ago and had some success with it, also some success with garlic - I probably need to keep at it and try for longer period of time. So I say don't give up on the garlic as well as helping for stomach ailments - My dad had a quadruple bypass and was in serious trouble with his heart - my mom researched on the incredible benefits of using garlic to help your heart and he has made a complete recovery after his surgery about 2 years ago and looks better than ever (he is 78 years old!)

I have found the best way to keep the garlic from burning you is to put it in a spoonful of yogurt!

Hi Chong, leaving garlic to sit after chopping maximizes the beneficial compounds in it. Garlic does not contain allicin per se; it is formed in garlic after chopping or crushing. Letting it sit 10 minutes before cooking with it or consuming it raw is a good timeframe to maximize the formation of allicin. I don't think the chewing you'd do to ingest it is going to take away the benefits. If you're concerned, then just swallow small pieces whole like you would a vitamin capsule (that is what I do).

hi ted or others.

is it true that after i cut or chop 1 clove of garlic into smaller pieces, i must leave it expose to the air for at least 15 mins then only can eat it?

if i put those small pieces garlic in my mouth and chew it again, will it destroy the benefit of it?

thanks
chong

Put your sliced garlic in olive oil, it will keep it fresh for a long time, I've been doing that for a long time, try it and see the garlic how it stay strong.

I have find drinking at least 5 pints of Water a day clears up my bottom but still trying to find a cure for the scars!

I accidentally came across the mosquito-repelling effect of eating garlic. For days the sumer mosquitoes have been biting me, especially after eating or drinking something sweet like fruit juice. I made a plate of cooked brown rice, butter, minced garlic, and parsley flakes, microwaved to heat it up and there have been no further attacks after eating it, even though I had some dessert after that. I am wondering if the effect lasts as long as you can taste the garlic on your breath. In any case it has made life more comfortable.

Reading the benefits of garlic and with winter ailments around I bought a bag of garlic and added crushed 1/2 a garlic in our family meals, (in our meat or potato etc)
After 4 days of garlic in our meals my stomach continued to worsen with bloating, gurgling and upset stomach until a dose of diarreah. I felt very ill and am not game to touch it again. Within two days I was back to normal but wonder if I'm allergic to it. None of my family reacted at all. Perhaps this is a cleansing thing but I have my doubts as previously after taking high potency garlic capsules for a week or two my hands break out in red itchy blisters, especially between the fingers and eventually clears up after I stop using them. Should I keep clear of Garlic?? I tried the hydrogen peroxide therapy and it had no side effects.

I discovered that garlic cures acute bronchitis by accident...

I've been diagnosed with acute bronchitis and been sick for a month and two weeks and nothing seems to be working. It appeared as if I kept on getting relapses...

Growing up, I've always been told by mom that garlic is good for the health and what not. I've also been hearing it from others, tv, etc. But I've always thought it was just for minor things like a sniffle or so...

One day I decided to go "gung-ho" and chop fresh garlic into my salad. Maybe it was my primitival instict kicking in, but I thought that maybe strong dose of fresh garlic may do something. On the same day, I decided to include fresh garlic into everything - including my dinner pizza. The next day I started to feel better. I still wasn't sure if that was just a calming state before another relapse so I didn't jump into conclusion. Second day passed, Third day passed, and now I'm on my fifth day of feeling back to normal.

I then "googled" garlic and cures to read about garlic and its healing properties. That's when I found this site and discussion!

Thank you.

David, letting the chopped up, sliced, or diced garlic sit for 10-15 minutes will ensure that the allicin, which is the active ingredient in garlic that gives it it's smell, will fully come out and be at its most potent, therefore ensuring that it is at it's most beneficial, healthful stage.

GARLIC DO WONDER.

I was suffering from fever and flu, the Company Doctor prescribe medecine and anti biotic. All the medecine had been finished and yet my fever haven't gone, and worst of all i also suffer from tonsilitis.

I've been a regular reader of Earth Clinic and try this garlic soup 'walla' the fever is gone and so with the tonsil ache. Whenever my kids suffer from sorethroat, this is the best remedY.

I've read that when you eat raw garlic you should mince it up and swallow with 1 tblsp of olive oil. Reason being the olive oil has benefits also and when you swallow the garlic by itself some kind of acid in the saliva that kills the allicin in the garlic which is the sole benefit for eating it. And it also fights of yeast infection.

Here is something soothing that really helps colds,
bronchitis, etc:

Bring 2 c. chicken broth + 2 c. water to boiling
Add 1 small onion, chopped

When done, remove from heat, add 3 cloves crushed
garlic, cover; let
sit for about 10 minutes.
Add sea salt to taste.

Actually, letting garlic sit for 10 minutes after slicing or mincing will maximize the beneficial compounds. You can find numerous references to this via Google (try "let garlic sit" as the search string).

Just wanted to advise everyone that garlic should be sliced quickly and into your system within 30 seconds if possible. When garlic is sliced, it releases the healing properties and if not taken soon, it gradually loses its healing power. I have found it to relieve a toothache!

I first learned about garlic when I found that I had blood-poisoning one evening as I was getting ready for bed. I had to be at work early the next morning (on a Saturday) and going to the emergency room was out of the question as I worked as a rural mail carrier. I had recently bought a book on alternative healing, so looked for a solution to blood poisoning. It advised to take one clove of garlic and stated that one clove of garlic will cleanse the body's blood supply in a matter of hours! This herb is truly a gift from God!

Several years ago I was suffering from sarcoidosis, which is an auto immune disease that attacks soft tissue organs, usually lungs or skin. After a year of suffering from a dry cough that left me with bloodshot eyes and sore ribs on a consistant basis, I was finally diagnosed at Mayo. A year and half on prednisone rendered it inactive, but I was given a couple of inhalers that I was suppose to be on indefinitely. A friend had just heard about MSM and gave me a cassette tape explaining the research and treatment that had been done with racehorses. I tried it in pill form, but only noticed a slight change. It was when I found the powdered pharmaceutical grade that changed my lung health forever. It came in a 4 oz. bottle for $24.00, yikes! I took 1/2 a tsp. mixed in OJ morning and night. It needs vitamin C to absorb into the cells so make sure to take it with carrot or citris juice. It is very bitter and if you don't stir it well you will get a MSM sludge at the end. Within 2 weeks my lung capacity improved and I quit the inhalers. I continued consistant use for about a year. I have used food grade and animal grade (for horses from the feed store) and as long as it is 100% pure MSM it works for me. Now I just throw it in smoothies or take it when I start to wease. It's great for arthritis, bursitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia too. Hope this helps:)

Hello, I use your site all of the time and want to thank you for such useful information!

Recently, my feet started swelling along with blood pressure spiking to very high levels. I do not have high blood pressure so I could not understand what was going on. By day three I figured out I had a tooth infection that was probably starting to seep into my blood causing the swelling, blood pressure spikes, tingling in head, legs, and feet. After speaking with a dentist who felt they were unrelated and would not give me any advice on whether I should go to the ER, I decided to use garlic infused with yogurt (yogurt helps it go down easier). I took about 1 T. of crushed garlic and 1 T. of yogurt. Within 5 minutes the swelling in my feet went away and I felt my blood pressure had gone down. I took my blood pressure and it had dropped over 50 points! Obviously, the blood pressure spikes were brought on by the tooth infection, unbeknownst to the young Dentist!!!

I cook with garlic all of the time, but RAW GARLIC is terrific for blood pressure and infections!!!

Thanks!