The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Minuck (Scotchtown Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Canada) on 08/06/2011
★★★★★
i had a wart and applied garlic with a bandage for 7 days and it is now gone, also got rid of a mole using garlic. I also find garlic improves my eyesight and can drive at night without any difficulty. Sure does cure an earache. I shall try garlic in socks at night. I read they must be white cotton socks. Your site is very informative. Thank you
Peeled Garlic Vs Fresh Garlic
Posted by Kate (Uk) on 12/18/2016
I'm not sure how helpful a comment published six years later but a. firstly I'm amazed that peeled garlic is a thing, we haven't become quite that lazy over here yet! and b. I would think you're better off with something with its skin on, and ideally local and organic if you can get it. In at least some parts of the world garlic is irradiated for supermarkets so it won't sprout - I *think* that doesn't happen unless labelled in the UK, but seems to in Canada (eg
http://ediblegardenproject.com/2012/10/27/food-irradiation-know-your-garlic/) so might well be in the US. Something raw with the skin off must've gone through some process to stop it rotting (like enzymes or chlorine baths that don't need to go on the label). In the UK, garlic I get from the organic shop has got loads more of a kick than the stuff from the supermarket - sometimes you can't track exactly what is doing what (freshness? farming practices?) but just follow your nose.
Can I also recommend Joanna Blythman's book Swallow This, which is very enlightening about 'clean labelling' - ie putting foods, including apparently raw, fresh simple vegetables through all sorts of food processing that is invisible on the label. For instance, those fresh fruit salads in supermarkets don't go off for several weeks because of an enzyme dip, and harmless and 'natural' sounding words like 'beetroot extract' on a label are actually the same stuff that would have had a long chemical name in the 90s. Only at some point it would've been waved in the general direction of a beetroot. So even if you're a committed label reader, you won't necessarily be getting a very clear picture of what's happened to your shopping, because there's a whole culture committed to hiding it. If you want to get round this, garlic unpeeled and ideally from a local foodchain, not a major supermarket is probably your best bet.
Fungus
Posted by Jenn (Vancouver, Bc ) on 11/28/2009
★★★★★
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.
Colds
Posted by Jennahwithanh (Newcomb, New York) on 03/06/2012
★★★★★
I chop it fine and mix it in salsa, add a little honey and cayenne pepper and eat it with some corn chips. Opens those passages up real nice and tastes yummy too! :)
Colds
Posted by Denise (Soperton, GA) on 04/03/2009
★★★★★
Yes! Garlic is a wonder cure to have on hand. I read about it's properties a few years ago and have been using it every sense.
It works like a natural antibiotic, it kills off the bad stuff and leaves the good stuff along.
When I have a Cold or Sinus infection I will use it. I cut up a clove of fresh Garlic as small as I can. Then I will swallow as much as I can in one swallow with water to chase it down, swallow just like it was a pill. You do not have to eat it or chew it . Do this 3 to 4 times a day. I usually do it for 5 to 7 days. I store the cut up garlic in a small glass bowl in the refrigerator.
Colds
Posted by Sonja (Swanley, England) on 09/08/2008
★★★★★
I have used garlic for years. Every time I get a cold I eat one clove of garlic 3x a day. I enjoy the taste, so have it on bread with pate, or meat always raw. It is not very social... but within 3 days feel great. It is very effective. I also love horseradish for congested sinuses/ blocked nose. just a bit of it with some meat and you can breath freely..
it is easy, cheap and works without fail.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Robbie (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) on 08/04/2008
★★★★★
This is going to sound hideous... and it is, but it does the trick.
When ever I have a cold I have a number of remedies I use.
In Scotland we have a thing called a hot toddy which is basically whiskey, cloves, honey and lemon made into a tea.
However, my other remedy (and this is the disgusting one) I have used and it works... is blend some garlic cloves and water into a blender. Then gulp down some of the brew at night. I normally just try to drink the whole thing. I don't really bother with measurements, Just play about till you find something that works for you. It's the garlic your eating, the water just helps it go own. Plus it's broken up and therefore absorbed into the body quicker and easier.
I also do the same as a mosquito repellent. Blend the garlic and water together and pour through a siv. The pulp I place in plant pots on my pation and the water garlic solution I place in a squeezy bottle and go around spraying my windows and door frames. All blood eating creatures hate garlic.
You can also use Listerine which surprisingly mosqutios hate for some reason. I use a combination of the two.
Fountain of Youth
Posted by Douglas (Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A.) on 03/03/2008
★★★★★
I'm 41 and people think I'm in my mid twenties, really.
I started using natural health remedies when I was about 12, probably younger. I learned about them from my grandmother who seems to have a kitchen antidote for all my summer ailments of fever, cold, nerve tonic; she even burned her own natural repellents.
I consider myself self-taught, and garlic is something I think no one should be without.
My studies over the years has lead me back to garlic everytime I treat an ailment for myself or recommend to someone else. From the common cold to prostate problems to longevity.
What makes garlic uniques is that it increases the potency of whatever you combine it with. For example if you take a multivitamin that has 500mg of vitamin B1, taken with garlic the potency of B1 will increase 5 to 10 times 500mg. It is the case with other essentials.
Currently, I'm taking garlic (including my multi) for a concussion after a nasty winter ice fall. Of course, I went to the hospital for treatment, nothing broken or torn, yet the pain and damage at the cellular level which doesn't show up on an X-ray, I know is there because of the dizzy spells and aches and pains I'm experiencing.
I know I need rest, water and garlic, for now.
Tooth Abcess, Infection
Posted by Chanana (Aubrey, USA) on 02/06/2008
★★★★★
My mom had a severe absessed tooth a few months ago (almost a year). It was so bad she could not sleep at night. She used garlic and it cleared the infection and it has not returned. She cut raw garlic and rubbed the cut edge on the tooth and gums a couple of times a day and also ate a whole clove a couple of times a day and then gradually reduced the garlic intake as she felt it healing. She also used whole cloves (the spice you use in pumpkin pie etc. )as a local pain killer. If you bite down on the whole clove it releases a potent pain killer. just wanted to chip in some info that can hopefully help others, this is a great site...
Ear Infection
Posted by Nikki (Almeria, Spain) on 01/11/2008
★★★★★
As a child on holiday in Spain, I had a terrible ear problem, infection i suppose, but can't recall anymore than the pain, and the fact that the local spanish staff took me into hotel kitchen and placed a hottish clove in each ear. pain gone and problem solved in a very short spce of time.
Now living in Spain full time, I generally eat a lot of garlic , but havent recently which may account for not feeling too great recently, so I am about to try some of the above concoctions. I do take acv each morning with honey though, which i now LOVE...
I havent tried this.. but have read on various cookery sites that if you split open the clove and take out the centre bit that is the part that first starts growing, it prevents the garlic breath after effects.
Gazpacho soup ( cold ) which is heavy on garlic, with fresh red peppers ( lots of vt C), cucumbers, tomatoes, all lquidized with some olive oilis a recipe I am going to adapt and drink loads of in near future,possibly with some extra cayenne pepper added.
I will see how it goes and let you all know.
Cysts and Warts
Posted by Humberto (USA) on 01/10/2008
★★★★★
Months ago I got a small wart on my finger. I also killed that with garlic.
Boils
Posted by Margaret (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) on 11/27/2007
★★★★★
I have had recurring boils since 1996 under the breast area and over all of the abdominal region and ocassionally on the inner thigh region. Application of active magnesium was helpful but painful. Garlic hi-dose of 20,000mg did reduce and clear but 2 are still stubbornly remaining as scars and do reappear if I stop garlic for a few months. But the recurrence is controlled with ingestion of garlic again. But my abdominal area is covered by the ugly spots and scars.
Colds
Posted by Esther (Lymanville, Pennsylvania) on 11/08/2007
★★★★★
Chewing raw garlic, which is hard on the stomach and bad for the breath, vs drinking garlic tea, which is neither, is very effective against colds.
To make the garlic tea, chop a garlic clove or two into a cup, add boiling water, followed by lemon and honey to taste.
The garlic will settle to the bottom.
Be sure to spoon it up and chew well when you have drunk the liquid.
Drink a cup of garlic tea frequently, at least once a day, when everyone around you is passing a cold back and forth, or at the first hint of a scratchy throat or runny eyes and sniffles. I am religious about this, and have not had a cold in years.
Colds
Posted by Laura (Seattle, WA) on 10/16/2007
★★★★★
I've been using garlic for years for a variety of things. Usually I use it for colds. At the first sign of a cold, chop up 4 cloves of raw garlic and eat. I prefer to use it as a garnish on an already garlicy type food like soups or spaghettie, it helps make the taste not so obvious. Keep up with 4 cloves a day, then reduce the number as your symptoms decrease. This can stop a cold from manifesting, or it will shorten and weaken your colds. I used to have chronic bronchitis after every cold, now I haven't had it in years. I also only get one cold a year usually. Yeah, I don't smell great but I'm not missing so much work!
I will also use raw garlic juice on rashes and bug bites. It stops the itching immediately, and I pretty much use it for anytime I might need a phytoncide.
Sensitive Teeth
Posted by Jan (Southern Utah) on 01/27/2025
My lower right back molar had a piece of tooth break off. Right cheek had a swelling and under the right lower jaw down neck a little had a swelling and stiffness. This is what worked for me for pain relief and reducing swelling. Cut off of the garlic clove a small piece of garlic the size of the tooth. Put the raw side on top of the tooth. The outer uncut skin of the rest of the garlic doesn't feel hot and burn-ish to the tongue or gums. The tooth absorbs the cut side of garlic and you can feel a warming pleasant sensation to the area of abscess. You can leave garlic piece on tooth as long as you like one hour or overnight. It helped my tooth abscess go away. Don't eat anything with sugar or it will flare up again. Use re-mineralization toothpaste or tooth powder to brush teeth with; add a drop of clove oil to also help with sensitivity. Try herbal natural mouthwashes.
Ear Aches
Posted by Anonymous (USA)
★★★★★
Garlic for ear ache. one garlic tooth. heat not too hot. cut a piece from garlic wrap in a cotton ball with vick 's vapor rub then insert in ear. Not both ears. in no time you'll feel better.
High Blood Pressure
Posted by jake (chicago) on 04/14/2024
★★★★★
garlic - fresh pressed - I recently started with yogurt 1-3x per day for valley fever. Dr. Weil of Arizona suggests garlic as it is strongly anti fungal.
What I have found additionally is that it is cure for high blood pressure. Art's recommendation - carditone - took me down from 160 - 180 systolic to 130 - 140 range, but the garlic has brought my level down to 100 - 115 systolic. Of course the 100mg nattokinase I started a month back undoubtedly has contributed as well.
Storing Garlic
Posted by Orh (Ten Mile , Tn) on 06/19/2020
★★★★☆
ORH here,,,,,,,, as all know, I's kinda wild and strange. We harvested our garlic bulbs, 1/2 bushel, and have dried them. My dilemma is where to store them as my choices in the past were to too sporty. Know they need to be cool, dry, dark, and in open air. Research showed the the garlic odor will kill bacteria and fungus. Being SJS, here is my solution. I am going to put them in a mesh bag and hang them in front of our central A/C unit. That will meet all the fore mentioned conditions and maybe improve our log cabin air. So, this is another tale of mine, but all use garlic and have quandered where to store. Don't think this will change the smell and it may not work on the toxins in the air. But, I needed a story to tell. ====ORH====
