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 Monet (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 05/02/2009
★★★★★
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!
Tooth Abcess, Infection
Posted by Leila (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) on 03/03/2009
★★★★★
Garlic cured my jaw infection! One of molars in my upper jaw broke off about a year ago, all the way down to the gums. I don't have insurance and am mortally afraid of going to the dentist, so when my cheek swelled up yesterday, I panicked. I tried green clay, bit it didn't help much. After sleeping 3 hours and not knowing what to do about the pain (painkillers didn't help much either), I decided to do a search on the Internet and stumbled across your site.
Garlic worked wonders! I chewed it and pressed the pulp against the 'hole' between my teeth.It stung so badly, I had tears in my eyes, but after 5 minutes the pain had subsided. Am absolutely overjoyed! Will continue to treat with garlic, I have a really good feeling about it. Thank you!
Colds
Posted by Jill (Twin Falls, ID ) on 10/30/2008
★★★★★
For years and with my children growing up I have used soft gel garlic capsules. The first onset of a cold I take or give my children 2-5 of the soft gel capsules. By the next morning you are expelling green guck. Garlic really does help and cure colds. I am a believer! I have had strep throat many many times in my life and I still have my tonsils after 50 years and I say it is due to the garlic that I have taken. When I get sick my throat area is the weak point of my body and that is what I usually get is a cold other wise I am a well individual.
Coughs
Posted by Ken (Chicago, IL) on 07/14/2008
★★★★★
I can vouch for this one. I caught a cold last month that went into my chest. Though the cold faded, I'd had a nagging cough ever since then; keeping me up at night, awful fits in public, etc. Lozenges and expectorants helped, but didn't stop the cough. After 2 days of drinking the garlic tea (twice a day) my cough is completely gone and I feels tons better - I'm still drinking it! It definitely feels good for what ails you ... and for what doesn't!
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.
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.
Angina - Warning
Posted by Pat (Burlington, Vermont) on 07/10/2007
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Although many of you believe you have been cured of angina by taking garlic and flaxseed, I am afraid that is is not true and you are in a dangerous situation. These supplements are very useful and strong if used correctly...as prevention. However, they cannot unclog arteries. Please be good to yourself and reasonable. Use all available treatments and advice together! There are plenty of wonderful cardiologists who have a holistic approach.
Angina - Warning
Posted by Kathy (Benton, Ar) on 01/07/2012
Garlic. Since my last post I have been crushing the garlic instead of chopping it. I allow it to sit for 10 minutes for the Allicin to work and take it in one teaspoon with water. I do this 2x daily. Heating the garlic removes its potency. Taking crushed or chopped garlic too soon after crushing or chopping prevents the allicin from doing its job. There are many places on EarthClinic to read how to take garlic. There are many websites to read how to take garlic.
Angina - Warning
Posted by Kathy (Benton, Ar) on 01/24/2012
http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com - learn more about garlic - garlic does reduce artery plaque, can cure MRSA, many, many things - it is a natural antibiotic. It will burn your skin if you are sensitive to garlic. That doesn't mean you are allergic, it simply means put something between your skin and the garlic. Use a mask with a garlic poultice in it to breathe garlic into the lungs. Make a paste of olive oil and garlic, place in poultice (tea bag), place on bottom of feet in the ball behind the toes for garlic to get to the lungs over night. I wrapped a piece of garlic in gauze and put in my ear over night. Earache gone the next morning. Breathing it into the lungs is also good for unclogging sinus. Go to the website I provided above.
Herpes
Posted by Emily (Madison, Maine) on 05/10/2007
★★★★★
I take the odorless garlic softgels for my Herpes outbreaks. I take twelve softgels when I feel the tingling and then three every four hours while awake for the next few days. If I don't get it soon enough to prevent it then it only lasts a few days. I also use the softgels for when I have ear pain. I pierce the gelcap and squeeze the contents on a cottonball and put it in the offending ear for an hour. Then do the same over night. You will feel an immediate response and the overnight treatment only needs to be done for a couple of nights. I LOVE garlic. These remedies I have found through many health and herbal remedy books.
Bronchitis
Posted by Michelle (Albuquerque, NW) on 01/09/2007
★★★★★
Fresh Garlic cured my Bronchitis and Sinus Infection. 1 finely diced clove (not the entire bulb) 3x's daily with any complimentary food that has been cooled almost to room temp (eg. diced tomatoes, avocado, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti sauce, pizza, or even apple pie.) Garlic is a natural antibiotic and antifungal. Within an hour or so, easier to breather and think, in 4 days cleared up symptoms. Took for 7 days to eliminate any chance of becoming ill again. Drawbacks: odoriferous breath, and the odor also emanates from the pores of the skin. Use strong breath mints/cologne/essential oils to your liking.
Chewing Raw Garlic
Posted by R Smith (LONDON) on 01/02/2006
★★★★★
You can simply chew a peeled clove of raw garlic in the mouth, making sure you chomp it sufficiently into small pieces. The juices will be absorbed by your tongue almost immediately into your system, and is a fast way of getting it into the body. You can spit out the pieces without swallowing them, once the juice has been absorbed.
Colds
Posted by Samin (Monroe, LA)
★★★★★
When I feel a cold coming on with symptoms of a sore throat & or sniffles, I blend 1-2 cloves of fresh crushes garlic & 1/2 cup of spring or distilled water. I drink it once in the morning on an empty stomach & again in the evening for at least a week. Bye , bye cold & discomfort. Oh by the way, it is disgusting but oh so good for U.
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.
History of Garlic
Posted by Susan (USA)
Garlic has a long history in folklore as a protector from disease and evil spirits (such as vampires). For these reasons, garlic is not only consumed as a healthy food and medicine but it is also worn to fight various ills. Many native cultures throughout the Caribbean use garlic in religious rituals and divinations. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used garlic in infectious diseases and particularly prescribed it for intestinal disorders.
12th century German mystic Hildegarde von Bingen recommended simmering garlic in water for twenty minutes and drinking the "tea" for bronchial problems like asthma. This treatment is still in use in many cultures. Three cloves of garlic in boiling water is also recommended as a topical cure for athlete's foot. Additionally, garlic was used extensively in the battlefields during World War I (1914-1918) to treat and dress wounds and infections. Being a natural antibiotic and widely available, it was the most effective antiseptic available at the time.
HEALING POWERS OF GARLIC:
Garlic has been used in herbal medicine to treat asthma, deafness, leprosy, bronchial, congestion, hardening of arteries, fevers, worms and liver and gall bladder trouble. Herbal books list it being useful in Leucoderma, leprosy, piles, worms, catarrhal disorders and cough. Additionally, it is reported that garlic is good for the heart, stimulates appetite, and is an energy tonic.
Garlic's unpleasant odor is due to its sulphur content. This mineral is contained to a greater degree in its volatile oil, which has remarkable medicinal virtues.
Juice of garlic has a most beneficial effect on the entire system as it helps dissolve an accumulation of mucus in the sinus cavities, bronchial tubes and the lungs. It also helps expel poison from body through pores of the skin.
History of Garlic
Posted by Charlotte (Essex, Clacton, England) on 03/01/2012
Am sure garlic is wonderful and have been taking it for a while for sinus but I found that after a bit I ached, was lacking in energy, was totally worn out some days, had headaches, brain fog etc and in some ways felt worse. I then investigated and found that garlic can cause under active thyroid of which these are the symptoms So now taking it again but with an iodine supplement of natural kelp to counter act that. Also trying ACV with mother every day and tinctures of goldenseal, eyebright, mullein and licorice. Yes others might try one thing for a bit and then try something else but I have had this blessed problem for ages and am sick of it, and unable to work while like this.
Summary
Posted by Kathryn (Raleigh, North Carolina, Usa) on 12/02/2011
WARNING! I had an upper respiratory bacterial infection (green and yellow mucus secondary to a virus) and read a number of posts here about raw garlic and, not wanting to chew it, I put raw garlic packs under my feet (chopped several large cloves and put them on plastic wrap and wrapped each foot, put socks over) and left the first pack all afternoon. I didn't notice a problem. I decided to do it again and leave them overnight. The next morning I awoke to find that the mucus was clear again, BUT I had very itchy, swollen, bright red feet. The itching nearly drove me crazy and I scratched... Big mistake. By the next day the arches of my feet were covered in large blisters, the itching is even worse, and my feet look and feel almost identical to when I had an emergency room level drug reaction to Keflex last year (before it was over I looked like I had third degree burns in all the intriginous skin areas and it took five months to heal -- the dermatologists at Duke had never seen anything like it... they thought it was a fungal infection and only a skin biopsy confirmed the drug reaction).
I came back here immediately and read more about garlic and saw somewhere a post from a mother who said her daughter's skin blisters when it's exposed to garlic. Since I've eaten raw garlic in green smoothies every day for the last year I didn't think it could be the garlic; perhaps a reaction to the plastic wrap (I'm multiple chemical sensitive and react to all sorts of things). So the night before last I put one slice of garlic on my forearm and covered it in paper tape for sensitive skin. In the morning it seemed fine... At first. By evening a red patch had appeared and I felt a slight itch. By the next day the spot was swollen and red and definitely itching. I've been treating my feet with ACV, magnesium oil, and triamcinolone acetonide (prescription topical steroid I was given for the Keflex reaction), so I put that on the arm spot that day each time I did my feet (every three hours). This morning the arm spot is still red, swollen, and itches and has a small blister.
Never again will I put raw garlic on my skin. When asked if I have allergies I will list a topical allergy to raw garlic.
My QUESTION is: Should I continue to eat raw garlic? I'm not certain yet, but it seems to me that I have a fit of intense itching shortly after drinking even a small glass of green smoothie with raw garlic.
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.
Raw Garlic Side Effects
Posted by Gertjr (Madison) on 08/30/2020
I know that when I eat lots of raw garlic, I will bleed more than usual. If I'm getting bloodwork done, I avoid it for a week prior. If I don't, the simple gauze pad on the site doesn't stop it from bleeding and I need to apply pressure for quite some time or it'll bleed right through the dressing. So, for me, it thins my blood. Who knows what that does to my blood pressure.
Garlic Side Effects
Posted by Marty (FL) on 03/19/2023
I have found when we do most things in extreme, we may end up with a healing crisis. All the uncomfortableness in the body is in the lymphatic system and toxins not having a way out of the body so all kinds of things can happen until it does. If your kidneys are not filtering, then all the waste in the lymph is being held somewhere. That can be dangerous when all of a sudden a big load gets dealt with and then it can't go anywhere, make sense?
Slowly build up to more and more but listening to the body is important and using kinesiology on yourself is helpful too.
