Garlic Health BenefitsGarlic is One of The Greatest Health Secrets in The World Garlic (Allium sativum), is a member of the onion family Alliaceae with relatives including the chive, leek, onion and shallot. This remarkable herb has been used for centuries as both a culinary food but also for medicinal purposes. It is originally endemic to the Yunnan province of China but now is grown around the world from Korea to America to the Urkraine to Argentina to Spain. It has uniquely and characteristic pungent flavor and smell that is never forgotten. It is highly prized in Italian and Asian cuisine and of course for its medicinal qualities known the world over and throughout history. While garlic is a main component of many tremendous culinary dishes, the purpose of this article is to inform you on the magnificent health benefits of garlic. Garlic is truly one of the greatest health secrets in the world but most just think of it as a condiment to be used in cooking. It is literally one of the oldest medicinal remedies known to man with ancient man using it both as a food source but as a healing agent as well. It has been cultivated, distributed and used from time immemorial in the treatment of many diseases, which I'll go over momentarily. Some Health History of GarlicGarlic has a long and varied history. Galen of Pergamum, an ancient Roman physican and philosopher, esteemed garlic highly calling it the "theriac" or "heal all." Dioscorides, a second century herbalist and physician who traveled with the army of the legendary Alexander the Great, recounted its effective use against everthing from tooth problems to flatulence to its use as a vulnerary aid against snake bite to the removal of intestinal parasites to its use as an anti-rabies aid. It's easy to see why it would be called "theriac" or as a cure all. English writer Geoffrey Chaucer too called it "theriac" as did several English botanists and herbalists considering it a health panacea. Louis Pasteur himself studied the anti-bacterial activity of garlic, which lead to its reputation as a potent antiseptic and vulnerary agent. During World War I, it was used extensively as an antiseptic and as a vulnerary agent and saved thousands of lives from gangrene and amputation to sepsis or blood poisoning. (Vulnerary means used in the treatment of wounds.) In 20th and 21st century Russia, garlic oil is so prized and popular it's called the "Russian penicillin." The name garlic is of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin deriving from gar (a spear) and lac (a plant), which references garlic's leaves' shape. It is interesting to note that among the alternative health community and modern-day medicinal herbalist that it still is one of the pre-eminent herbs standing out as one of mankind's most important therapeutic agents. In ancient Egypt, the builders of the pyramids of Egypt were paid in onions and garlic, which was seen as a very valuable commodity. During the time of the fourth dynasty Pharaoh, garlic was actually elevated to the rank of a god or deity! In one of the earliest herbal pharmacological documents known to manking, in The Ebers Papyrus, 1500 BC, garlic is mentioned as being used in the treatment of wounds. Everyone from King Henry IV to the Islam prophet Muhammad to the ancient writer Homer to the ancient king Charlemagne have extolled the virtues or this remarkable herb. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used garlic in his work, even prescribing the eating of garlic for uterine tumors. The stories about garlic's potent health benefits are almost unbelievable. Master herbalist D. Christopher has testified that he has personally seen garlic cure epilepsy, abscesses, asthma, leg ulcers, tuberculosis, athletes foot, bronchitis, stomach ulcers, several skin diseases and furunculosis. He also asserts it can cure or eliminate swine flu, something that may be of interest in the future. I myself have seen garlic in action as well. I had a terrible ear infection in my 28th year that was so severe I couldn't sleep. Knowing of the magnificent qualities of garlic, I made my own garlic tincture, which was crude but effective. I dropped about five or six drops of it into my ear and what happened next worried me. Within an hour, the whole left side of my face around my ear swelled so badly, it cut off all hearing in my left ear. The swelling was so pronounced it looked like I had just gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. The swelling extended from my left temple down to my jawline. There was some temporary amplification of pain in my ear and I had to sleep sitting up as the swelling and pounding of my pulse in my ear brought about insomnia. In time, though, I fell into a pleasant sleep and when I awoke lying on my back, not only was the swelling gone but my hearing had returned and the infection, its pain and fever had disappeared as well. Specific Health Benefits of GarlicWhat are its therapeutic actions? Its therapeutic actions and capability are formidable including alterative, antiseptic, antisyphilitic, anthelmintic (vermicide), anti-catarrhal, antispasmodic, carminative, condiment, diaphoretic, digestant, diruetic, disinfectant, emmenagogue, nervine, rubefacient, rubefacient vulnerary, and tonic. In conclusion, garlic should best be taken raw. The fresher the better. This remarkable food and herb has been used and praised for thousands of years but modern man with his reliance on machines and artifical medical techniques has forgotten its history. Garlic is a great blessing to mankind and should be praised for its medicinal qualities and not just its culinary diversified uses. I hope this article has been useful to you. Yours in health, |
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