Although historically garlic has been used for thousands of years to benefit health, it’s only recently that its place in modern-day medicine has been firmly established. It is now recognised not simply as a general cure-all, but as something that offers great healing power.

FIGHTING INFECTION

It’s garlic’s role in fighting infection with which most people are familiar. Back in the 19th century Louis Pasteur studied garlic in his laboratory and showed how it killed bacteria. In the First World War soldiers used garlic juice to stop their wounds becoming infected. In fact, more recent research has confirmed that it not only functions as an antibiotic, but that it can also be used to treat fungal and viral infections. This should come as no surprise since it is said that Roman soldiers placed garlic cloves in between their toes to overcome the ravages of athlete’s foot. Many people who suffer with viral cold sores, often triggered in the winter either by cold weather or the UV light experienced during winter sun holidays, find that garlic helps to keep attacks at bay.

Garlic is also a powerful way to ward off winter coughs and colds. Not only is it believed to shorten the duration of the cold and to reduce the severity of the symptoms, taken regularly it can also help to lessen the likelihood of someone catching one when all around them are suffering. Garlic has decongestant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help to relieve the stuffy nose, catarrh and sore throat that are all too common during wintertime.

In fact, those who suffer with allergic rhinitis can also benefit from garlic. This is a condition that causes symptoms similar to hayfever but which troubles people all year round. The decongestant and anti-inflammatory actions of the plant can help bring them relief from their symptoms. It also contains quercetin, a natural anti-histamine so is useful for relieving many of the symptoms associated with allergy.

CHOPPED OR CRUSHED

Allicin is the most powerful medicine derived from garlic and provides the greatest health benefits. However, it doesn’t occur in the ordinary type, it is produced by a chemical reaction when garlic is finely chopped or crushed. An intact clove contains an odourless sulphur compound called alliin and when it is crushed or cut, alliin comes into contact with an enzyme called alliinase and allicin is formed. Allicin is quickly broken down into other sulphur compounds and it is allicin and these other compounds that are responsible for the beneficial effects of garlic. It’s also allicin that is responsible for the plant’s characteristic pungent taste and odour. In fact, it’s allicin that is believed to be responsible for garlic’s strong anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. The more a clove is crushed, or the more finely it is chopped, the more allicin is produced and therefore the greater the health benefits. But what if you, or those around you, can’t tolerate the distinctive odour? Well, this, of course, is where supplements come to the rescue: it is now available in an odourless form that offers the health benefits without the social traumas.

BEDROOM BOOSTER

Garlic can help in the bedroom, too, and not just by keeping vampires away. Some of those who snore find that taking it helps them to breathe more easily, giving them and their partner a better night’s sleep. By improving blood flow, garlic may also help men to overcome problems with impotence. Research scientists at Berlin University have suggested that in the same way that the plant improves blood flow to the heart, it can also improve blood flow to the groin, thus improving a man’s sexual performance. The researchers commented that normal levels of garlic consumption would be insufficient to show any significant improvement so taking a supplement might be a better option.

HEALTHY HEART AND BLOOD PRESSURE

Most recently it’s garlic’s benefits in keeping the heart and circulation healthy that have attracted great interest, particularly as each year in the UK almost 120,000 people die from heart disease and around 100,000 suffer their first stroke. When allicin is broken down, compounds called diallyl sulphides are created and it’s these that are believed to be responsible for the medical benefits related to circulation and cholesterol.

Garlic can help to lower blood pressure, a major risk factor for both heart attacks and strokes, which are also more likely to occur in the wintertime. It’s a great seasoning for food and so reduces the need for salt (which contributes to high blood pressure anyway).

Another risk factor for heart disease and strokes is raised cholesterol, specifically high levels of LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol. It’s believed that garlic helps to reduce these levels and in doing so lessens the chances of blood vessels becoming furred up. Of course, garlic isn’t a one-man band with regard to reducing the risk of heart attacks and stroke, but it is an important member of the team that also includes regular exercise, not smoking, a healthy balanced diet and essential fatty acids from oily fish or supplements.

THE HEALTH ALL-ROUNDER

Whether it’s crushed or finely chopped and eaten raw or added to cooked food just before serving or taken as an odourless supplement is down to individual preference. What is clear is that garlic offers tremendous health benefits – it can help to keep the threat of heart disease, stroke, infections and, of course, vampires, at arm’s length.

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