Medicinal Benefits of Garlic

A Case for Garlic – Natures Medicine Chest

by Matt Bolinger, MD

Introduction
When asked about garlic, most either love it, or hate it. Used throughout the world as a culinary spice, cardiovascular aid, insect repellant, and general cure-all, garlic’s popularity has had many fluctuations. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, wrote of garlic’s wondrous properties. The Israelites used it during their stay in Egypt. Garlic has been found in the tombs of Pharos, alongside other treasures. Its use as a medicine goes back at least 6,000 years.

This mysterious bulb-forming-plant is believed to improve digestion, clean plaque from the arteries, lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, kill bacteria and fungus, wipeout parasites, and increase the user’s energy levels and life force. How can something so good for the overall human health condition have such controversial reviews? Garlic is odorous.

The Reaction: Alliin – Alliinase – Allicin
Undamaged, garlic has little smell or taste. This is due to the alliin/alliinase reaction. Alliin, a derivative of the amino acid cystine, is a sulfoxide and is relatively tasteless and odorless on its own. It is found freely in raw garlic and has little known biological activity. Alliinase, also found in raw garlic, is an enzyme whose action on alliin produces allicin. Allicin is the organic compound, found in crushed or cut garlic, which is to blame for the odor and antibiotic properties of the plants bulbs.

The alliin is converted to allicin only when the bulb is crushed or cut and the alliin comes into contact with the alliinase enzyme.

The moment allicin is produced, it begins to degrade into sulfide compounds. The complete degradation can take up to 16 hours. These sulfide compounds are found in garlic oil and, although they are not active against bacteria and fungi, still show positive results for the cardiovascular system. Heating, cooking, or frying allicin almost immediately causes the degradation into sulfide compounds and loss of antibiotic activity.

Studied Health Benefits of Garlic
Hundreds of studies have been conducted on the use of garlic medicinally, with mixed results. One could only conclude, after thousands of years of use, some merit must exist to the health claims of this puzzling plant. The list of the possible benefits could go on for pages, so let’s focus on a few that do bare some scientific proof. Stick with me through the scientific jargon and I’ll see you on the other side.

Improved Digestion – Garlic consumption has been shown to improve digestion by causing the liver to increase the production of bile. Bile is important in the digestion of fats.

Reduced Plaque in Arteries – Multiple studies point to a reduction of arthrosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries) with the long-term use of garlic.

Lowered Blood Pressure – Some studies suggest that the long-term use of garlic can cause as much as a 20 to 30mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure. They also suggest as much as 10 to 20mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure can be obtained with the long-term use. This might be a direct result of the reduced arterial plaque and cholesterol suggested by the use of the plant in studies. While these results may seem a trivial drop in blood pressure compared to the use of some pharmaceuticals, it can mean the difference between high and normal pressure results for some patients.

Reduce Cholesterol – As stated above; garlic causes liver to release more bile. This action helps to cut down on the levels of blood lipids, thereby reducing cholesterol.

Anti-clotting – Garlic inhibits platelets from sticking together. The results can be similar to daily aspirin use. If you doctor has recommended taking daily aspirin, talk with him or her about using garlic instead.

Reduced Blood Sugar – While little credible research has been conducted on garlic’s actions on insulin production, it is thought that the use of garlic causes increased insulin production by the pancreas.

Antioxidant – Allicin is a known antioxidant and powerfully removes unwanted free radicals from the body. A reduction in free radicals has been shown to reduce the risk of developing cancer and other age-related diseases.

Anti-inflammatory – Constituents in garlic are thought to modulate cytokines (signaling molecule for the immune system) resulting in an inhibition of inflammation in the affected tissue.

Antibiotic – Allicin has been shown to have an unusually broad action against many bacteria, including bacillus (anthrax), staphylococcus (staph), Escherichia (E. coli), pseudomonas (opportunistic infection), streptococcus (strep), vibrio (cholera), and mycobacterium (tuberculosis) species. Garlic is much weaker than modern antibiotics, but has not been shown to lend itself to “drug resistance” common to man-made antibiotics. Garlic (allicin) is great to use at the first sign of infection or for chronic, sub-acute infections. Care must be taken not to over-estimate what garlic can do. For acute infections giving symptoms such as fever and spreading inflammation, medical treatment should be sought.

Antifungal – Garlic has been shown to be an antifungal and have broad activity against Candida. In some studies, garlic worked faster than modern antifungals to subdue the infection.

Anti-parasitic – Garlic has been used to rid humans and animals of worms and parasites throughout history. Pinworms in the intestinal tract are especially sensitive to garlic.

How to Use Garlic
Hopefully you are asking, “So what now – how much should I take and in what form?” The answer to that question lies in the results you are looking for. Remember that any form of garlic can show results for the cardiovascular system. Only garlic rich in allicin (either raw/crushed or allicin stabilized) has been shown to be antimicrobial (against bacteria, fungus, parasites) in studies.

Effects Studied	Raw/Crushed	Any Form
Improved Digestion	X	X
Reduced Plaque	X	X
Reduced Blood Pressure	X	X
Reduced Cholesterol	X	X
Reduced Clotting	X	X
Antioxidant	X	X
Anti-Bacterial	X
Anti-Fungal	X
Anti-Parasitic	X

Fresh Garlic
One to five cloves (not bulbs) each day should be sufficient to achieve results using fresh garlic. Purple skinned garlic is sometimes stronger than white skinned garlic. Take note of this when consuming raw garlic. Raw garlic should be crushed and minced, or pressed in a garlic press, and consumed by swallowing the tiny pieces like small capsules or tablets with water. You must crush garlic to get its full benefits. You can limit the odor of fresh garlic use by also ingesting plenty of green chlorophyll. A good green powder drink everyday will help with the odor. Also a little fresh ginger root can help those who experience an upset stomach with fresh garlic use. Just mince a small piece of ginger and include it with the crushed and minced garlic. Fresh garlic is powerful and some common sense should always be employed with its use.

Capsules or Oil
Follow the manufacture’s suggestions when consuming garlic capsules, tablets, or oil. There are no known toxicities for garlic. Can you take more than the manufacturer’s suggested dosage? Logic would say YES, but that is up to you and your healthcare practitioner (of course).

Garlic as a Spice
Use it on everything. Have you ever used garlic on your breakfast cereal? Anyone feeling that adventurous should let me know. Even cooked, garlic has been shown to have effects on the cardiovascular system. Any form of garlic can have some benefits other than flavor enhancement.