Herb Class: Garlic

Excerpts from The ABC Herbal

Garlic is a wonderful natural antibiotic. It is as powerful as penicillin without the side effects. In my experience, I have found it to be superior to antibiotics in fighting many common ailments. Fortunately, there are herbs which support the body in its efforts to fight infection and help to remove the underlying cause of the disease. Our favorite herb example is garlic, which, as previously discussed, we use in enemas and in external applications as well as internally. Garlic has been called “nature’s penicillin” because it has powerful infection-fighting qualities with no harmful side effects. (It does have one unpleasant, but harmless side effect, its smell.)
In his book, Advanced Treatise in Herbology, Dr. Edward Shook had this to say about the valuable antibiotic properties of garlic:


"The use of garlic in the 1st World War (WW1) as an antiseptic was most sensational. In 1916, the British government asked for tons of the bulbs, offering one shilling a pound for as much as could be produced. A great quantity of it was used for the control of suppuration in wounds. The raw juice was expressed, diluted with water, and put on swabs of sterilized sphagnum moss which was applied to the wounds. Where this treatment was given, it has been proved that there has never been one single case of sepsis or septic results. Consequently, the lives of tens of thousands have been saved by this one miraculous herb."


We have used garlic for respiratory problems, earaches, bacterial infections, sore throats, colds, fevers, abscesses and injuries with excellent results. Although children don’t like it, we have occasionally given them squirts of garlic oil (garlic oil diluted in olive oil) internally. However, we more frequently use it in an enema, or rub it into the skin over the afflicted area. The volatile oils in garlic (which have the antiseptic action) penetrate right through the skin into the blood and lymph within seconds.


Garlic helps stimulate the flow of blood and lymph, promotes perspiration, expels phlegm and otherwise improves the internal environment to make it unfriendly to harmful micro-organisms. In fact, a nurse who worked in a hospital growing bacterial cultures told me how she had proven to herself the powerful effect of garlic. She took a petri dish with a very powerful strain of bacteria and set a peeled clove of garlic in the center of the dish. Within two hours, every bacteria in the dish was dead. She told me it took eight hours for the strongest antibiotic the hospital had to kill that same strain of bacteria when the antibiotic was sprayed over the whole plate. That shows you how penetrating the effects of garlic are.


Garlic is one of the best herbs for an earache. When we were first married, my wife has some sever ear infections which we had a difficult time getting rid of. Then, she discovered garlic. Now, whenever she feels an earache coming on she peels a fresh clove of garlic and puts it in her ear like a hearing aid. (She doesn’t put it into the ear canal; she just sets it on the outer part of the ear.) That’s it. Within the hour, the pain is gone.


Since children usually won’t keep the garlic clove on their ear (unless you tape it in place), we usually use garlic oil. We rub the garlic oil around the ear, especially underneath the ear and jaw moving down into the throat. This encourages lymph flow. Then we put a few drops of warm garlic oil directly into the ear. Make sure the garlic oil is at least body temperature or the coolness of it will cause the ear to contract and increase rather than ease the pain. Rocking or “bouncing” the child also helps to increase lymph flow. I generally give the child a garlic enema as well.


Excerpts from The How to Herb Book

Garlic is called nature’s antibiotic. It contains allicin, a natural antibiotic. One milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin. It is effective against toxic bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Garlic contains more germanium, an anti-cancer agent, than any other herb. In tests with mice and rats, garlic fed groups developed no cancer where no-garlic fed groups developed some cancers. In Russia, garlic was found to retard tumor growth in humans.

• Active against staphylococcus and E. coli bacteria.
• Good to take for all diseases (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cancer) including contagious diseases.
• Protects against infection.
• Has detoxifying effects on all the body systems.
• Improves, tones, and strengthens entire physical condition. Has rejuvenating effect on all cells.
• Builds endurance and energy.
• Strengthens body defenses against allergens.
• Has soft oils that help to emulsify plaque and loosen it from arterial walls.
• Contains selenium which helps arteriosclerosis.
• Strengthens blood vessels.
• Equalizes blood pressure, high or low.
• Has a sugar regulating factor.
• Taken internally one of the most effective herbs for killing and expelling parasites.
• Used in enemas. Besides being used as a straight garlic enema, it is excellent to combine with Catnip for a Catnip/Garlic enema. The catnip pulls mucus, and soothes the cramping of the colon, etc. The garlic kills the germs and parasites, improves peristaltic action, and also pulls mucus.
• Garlic contains protein, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins A, B, B2, and C, calcium, sulfur, selenium, germanium, allicin, allicetoin I & II, aluminum, chlorine, manganese, zinc, copper, and iron.
  
  

Testimonial:

Eating crushed garlic probably works best, but I have had great success (and not so much stink) just swallowing a whole clove like a pill. If it is large, I will cut it in two pieces and take them both. You have to drink a bunch of water with it or your stomach will burn. Without fail, if I swallow a clove of garlic when I first feel like I am getting sick, I either bypass the illness completely, or get such a mild case that it doesn't even really slow me down.