Why is Garlic So Good For You??
Hi Everyone,
Excellent post by Dr. Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute in W. Palm Beach, FL on health benefits of garlic.
Three Cheers for Garlic
By Dr. Brian Clement
The primary purpose of fasting is to enable the kidneys, liver, bloodstream and colon to eliminate toxic accumulations more quickly. Nature has provided us with her own superb nostrum in the form of garlic, a member of the plant genus, Allium, which is rich in sulfur compounds.
The strange bulb — which is shunned by many, is staunchly-defended by others as a prodigious cure-all. Consumed garlic facilitates diminished blood-pressure by thinning the blood and minimizing blood-lipids such as triglycerides and cholesterol. The compound, ajoene, is as potent as aspirin in preventing sticky blood-platelets from clumping, a coagulation that can lead to a stroke or a heart- attack. In studies performed upon animals at the Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, another garlic compound, diallyl sulfide, appeared to inhibit tumor- formation. Researchers speculate that diallyl sulfide enables the liver to detoxify cancer-causing chemicals. In studies conducted at the University of Minnesota and New York University Medical Center, garlic-derived sulfur-compounds inhibited tumors of the stomach and skin. Garlic also contains bioflavonoids, the cancer-fighters found in cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
The most acrid and odoriferous compound in garlic is allicin, which is a proven antibiotic. During World War 1, the lives of thousands of soldiers were saved when their wounds were wrapped in garlic-soaked bandages. In moderate doses, allicin hinders more than 23 kinds of bacteria, at least 60 types of fungi, and yeast, including candida albicans and salmonella; in larger doses, it eradicates them. Garlic does contain certain irritants that might cause distress in people with stomach disorders or hernias; however. Many people seem to find moderate daily amounts of some cloves of garlic tolerable and beneficial.
Garlic-powders and garlic-salts contain very little anti-bacterial and anti-clotting properties; therefore, you should consider consuming only fresh garlic. The volatile oils of garlic are fragile; therefore, even the slightest cooking of a clove destroys the antibiotic, allicin.
The many studies involving garlic lead to the conclusion that it is a valuable addition to a juice-fast. Its detoxifying properties accelerate the cleansing-process and help to eliminate harmful bacteria, over-acidity, and troublesome omnipresent intestinal parasites. Put a couple of cloves of garlic into the juicer, and add it to your vegetable juices for a cleansing bonus. The garlic clove itself is deceptively-odorless, but, the more-finely you chop it — especially if it is mashed -the sharper the odor and taste become. As simply-stated in The Official Garlic Lover’s Handbook, “The more you do to it, the more it will do to you”.
Chow,
Janice
