What Is Garlic?

Garlic is an iconic herb and cooking spice that is familiar to almost everyone, regardless of their herbal knowledge. In fact, many people are surprised to learn that this plant works beyond its fame in cooking to provide us with medicinal benefits as well.

How to Use Garlic (Common Uses)

Garlic powder. can be taken internally as a tea, decoction, powder, capsules, or extract. Garlic powder is commonly used as a cooking herb or for ritual purposes. Visit our herbal blog for more ideas about how to use garlic powder.

Medicinal Uses and Benefits of Garlic

Records of the historic use of garlic date back at least 5000 years in India, and 3000 years in China. Garlic was also a popular remedy with Hippocrates and Aristotle, and they described it in their writing and being capable of treating many conditions.

Commonly used in the present day as a remedy for infection and colds, garlic can be found as an ingredient in cold and flu cures as diverse as fire cider and chicken soup. The compound allicin from garlic has potent antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal benefits. Garlic can be a beneficial herb against strains of yeast such as Candida albicans and bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori.

Due to its ability to help expel mucus from the lungs, garlic may be especially beneficial lung conditions such as coughs and bronchitis.

Garlic is high in antioxidants.

As a tool for managing cholesterol levels, garlic may be helpful for some people. It can help to lower LDL cholesterol while raising HDL levels. As well, garlic may be able to help protect some of the body’s tissues from injury caused by high levels of LDL cholesterol.

Garlic can be beneficial as an herb to lower blood pressure.

When taken as a digestive aid, garlic can help to stimulate digestion and reduce gas and bloating.

Energetically, garlic is considered to be hot and drying with a pungent flavour.

As a cooking spice, garlic is a popular ingredient in Chinese, French, Italian, and many other cuisines.

Garlic is often used both internally and externally, although topical application can cause skin irritation for some people. For those who can tolerate garlic when it is applied topically, it can be beneficial for providing relief from bee and wasp stings.

Garlic may provide a blood thinning effect. Although more research is needed, some recent studies have shown potential anti-cancer properties of garlic when taken over a long period of time.

Active Constituents in Garlic

Thiosulfanate, volatile oil, enzymes, lectins, allicin.

Notable Facts About Garlic

Topical applications of garlic may cause skin irritation.

Historically garlic has been used not only as protection against vampires, but to help ward off evil spirits and theft.

Garlic is associated with the Greek deity Hecate, and has been used as an offering for her.

Sailors would carry garlic to protect against accidents at sea.

Ayurvedic medicine holds that garlic can increase libido and discourages anyone celibate from eating or cooking with it.

The famous microbiologist Louis Pasteur was a fan of the antibacterial qualities of garlic, and wrote excitedly about its efficacy at killing bacteria that was resistant to other antibacterials.