Of course, this alone is reason enough to eat it.

Garlic is so good for us that the medical establishment has spent much time and money trying to convince us that it is a poison. They have paid (and may still be paying) pseudo experts to declare it a poisonous substance, deadly to the brain. One hilarious and so, so obvious instance of this was Robert Beck, D. Sc. The D. Sc. Stands for a doctorate in science, and is similar to a PHD in most countries.

Robert Beck decided there was more money in medicine than science, so he came up with a much publicized process called the “Beck Protocol.” This protocol used electricity to mildly shock the blood, along with other electrical processes that were supposed to rid you of disease and increase longevity. It must not have worked very well because Beck died at age seventy-seven.

At any rate, he claimed his protocol cured AIDs, and achieved a semblance of fame that won him a nomination for the Nobel Prize, but not the prize itself.

In his speeches to promote his protocol, he told people garlic was a deadly poison, and that if it got into the blood it would kill you. (I would have been dead a long time ago. I eat raw garlic nearly every day.) But the best part was the story he told to convince people. The following is not a word for word quote, but the context is accurate:

“Garlic causes a rift between the right and left sides of the brain. It kills thousands of brain cells. The Italians are not very good shots. In World War II they would dip their bullets in garlic so that even if they just nicked the person they were shooting at it would kill them. The CIA also uses this technique.”

There were (and maybe still are) others that used this same argument. I’m a hunter, and I know something about bullets. They travel in excess of 2000 foot per second. Garlic on the ends of them would be burned off before the bullet even left the barrel.

More importantly, the science contradicts Beck’s claims. Garlic actually protects the brain against oxidative stress and is believed to protect against Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. And, in spite of Mr. Beck and Big Pharma, it has been shown to protect the cells from apoptosis (death).

You STINK!

Garlic is well known for its effect on the breath. It just plain stinks. The smell is a result of the many sulfur compounds in garlic. It contains alliin, allyl methyl thiosulfonate, 1-prpenyl allyl thiosufonate, and –L-glutamyl-S-alkyl-L-cysteine. It also contains allinase enzyme, which acts on the alliin when cells are damaged and causes it to change to allicin, which scientists have long thought of as the most important bioactive molecule in garlic. This makes sense. If a bug chews on a garlic clove and destroys some cells, allicin is created and kills the bug. It is garlic’s primary defense against invasion.

When we eat raw garlic this defense mechanism is passed on to us. One of the reasons allicin works so well is that the allicin molecule is small enough to move through the lymphatic liquid between the cells. It literally soaks its way into the hard-to-reach areas where there aren’t a lot of blood vessels. This is why it kills herpes, tooth infections, and others. This is also why it makes you stink! The allicin soaks right through your skin and leaves an odor reminiscent of a stinking drunk.

Most of the smell, however, comes from your breath. Taking regular daily showers will eliminate most of the odor from your skin. If you have to go out, I suggest you take an ample supply of strong breath mints along.

Magnificent Sulfur

Our bodies love sulfur. When I was a child my parents gave me a pharmaceutical sulfur compound called “sulfa” to cure my tonsillitis. Sulfa is a Sulfonamide compound and was the very first antibiotic. It was discovered in 1935, before penicillin was introduced. It stormed the world in the 1930’s and conquered many an infection. In fact, an impure concoction of sulfa killed over 100 people in the United States in 1937 and led to the creation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938, which was the beginning of the FDA. Yes. We have sulfur to thank for that wonderful, honest, protective, agency. Sulfa is still used today. Mostly for urinary tract infections (use organic cranberry juice) and malaria.

Our bodies use sulfur in many ways, but the best known is in the creation of molecules such as glutathione that are part of the detoxification process. They protect the cells from reactive oxygen species and debri.
As modern research identifies other benefits we get from sulfur, scientists are finding that the other sulfur compounds in garlic may be as important as allicin. Different preparation methods result in compounds with different ingredients. As always, I prefer the whole, natural version.

My second choice is garlic powder capsules, which are available with special coatings that prevent the capsule from dissolving until it reaches the intestines. This delay reduces the odor issue. Garlic essential oil and aged garlic (AGE) are also available, and offer most of the benefits of whole garlic, and, admittedly, are better at some things.

Garlic provides the following benefits:

• Strong antimicrobial properties
• Controls blood pressure
• Detoxification
• Protects and restores artery health
• Controls HDL cholesterol
• Antioxidant
• Protects against dementia
• Protects bone health by controlling estrogen levels in women

Antimicrobial

Garlic is one of the strongest natural antimicrobials, deadly to most bacteria, parasites and viruses, and many fungi. Garlic is, without any doubt, a natural wonder. I have used it, for myself or patients, to cure Lyme disease, flu, pneumonia, colds, tooth infections, ear infections, sinus infections, skin infections, herpes types I and II, and many others.

One of my favorite uses is to kill the bacteria that cause an abscessed tooth. It can’t repair the root damage that makes the tooth an easy target for invaders, but it can kill the bug and therefore relieve the terrible pain until you can visit a dentist.

It is effective against “superbugs” such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

It can be taken internally, used in a cream or ointment for boils and skin infections, or simply crushed and applied directly on a wound or infected area.

If you feel an infection starting, a cup of garlic tea and up to 600 mg. of a 10:1 concentrate of oregano oil will most certainly stop it in its tracks. If an invader actually gets established the same treatment will knock it dead, usually providing relief from symptoms within twenty-four hours and total elimination of the invader within three or four days.

In order for Allison to provide antimicrobial benefits it must reach your small intestines where the acid levels are lower than in your stomach. Once there, it can make its way into your lymphatic system where it proceeds to spread through your body, destroying all invaders as it goes. The Allison that is absorbed directly into your blood stream acts as a powerful antioxidant, and attacks oxidizing compounds almost immediately. It has been estimated that it doesn’t last more than a minute in your blood stream before chemically reacting with an oxidizer or debri and changing form.

This is how you make garlic tea:

Bring a cup of water to a boil.

While you are waiting for the water, crush a large clove of garlic, chop it up and crush the smaller pieces again. Let it set until the next step is complete.

When the water is hot, set it aside for a few minutes to let it cool a little. Both the honey and garlic will lose their health benefits if subjected to temperatures above 140 degrees. When the water is cool enough that it doesn’t burn your finger ad the following;

• One teaspoon of raw honey (Be careful, most honey in grocery stores is adulterated. It’s best to buy it from a local source that you know. One way to know if it is real raw honey is that it will be crystalized if it was harvested more than a couple of months ago.).
• One teaspoon of finely grated or chopped organic ginger.
• Your crushed garlic.
• Organic lemon juice to taste.

You can let it set for a few minutes and strain out the chunks, or do as I do. I just swirl it around when taking the last couple of swallows and dump the little lumps of garlic and ginger right down. Why not get the benefits of the whole herb?

For most infections, three times a day for four days should be adequate. When treating Lyme disease, I prescribe a cup of this tea, 600 mg of a 10:1 oregano oil extract, and 800 mg of stinging nettle leaf every 2 hours until the fever subsides, then the same dosages every four hours for three days. My patients REALLY STINK, and so far they have all been cured. 

If you have to go out take a shower and make sure you have a good supply of strong breath mints in your purse or pocket!

Blood Pressure

For some of you, it’s garlic’s ability to control blood pressure and its antioxidants that are most important.
The active ingredients in garlic have been shown in many studies to control high blood pressure. In fact, it is just as effective as the drug Atenolol at doses of aged extract around 1,000 milligrams per day. That’s about four cloves per day.

Detoxification

As mentioned above, the sulfur compounds in garlic help our bodies make glutathione and other compounds that carry toxins out of the cells. It is effective when used as part of a detoxification protocol for mercury and lead poisoning. It also removes excess reactive oxygen species, dead invaders, and waste products from our cells.

Protects the Arteries & Heart

Scientists credit garlic’s ability to regulate LDL cholesterol levels and its strong antioxidants (remember all those sulfur compounds) for its ability to clear clogged arteries and keep them healthy. Sulfur is like oxygen, it likes to form molecules by combining with other elements and molecules. Just like iron attracts oxygen and rusts, the cholesterol (and other oils, such as vegetable oils) in our cells attracts reactive oxygen species and forms a new molecule that binds to the walls of our arteries. By combining with excessive cholesterol and oils before the oxygen does, the antioxidants in sulfur stops this process. In fact, it even combines with the offending oxidized oils and carries them to the liver for filtering and expulsion.

Scientists have also shown that garlic helps to restore flexibility to hardened arteries.

Protects Against Dementia

ScientistS also believe the same antioxidant and anti-cholesterol properties of garlic that protect the arteries and heart are responsible for its ability to protect against dementia. They have shown that a link exists between arterial disease and brain damage. They also believe that the antioxidants in garlic help stop the oxidation and deposit of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that are present in the brains of dementia patients.

Protects Bone Health in Women

Like all adaptogens, garlic helps regulate hormones. Research has shown that by regulating the estrogen levels in women, garlic helps protect against osteoporosis.

Dosage

Garlic is available in several forms. For the best all-around benefits, raw, fresh, organic garlic is the best. Some garlic found in grocery stores has been irradiated to preserve its appearance of freshness. However, this garlic has no health benefits. The chemicals that are bioactive have all been destroyed. Fresh, live garlic will have the green beginnings of a new stalk inside the clove.

Aged garlic: This is a concentrate of the oil-based constituents of garlic. It does not have antimicrobial powers, but may be better for the heart and arteries. The different brands vary so much it is impossible for me to determine a dosage. Take the dosage on the label.

Dried garlic capsules: Dried garlic retains some of the constituents that make up Allison. Also, many manufacturers actually add Allison to the dried powder before putting it in capsules. My best advice is to try different brands and find the one that works best for you. Also, take the dosage on the label.

Some dried garlic is available in capsules that are coated so they don’t dissolve until they reach the intestines. This is sold as an odor-control tactic, but it also helps get Allison into the intestines. The problem is that different brands have different levels of effectiveness. Also, it doesn’t stop the smell entirely.

Raw cloves (as in garlic tea): The usual dose for a cold or flu is a large clove three to four times per day.
When taking raw garlic, don’t exceed six medium cloves or five large cloves in a ten-hour period. For severe or acute infections, tea made using smaller cloves and ingested more often (as often as every two hours) is a better option.

The lowest dose of raw, fresh garlic that has been reported to be toxic is equivalent to about five or six large (elephant garlic) cloves digested at the same time, so it is very safe to ingest one or two cloves at a time.