subject: Garlic As A Natural Antibiotic [print this page] Garlic has so many medicinal benefits, not just through its use in cooking. Used in kitchens daily all over the world for its unique flavor and ability to to enhance our meals but its strength as a natural antibiotic is less known.
One of the major medical break-troughs in the 20th century was the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s. These antibiotics have been to save countless lives from many different infections as well as being able to tackle smaller viruses. Over the years, many doctors prescribed these antibiotics in too many unnecessary cases, which has a detrimental effect on their power. As bacteria and viruses have changed and evolved to remain one step ahead of these antibiotics, increasingly becoming more resistant.
Luckily for us, nature has provided us the means to deal with most germs and infections. Now, we are aware that many cultures have been using natural products for health reasons for centuries. In fact, there is an abundance of natural antibiotics available and research into these are proving that they can beat many infections that were previously dealt with by using only medicinal antibiotics. And garlic is one of the best of these natural antibiotics.
A lot of us have garlic in our kitchens and use it daily for its unique flavor. With the increase in medicinal research on the benefits of garlic, we are now learning that it contains close to nearly 80 sulfur compounds. These sulfur compounds has a tremendous power to beat infections and help our immune systems. To get the most from garlic, its need to be taken raw, either eaten or in capsule form. Cooked garlic loses all of its medicinal value as an antibiotic.
Garlic is beneficial for the skin
Raw garlic has some fantastic benefits due to the amount of allicin it contains. Allicin is the principal active ingredient in garlic and has been compared to penicillin, due to its power and ability to treat infections. Victims of skin conditions can use garlic by cutting a clove and rubbing it straight on the area of skin affected. Used this way, it can also work for burns and to reduce scars. Always remember to try garlic on your skin initially to see what the effect is. Allicin is very strong and can cause a burning sensation for people with sensitive skin types. For these people, there are many acne treatments which contain allicin.
Reducing blood pressure and cholesterol
Research into garlic have proved that blood pressure levels can be diminished by 10% and that garlic supplements can have a positive impact on the level of cholesterol in your body. This has lead researchers to believe that garlic can lower the risks of heart disease or a heart attack as both high blood pressure and cholesterol can be causing factors. Garlic has also been shown to reduce the calcification of the coronary artery, another indicator that it can lessen the chance of a heart attack.
Fighting infections
Containing such antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, garlic has been used by women to treat yeast infections. In fact, it has been proved that garlic can be an excellent treatment for all types of yeast infections. Furthermore, garlic stimulates our entire immune system which can make it very effective to use for treating respiratory infections too.
