Garlic - A Boon - Herbal Medicine

Garlic 

Overview

Garlic is probably one of the earliest known medicinal plants, which used from ancient time to cure different disease conditions in human. Garlic’s principal medicinal uses are, to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, fight infections, and prevent cancer. Numerous studies suggest that garlic lowers total cholesterol concentrations by approximately 10%. Vitro studies found that garlic is also help to prevent some solid tumors. Therefore garlic is also effective in the cancer prevention. The other proposed uses of garlic include the hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-fungal and wound healing.

Uses & Effectiveness

• Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). As people age, their arteries tend to lose their ability to stretch and flex. Garlic seems to reduce this effect. Taking a specific garlic powder supplement (Allicor, INAT-Farma) twice daily for 24 months seems to reduce how much hardening of the arteries progresses. Higher doses of this product seem to provide more benefits in women than men when taken over a four-year period.
• Diabetes. Garlic seems to modestly reduce pre-meal blood sugar levels in people with or without diabetes. It seems to work best in people with diabetes, especially if it is taken for at least 3 months. It's unclear if garlic reduces post-meal blood sugar levels or HbA1c levels.
• High levels of cholesterol or other fats (lipids) in the blood (hyperlipidemia). While not all research agrees, the most reliable evidence shows that taking garlic may reduce total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, "bad" cholesterol) in people with high cholesterol levels. Garlic appears to work best if taken daily for more than 8 weeks. But any benefit is probably small. 
• High blood pressure. Taking garlic by mouth seems to reduce systolic blood pressure (the top number) by about 7-9 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by about 4-6 mmHg in people with high blood pressure.
• Prostate cancer. Men in China who eat about one clove of garlic daily seem to have a 50% lower risk of developing prostate cancer. Also, population research shows that eating garlic may be associated with a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer. But other research suggests that eating garlic does not affect prostate cancer risk in men from Iran.
• Preventing tick bites. People who consume high amounts of garlic over about an 8-week period seem to have a reduced number of tick bites. But it's not clear how garlic compares to commercially available tick repellants.
• Ringworm (Tinea corporis). Applying a gel containing 0.6% ajoene, a chemical in garlic, twice daily for one week seems to be as effective as antifungal medication for treating ringworm.
• Jock itch (Tinea cruris). Applying a gel containing 0.6% ajoene, a chemical in garlic, twice daily for one week seems to be as effective as antifungal medication for treating jock itch.
• Athlete's foot (Tinea pedis). Applying a gel containing 1% ajoene, a chemical in garlic, seems to be effective for treating athlete's foot. Also, applying a garlic gel with 1% ajoene seems to be about as effective as the medicine Lamisil for treating athlete's foot.

Caution

1. Asthma patients should not consume garlic as it may have side-effects.

2. Garlic should be avoided before surgeries or medical operations.

3. Do not consume more than 2-3 garlic cloves in a day without consulting a doctor.