Garlic, Garlic bulb, Garlic leaves, Garlic leaf, Garlic for cooking, Garlic as paultice, Garlic as herbal remedy, Garlic plants, Garlic oil
Garlic - Garlic Bulb:
Garlic is the edible bulb
from a plant in the lily family. It has been used as both a medicine and a spice
for thousands of years.
- What Garlic Is Used For
- Garlic's most common uses as an herbal remedy and as a
Dietary supplement are for high
cholesterol, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
- Garlic is also used to prevent certain types of cancer,
including stomach and colon cancers.
- Allium sativum (Garlic) has been used for centuries to
treat infection and was popular even during the Plague of London in 1665.
Garlic can kill almost every kind of bacteria but is especially effective
against organisms that cause disease, like E. coli and S. aureus while
leaving normal, protective intestinal flora unharmed. Clinical trials have
demonstrated the effectiveness of garlic in the treatment of a wide range of
bacterial, viral and fungal infections. This natural antibiotic is also an
excellent tonic for immune system functioning, allowing the body to protect
itself from infectious organisms.
- Try our Herbal Remedy and Herbal Medicine:
Ear-Ok Drops - Treat ear infections
naturally and effectively with these herbal ear drops
- How Garlic
Is Used
- Garlic cloves can be eaten raw or cooked. They may also
be dried or powdered and used in tablets and capsules. Raw garlic cloves can
be used to make oils and liquid extracts.
- What the Science Says about Garlic
- Some evidence indicates that taking garlic can slightly
lower blood cholesterol levels; studies have shown positive effects for
short-term (1 to 3 months) use. However, an NCCAM-funded study on the safety
and effectiveness of three garlic preparations (fresh garlic, dried powdered
garlic tablets, and aged garlic extract tablets) for lowering blood
cholesterol levels found no effect.
- Preliminary research suggests that taking garlic may slow
the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a condition
that can lead to heart disease or stroke.
- Evidence is mixed on whether taking garlic can slightly
lower blood pressure.
- Some studies suggest consuming garlic as a regular part
of the diet may lower the risk of certain cancers. However, no clinical
trials have examined this.
- NCCAM is supporting studies looking at how garlic
interacts with certain drugs and how it can thin blood.
- Side Effects and Cautions of Garlic
- Garlic appears to be safe for most adults.
- Side effects include breath and body odor, heartburn,
upset stomach, and allergic reactions. These side effects are more common
with raw garlic.
- Garlic can thin the blood (reduce the ability of blood to
clot) in a manner similar to aspirin. This effect may be a problem during or
after surgery. Use garlic with caution if you are planning to have surgery
or dental work, or if you have a bleeding disorder. A cautious approach is
to avoid garlic in your diet or as a supplement for at least 1 week before
surgery.
- Garlic has been found to interfere with the effectiveness
of saquinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection. Its effect on other drugs
has not been well studied.
Ear-Ok Drops
- Relieve pain, itching and discomfort of the ears
- Treat bacterial, viral and fungal ear infections
- Reduce inflammation and painful throbbing in the
ears
- Soften wax plugs that have blocked the ear canal
- Prevent recurrence of chronic ear infections
- Tell your health care providers about any complementary
and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do
to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.
What's an Herb? An herb is a plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential
therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and
roots. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take
to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed
health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and
fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not
effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.
Dietary supplement is a
product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino
acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for
dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as
possible:
-
Consult your doctor first
-
Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-
Take it under the guidance of a trained
medical professional
-
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or
nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
List of Herbs at a glance
Why should I use herbal products?
The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries.
Are herbs safe?
Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly. view
