Name it, garlic will cure it

Link:http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5827:name-it-garlic-will-cure-it&catid=58:health-living&Itemid=89
by Diana Nabiruma
After reading this article, I bet many of you are going to go and buy garlic in truckloads. The smell notwithstanding, garlic is one of the best herbs that happened to humankind.

Garlic can:

» Lower blood pressure
» Lower cholesterol
» Reduce plaque in the arterial system and this effect is greater in women than in men
» Lower and regulate blood sugar
» Help reduce clots from forming thus reducing the possibility of strokes and thrombosis
» Help prevent cancer, especially that of the digestive system, and prevents some types of tumours from growing bigger or even reduces some
» May help to remove metals, say lead or mercury, from the body

Other benefits that one acquires from taking garlic include: curing wounds (garlic is a strong antibacterial), curing ulcers, skin infections, respiratory ailments, blood thinning, colic, colds, kidney problems, bladder problems and earaches.

It also kills worms in both man and animals. Besides, it contains anti-viral properties thereby being able to cure some viral infections.

How does garlic do this?

According to Dr. David Ssali, a naturopath with Dama Medicinal Herbs, garlic has components like sulphur (which gives garlic that bad smell) and selenium that make it a great healing agent.These components, when broken down, turn into allicin which is a strong antibiotic and this allicin is the “magic bullet” from which all the benefits of the spice are derived.

It is best to take garlic in its raw form for cooking or roasting it considerably reduces allicin, the “magic bullet”.

For outer ailments, say wounds, you can rub garlic on the affected area. At times, it is more effective if pounded and then applied to the sick area.

However, if you have sensitive skin, then it is best to soak this pounded garlic in water before applying it as the very potent one burns. For internal problems, garlic is best eaten. You can make cough syrup out of garlic by slicing some garlic, pouring boiling water over it, and leave it for 12 hours and then add sugar until it looks like a syrup. You can add honey for better taste.

For a sore throat, make garlic tea by soaking the garlic in a half cup of water over night. Since many people are averse to the smell of garlic, it is advisable to use it before going to bed so that by the time one wakes up, the smell is not so strong. For ear aches, heat garlic in virgin oil (oil with little acidity) and leave it to cool, after which you use two drops in the affected ear.

However, you should note that there are 10 types of garlic and each of these types has a different level of effectives. The hotter the garlic, the more effective it is, though scientists are still divided on this.

But, what they are undivided about is the fact that a person that uses garlic is better off health-wise than one that does not.