Possibly a Girl's Best Friend! (Garlic)

Member Name: wulise

Product:	Garlic
Date:	17/02/03 (1913 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has many benefits in the body., Can help during pregnancy.

Disadvantages: Can cause bad breath!

Garlic is a very versatile plant that has been used to treat many ailments is probably before written history began. It is the only antibiotic that can actually kill infecting bacteria whilst also protecting the body from the harmful poisons that are known to cause infection.

Historically humans have known the Garlic plant for many years. Where it comes from originally no one actually knows. Garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and chewed by Greek Olympian athletes, for strength before partaking in sports events. It is also thought to keep vampires at bay as illustrated in many “horror stories”! Today Garlic is recognised as an alternative way to treat bacterial infections along with treating viruses such as those that cause coughs and colds. Even the forefather of antibiotic medicine, Louis Pasteur, recognised that garlic was as valuable as penicillin. In later studies Garlic was shown to have similar activity to a more modern antibiotic known as chloramphenicol.

Garlic is known to treat one of the most sensitive bacterium, the deadly Bacillus anthracis, which produces the poison anthrax. “Even the blood of garlic eaters can kill bacteria and it is also reported that the vapour from freshly cut garlic can kill bacteria at a distance of 20cms!” Another common and now apparently reoccurring disease, Tuberculosis was treated with garlic very successfully as the invading organism, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis is sensitive to several of the sulphur components that are found in garlic.

Taking garlic does not mean you will have bad breath either. There are many ways to take Garlic including capsules from chemists and health shops.

The Common Garlic a member of the same group of plants known as the Onion. It is difficult to trace without any certainty the actual country of its origin. Garlic is an easy plant to grow and should be planted in a sunny bed in the United Kingdom. Ideally the plants should
be kept thoroughly weeds free and the soil gathered up round the roots with a hoe from time to time to encourage growth. When planted in early spring, February or March, the bulbs should be ready for harvesting in August. This is when the leaves will be beginning to die back. If the summer is cold and wet, they may not be ready until nearly the middle of September. To prevent the plant “running to leaf” it is advised in some books that the bending of the stalk downward and then covering it with earth may prevent this from happening, alternatively by just twisting the stalk.


**Description**

The leaves are long, narrow and flat like grass. The bulb (the only part eaten) is of a compound nature. It consists of a number of segments, known technically as ‘cloves,’ that are grouped together and then enclosed within a whitish skin, which holds them as in a sac, giving the classic Garlic shape. In England, Garlic, apart from medicinal purposes, is seldom used except as a seasoning, but in the southern counties of Europe it is a common ingredient in many dishes and is mainly eaten by the rural population. The names origins come from the Anglo-Saxon, being derived from gar (a spear) and lac (a plant), in reference to the shape of its leaves.


**Garlic and Pregnancy**

Disclaimer: Let me first point out that although I maybe a nurse, I am only providing information and that if you wish to know about garlic and pregnancy you should consult your own GP and/or Obstetrician before taking this plant product.

Now about Garlic and Pregnancy: Some new research has found that taking garlic during pregnancy can cut the risk of pre-eclampsia (raised blood pressure and protein retained in the urine). Some studies have revealed that garlic may also help to boost the birth-weight of babies destined to be too small. Dr I Das, Ms J Hirani and Dr D Sooranna of the Academic Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at t
he Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London, Great Britain carried out this research.

The researchers came to the conclusion that even though pre-eclampsia and growth retardation are multifaceted, multi-factorial conditions, the taking of standardised garlic tablets throughout pregnancy may in some cases actually decrease the chances of these types of complications at birth occurring. The researchers focussed on growth retarded babies and pre-eclampsia, a potentially dangerous condition for mother and baby which occurs in about one in ten pregnancies, (generally indicated with raised blood pressure). Experiments by the research team showed that adding extracts of garlic to cells from the placenta of women likely to suffer from these conditions was able to quickly stimulate growth. In addition, the activities of key enzymes that are reduced in the abnormal pregnancies were significantly increased when garlic was added.

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