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Who is growing garlic this year?
Allium sativum
Uses: Peeled cloves have been eaten or made into tea, syrup, and tincture to treat colds, fevers, coughs, earaches, bronchitis, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, diarrhea, dysentery, gout, and rheumatism. For external uses, end of Garlic clove is cut, then juice is applied to ringworm or acne (see warning below); folk remedy for cancer. Cough syrup traditionally made by simmering 10 garlic cloves in 1 pint milk, adding honey to taste; syrup taken in 1 tablespoon does as needed. In china, garlic is used for digestive difficulties, diarrhea, dysentery, colds, whooping cough, pinworms, old ulcers, swellings, and snakebites. Experimentally, it lowers blood pressure and serum cholesterol; antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, diuretic. Clinical studies suggest efficacy in gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, heart disease preventions, and arteriosclerosis. According to demographic studies, Garlic is thought responsible for the low incidence of atherosclerosis in parts of italy and spain where garlic consumption is heavy. Allicin, the substance responsible for Garlic’s characteristic odor, is thought to be responsible for some of the plant’s pharmacological qualities. Allicin is a chemical byproduct of an enzymatic reaction produced when Garlic is cut or crushed. In experiments with mice, Garlic extracts had an inhibitory effect on cancer cells. Garlic has been the subject of more than 3000 scientific studies over the past 35 years, including more than 18 clinical studies that involved more than 3,000 patients and evaluated Garlic’s effects in lowering blood lipids (cholesterol). Results are mixed, but generally positive.
Warning: The essential oils and juice extracted from the bulb is extremely concentrated and can be irritating.
