Garlic - Research, Information, Questions

[Whiterock]

I've been meaning to post this info to WTM and kept forgetting. Well I just posted it in another thread, so then I thought I should post it in the garlic thread too. And I was surprised to see that we didn't have a thread dedicated to general information, research, and questions on garlic. It's like the go-to herb for so many things. It needs it's own thread, IMHO. (Although it's HB's opinion that counts -- so we'll see.)

Here's the info I have...

GARLIC!

I did some research on garlic not long ago and found studies done on really bad lung infections that showed garlic interferes with quorum sensing (the ability of bacteria to communicate with each other). Quorum sensing is what enables bacteria get together to form biofilms (a really tough colony that makes them more resistant to antibiotics and your immune system). I'm not sure that all kinds of bacteria form biofilms, but I would suspect biofilms in any situation were they had become antibiotic resistant.

What's great about the research I read, was that not only does garlic interfere with the formation biofilms, making them more susceptible to antibiotics, but it also makes them more susceptible to PMN grazing.

PMN's are polymorphonuclear leukocytes, a category of white blood cells, the most common kind being Neutrophil granulocytes. Once a PMN comes in cantact with a bacteria or candida and recognizes it as being a "bad guy", it envelops it and delivers a respiratory burst --that is, it releases a superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide to kill the yeast or bacteria (google Neutrophil and Oxidative burst and you can see video of it - it's fascinating!).

And when garlic is introduced, the "bad guys" seem to attract more PMNs. This causes an initial increase in inflammation at the infection site as the PMNs rush in to graze on the bacteria or yeast. And there is an increase in respiratory burst activation, too. This means that more of the PMNs are killing, rather than being killed by, the bacteria.

The studies I saw were done with freshly made garlic juice administered orally.

Yay garlic!

WR

[kittyninja]

I should put this in the MRSA thread too but my hubby came across this article on Medical News Today http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/25704.php
about the use of allicin from fresh garlic to fight MRSA. Now we all know of garlics powers but for the medical community to be doing ACTUAL research is Neato...well at least to me.

[DHW]

Dr. Schultze concurs, garlic is amazing for lung infections:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,5612.msg83813.html#msg83813

[Whiterock]

I really love getting a glimpse into how natural remedies work. Like I said, it fascinates me.

I like being able to think about connections and see if what I learned translates to other things. For instance, seeing if garlic would work the same way for other kinds of resistant infections. (I don't see why not.) And I found it very interesting that garlic, itself, did not kill the germs, it just made it a lot easier for the meds, or your body, to kill the germs.

Maybe that's why people usually say that garlic kills the bad guys but doesn't harm the good bacteria in the gut --because it might not actually kill either one, but helps your white blood cells target the troublemakers.

WR

[twitterpated4hubby]

We are obsessed with garlic in this house. I can kill a cold so fast with garlic/ginger tea and everyone drinks it right up. I cant believe how fast green snot turns clear. Its like 5 min and its clear which proves to me that its an antibiotic and kills infection.

[Whiterock]

We are obsessed with garlic in this house. I can kill a cold so fast with garlic/ginger tea and everyone drinks it right up. I cant believe how fast green snot turns clear. Its like 5 min and its clear which proves to me that its an antibiotic and kills infection.

It may just prove that it helps your body kill the infection. After reading how it worked in the antibiotic resistant lung infections, I don't know if garlic actually attacks anything itself, but it does something to the bacteria that seems to make your white blood cells go into turbo drive trying to gobble them up. Maybe its like a marinade. LOL!

Although I think I'm going to look for info on whether or not you can just put garlic in a petri dish with germs and kill them. It seems like it should work --especially since plain ol' wood kills germs. I think plants in general, emit something that kills a lot of germs. But then I wonder why the garlic doesn't simply work that way (kill on contact) once it's inside your body. Things that make you go, "Hmmmm."  <need an Arsenio smilie>

WR

[YoopreMama]

I'm looking into what several cloves a day, over a few months can do...

Some articles...one on MRSA and garlic:
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2007/11/drug-companies-.html

and others on various health issues that garlic is good for:

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Health_Concerns/eating_raw_garlic.htm

http://www.home-remedies.info/herbal-medicines/garlic.htm.

ETA:
What garlic may not be good for (eczema?):
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_10_64/ai_91563486

Garlic, a Natural Health Remedy for Catarrh (and other benefits)
http://naturalhealthremediesanddetox.blogspot.com/2008/12/garlic-natural-health-remedy-for.html

and this was on the Anti-Candida Diet thread from InEverything:

At lower doses, garlic does not kill invaders but simply stops their multiplication, affording the body an opportunity to marshal its own defences. Garlic is the only antibiotic, which at the same time as fighting microbial invaders, also protects the body against poisons produced by infection. (Stephen Fulder, PhD, Garlic: Nature’s Original Remedy, Healing Arts Press, 1991)

Garlic is a unique antibiotic because it also nourishes beneficial bacteria, since oligosaccharides found in foods such as garlic and onions are prebiotics which selectively stimulate the growth activities of both good lactobacilli, Acidophilus and Bifidobacteria, in the colon, thereby improving health (Gibson G, et al, Aspects of Health and Disease Involving the Human Colonic Microbiotica, Summary Report of a First Plenary Meeting on Functional Food Science in Europe, Intl Life Sci Inst, 2-4 Apr, 1996); (Macfarlane G, Cummings J, BMJ, 318(999), 1999); (Roberfroid M, Am J Clin Nutr, 71(6), 2000).

[mommie]

this is so interesting i always took my acidophilus at different times than my garlic..we've been battleing a cold and I was eating like 10 cloves a day (in salsa and such, just crush a few extra in fresh at each meal)...can you eat too much?

[boysmama]

Although I think I'm going to look for info on whether or not you can just put garlic in a petri dish with germs and kill them. It seems like it should work --especially since plain ol' wood kills germs. I think plants in general, emit something that kills a lot of germs. But then I wonder why the garlic doesn't simply work that way (kill on contact) once it's inside your body. Things that make you go, "Hmmmm."  <need an Arsenio smilie>

WR

I know this is old, but I just saw it. There have been tests running garlic in sensitivity tests against antibiotic resistant germs in grown in petri dishes. I wish I could remember where I saw that. It was done for some research on staph in animals...
I wish I had a lab....and the knowledge to use all the tools that come with it.    I would be fascinated and never eat or sleep, let alone take care of my family... 

[YoopreMama]

From the thread on MRSA...how garlic fights it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3344325.stm

[*MommaJo*]

Bump!

We are presently battling, what I'm quite sure is, an ear infection in my almost 1 year old.
Of course we are getting the "put her on an antibiotic", "her ear drums could burst".... comments from family.  But my sil said to me that the garlic will ease the pain, but won't kill the infection. 
That made me realize that I've never researched whether or not the garlic would actually kill the infection. 
So, thanks for the links.  I will research them today! 

[Whiterock]

There was a link posted somewhere, by D&L, that showed the results of a Science Fair experiment (I know, I know, but it was still interesting).... the fresh garlic crushed in water had 100% kill rate for the germs tested, Kyolic (an aged garlic suppliment) killed some, and plain garlic powder from the grocery store GREW germs.

Found it...
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,3310.msg216526.html#msg216526

WR

[CountyCork]

I wonder about the "odorless" garlic on the market, to take as a supplement - both the gel kind in the clear capsule, or the dry stuff in tablet form. 

I assume that these have somehow gone under heat, drying and other processing procedures, thereby rendering the great qualities of fresh, raw garlic rather much lower.  How do they "remove the odor?"

I know I've posted this in other threads, but I had a terrible head cold at Christmas with tons of congestion and horrible sleep.  I did one afternoon of raw garlic combined with cayenne capsules, maybe three different doses, and by bedtime the pressure had subsided and things were looser.  I slept all night and woke feeling great the next day (stinky, but great!).  I blew my nose a lot that day and the cold was gone!  No residual drip, cough, nada.

So is there any point to the tablets or capsules, or should we always reach for the fresh, raw, preferrably organic cloves?

[*MommaJo*]

I don't know if I can answer your question with experience, but I don't see why a person couldn't just always use a regular hunk of garlic.  It's probably cheaper, too.  I've never purchased or used the capsules.
I have taken a clove, quartered it up and swallowed the chunks with a glug of grape juice and it's worked great.  It was easy to swallow using grape juice.

[Whiterock]

I seem to remember reading somewhere, that eating fresh parsley would keep you from smelling (not just your breath) after eating a lot of garlic or other "stinky" food. I wonder if that's true.

WR