As always, I’m not here as a provider to treat, diagnose, or cure anything at all! Just sharing what I’ve learned about healing along the way in the event that it helps you too!
Being part Italian, I consider garlic a major food group in and of itself. I literally put it (fresh or dried) on ev.er.y.thing. It’s one of my top 2 seasonings on a daily basis. Even as a little kid, garlic was my jam! Imagine experiencing the garlic breath of a 3yo lol! That was ME.
Little did I know until much more recently how helpful this seasoning habit could actually be for my healing.
Supposedly Hippocrates, considered the father of western medicine, used tons of garlic for healing. We also know that it was used in Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, and Babylonian societies in ancient times for healing purposes. So I take this to mean that garlic was some of the "original medicine" of all time. As if I didn't love it enough already!?
The BEST form of garlic for healing is going to be garlic in its raw form. The raw form actually preserves beneficial nutrients, particularly from the enzyme allicin. Allicin is a sulfur compound that is sort of “activated” when garlic is chopped, crushed, chewed, etc, and provides anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticarcinogenic properties.
Raw garlic also contains tons of vitamins and minerals including some manganese, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin Bs, copper, calcium, iron, and more! Minerals are KEY for our health overall, so any time I can add a bit more minerals to my daily diet, I'm game!
~ immune system support to fight common bugs
~ its ability to help lower high cholesterol and high blood pressure (reducing risk for heart disease!)
~ high antioxidant levels which fight cellular damage and aging (including Alzheimer’s/dementia)
These possible healthy "boosts" certainly appeal to me, and knowing I can turn to nature to help support my body in these healing ways is the cherry on top! For those healing Lyme especially, properties like immune support, detox aid, and cardio and neuro-protective are REALLY impactful! This is how we arm our bodies to be the healthiest they can be while they fight to keep tick-borne illnesses at bay.
For those interested, here are just some of the research articles out there for reference:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26764326/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34371842/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34829718/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27748188/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/garlic
Of course, ALWAYS double-check supplementing anything with your trusted provider, because there are a few key safety pieces worth considering, but these garlic tidbits make it an awfully attractive addition to regular meals and such for many of us looking for an easy, healing boost.
To hear about how to ingest more garlic without feeling like all you smell like is, well, garlic, check out this video I did where I share what we do in our family to keep the garlic plentiful AND tasty!
