Garlic is so good for you!! I’m a big fan of putting garlic in nearly everything – my husband isn’t so much. But we compromise. I love the Fire Cider that makes good use of garlic among other healthy herbs. I take a shot of that most every day for digestive help and to strengthen my immunity. It works really well because even though I’m battling chronic pain, I don’t get many colds. When you battle a chronic illness your inner reserves become depleted which is why I try everything I can to be sure I can stay healthy.
The following information was compiled by me for part of my final in the Advanced Herbal Studies course at The Herbal Academy. It was a really tough course! It taught me so much and I’m so glad to have done it. This information isn’t intended to take the place of a doctor and is only meant to be educational. Always talk to your doctor before you start.
Garlic Bulbs (created by Kathy McCabe using AI)
Allium sativum L Garlic
Family: Liliaceae
Ayurvedic / TCM Name: Da Suan
Parts Used: Bulb (sometimes the stalk or scapes)
Native Region: Central Asia
Geographic Distribution: Mild climates globally
Botanical Description: Bulb growing underground with several individual cloves, with stalk/leaves coming out of the ground up to 2 feet or so.
Harvesting Guidelines: Harvest scapes before flowering, harvest the bulbs when the leaves begin to brown and fall over.
Constituents ORGANOSULFUR compounds such as alliin, B vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, and enzymes including alliinase.
Uses: Garlic reduces serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels while raising levels of high-density (good) cholesterol. Garlic’s antioxidant properties help prevent the peroxidation of fats. Garlic may have cancer-preventative properties, especially against cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. It is an effective treatment for ringworm and as a suppository for pinworm. (Hoffmann, 2003)
Many authors quote many diseases this is good for, but conceal its vices. Its heat is very vehement, and all vehement hot things send up but ill-favored vapors to the brain. It voids tough phlegm, purges the head, kills worms in children, it is a good preservative against, and a remedy for any plague, sore, or foul ulcers. (Culpepper/Foster 1653/2019)
Hypertension, immune system support, colds and flu, fungal infections, bacterial infections, bronchial congestion, asthma, dysentery, and insulin resistance (De la Forêt, 2017)
Known as da suan in China, garlic is used to treat hookworms. Garlic helps to regulate blood sugar and can be helpful in late-onset diabetes. (Ody, 2017)
“They promote expectoration, sweat, urine, powerfully, are useful in catarrhs, disorders of the breast, flatulent colics, hysterical complaints, the dropsy… An ointment of garlic resolves and discusses cold tumours, and helps cutaneous diseases.” (Stearns, 1801)
Actions: antimicrobial, diaphoretic, hypotensive, antispasmodic, chalogoge, hypocholesteremic, circulatory stimulant, alterative, stimulating expectorant, carminative, vermifuge
Preparations Dosage & Safety: Therapeutic doses may work against anticoagulant medications. Use caution before and after surgical
procedures (Hoffmann, 2003)
Garlic oil can be a skin irritant. It should be avoided if the condition involves hot, dry symptoms and can deplete body fluids (Ody, 2017)
Garlic should not be taken in therapeutic doses during pregnancy and lactation. (Ody, 2017)
Dosage: 1-2 cloves per day
Tinctures, dried, oil, vinegar, honey, powder, tea Maceration: steep 3-4 garlic cloves in water or milk overnight and next day drink the liquor for intestinal parasites (Ody, 2017)
Taste: pungent
Energy: Warming, drying
Notes / References
Medical Herbalism; The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. David Hoffmann, FNIMH, AHG. 2003)
Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, Edited by Steven Foster. First published by Nicholas Culpeper 1653, edited by Foster 2019.
Alchemy of Herbs; Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies that Heal. Rosalee De La Forêt, 2017.
The Complete Medicinal Herbal; A Practical Guide to the Healing Properties of Herbs. Penelope Ody, 2017.
The American Herbal or Materia Medica, Samuel Stearns, L.L.D., 1801)
Kathy is an herbalist/naturopathic practitioner who is constantly researching to expand her knowledge. She came to herbalism after her migraine medicine was suddenly removed from the market and she had to find something new. After discovering the magic of herbs she’s never looked back. She is accredited by the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine (IPHM) and is an Associate Member of the American Herbalist Guild.