It’s a medicine! It’s a salve! It’s a glue! It’s … garlic!

Did you know garlic naturally repels mosquitoes (and according to folklore, vampires)? That’s not surprising considering it can also repel your loved ones, co-workers and neighbors … for days … following an extra garlicky meal.

But this innocent little herb doesn’t mean to offend anyone. Commonly called the “stinking rose,” garlic’s sulfur-containing compounds are responsible for the delicious kick it gives meals (and the ensuing garlic breath) … as well as a surprising number of health and other benefits.

Good for Your Health
Garlic is made up of more than 70 active plant chemicals, including allicin — the source of its odor and potential health benefits. Some studies have shown when added to your diet, garlic might:

• Control your weight

• Give your immune system a boost

• Reduce how often you get a cold and how long it lasts

• Decrease the risk of developing colorectal, stomach and other cancers

• Help with arthritis and other pain due to its anti-inflammatory properties

• Keep your heart and blood vessels healthy by lowering your blood pressure, acting as a blood thinner and reducing the risk of plaque buildup and blockages

To get the most of the possible health benefits from garlic, raw and fresh is best.
Second best is lightly cooked, but try not to cook it over high heat for too long so it doesn’t lose too many of its benefits. Or add it when your meal’s almost cooked. (Garlic powder, flakes, paste and supplements might not provide as many of the health benefits as fresh garlic does.)

If you’d like to add a bit of garlic to your diet, moderation — just a clove or two a day — is key.

Tip: If you have a cold, make yourself a cup of garlic tea. Steep chopped garlic in hot water then strain and drink. For a milder garlic tea, add a little bit of honey or ginger. Or blend four cloves of garlic, two tomatoes and a lemon in a juicer and keep it in your fridge. Take a swig a few times a day if you’re fighting infection or less often as a preventive measure.

Please note: Garlic shouldn’t replace any medicine your doctor has prescribed. Also, if you’re thinking of adding it to your diet, check with your doctor. Garlic can make some medications (such as blood thinners, ibuprofen, aspirin, and those for blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes) work more intensely and others less effective.

Good for Your Skin
From cold sores and blemishes to splinters — even baldness — garlic has been helping people with all sorts of skin problems.

Garlic’s anti-inflammatory properties have helped sooth many woes. For psoriasis, apply a little garlic oil (available at most health food stores) to the affected area. For a cold sore, try holding a piece of crushed garlic directly on it. For a deep splinter, put a slice of garlic over the splinter and cover it with a bandage or duct tape.

Garlic’s bacteria-killing antioxidants might help get rid of a pesky blemish if you rub a sliced clove of garlic on it.

Garlic also has anti-fungal characteristics that could help treat athlete’s foot. Just soak your feet in a bucket of warm water with crushed garlic.

It also might help treat hair loss. Rub sliced garlic cloves on your scalp or massage a little garlic oil into your scalp.

Take along some garlic, petroleum jelly and beeswax on your next camping trip. A solution of these ingredients makes a natural mosquito repellent when rubbed on your skin. Or just keep a few cloves near you.

Tip: If you’d like to try one of these topical remedies, try it first on a very small area of your skin that’s easily covered in case it doesn’t agree with you.

Good Around the House
An adhesive quality in garlic makes it a natural glue. Some people think the juice from crushed garlic is the best thing to fix a hairline crack in glass.

Make a natural pesticide with garlic, mineral oil, water and liquid soap. Spraying just a bit of this concoction on your garden plants should help keep pests away.

Fish are so attracted to garlic, there’s such a thing as garlic-scented fish bait. Or you can make your own with garlic cloves and food scraps.

The worst of winter should be behind us this year, but next winter, try a new deicer. Sprinkle some garlic salt on your front porch or driveway to melt the ice.

Written for and published by Physician’s Mutual Insurance Co., April 5, 2014.

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