Garlic, like onion, contains compounds that inhibit lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, (the enzymes that generate inflammatory prostaglandins and thromboxanes), thus markedly reducing inflammation. These anti-inflammatory compounds along with the vitamin C in garlic, especially fresh garlic, make it useful for helping to protect against severe attacks in some cases of asthma and may also help reduce the pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
In addition, allicin, one of the sulfur-compounds responsible for garlic's characteristic odor, is a powerful anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral agent that joins forces with vitamin C to help kill harmful microbes. In research studies, allicin has been shown to be effective not only against common infections like colds, flu, stomach viruses, and Candida yeast, but also against powerful pathogenic microbes including tuberculosis and botulism.
Although garlic alone appears unable to prevent infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the bacterium responsible for most peptic ulcers, as well as gastritis, frequently eating this richly flavored bulb may keep H. pylori from doing much damage. A study recently conducted at Faith University in Istanbul, Turkey, compared two groups of healthy individuals: one was selected from individuals who regularly ate lots of raw and/or cooked garlic, while the other group was composed of individuals who avoided it. For 19 months, blood samples were regularly collected from both groups and evaluated for the presence of H.pylori. While the incidence of H.pylori was pretty comparable-the bacterium was found in 79% of garlic eaters and 81% of those who avoided garlic-the garlic-consuming group had a clear advantage in that antibodies to H.pylori were much lower in their blood compared to those who ate no garlic. (Antibodies are formed when the immune system reacts to anything it considers a potential pathogen, so less antibodies to H.pylori means less of the bacterium was present.) Among those who ate garlic, those who ate both raw and cooked garlic had even lower levels of antibodies than those who ate their garlic only raw or only cooked. Laboratory studies recently conducted at the University of Munich, Germany, help explain why garlic may be such a potent remedy against the common cold. In these studies, garlic was found to significantly reduce the activity of a chemical mediator of inflammation called nuclear transcription factor (NF) kappa-B.
NF kappa-B is itself activated as part of the immune system's inflammatory response to invading organisms and damaged tissue. So, anything that sets off an inflammatory response (e.g. allergenic foods, a cold or other infection, physical trauma, excessive exercise, excessive consumption of foods containing high levels of omega-6 fatty acids-such as meat, corn or safflower oil) can trigger a surge in NF kappa-B, which in turn not only promotes inflammation but sets up ideal conditions for viruses, including HIV, to replicate. In the blood samples tested in these German studies, unfertilized garlic caused a 25% drop in NF kappa-B activity, while sulfur-fertilized garlic lowered NF kappa-B activity by a very robust 41%.
Results of two studies suggest that garlic is a potent antibiotic, even against strains that have become resistant to many drugs. One study conducted at the University of California Irvine Medical Center and published in the December 2003 issue of Nutrition showed that garlic juice, even when diluted up to 1:128 of the original juice, demonstrates significant antibacterial activity against a spectrum of pathogens including antibiotic-resistant strains such as methicillin- and ciprofloxacin-resistant staphylococci, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and ciprofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A second study found that garlic was able to inhibit methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA) from human patients that was injected into laboratory animals.(MSRA is one of the antibiotic resistant bacteria whose incidence has risen dramatically in recent years in hospitals)
