garlic

HealthBenefitsandUses
Garlichealthbenefitsandmedicinalpropertieshavelongbeenknown(1).Garlichaslongbeen
consideredaherbal"wonderdrug",withareputationinfolkloreforpreventingeverythingfromthe
commoncoldandflutothePlague!Ithasbeenusedextensivelyinherbalmedicine(phytotherapy,
sometimesspeltphitotherapy).Rawgarlicisusedbysometotreatthesymptomsofacneandthere
issomeevidencethatitcanassistinmanaginghighcholesterollevels.Itcanevenbeeffectiveasa
naturalmosquitorepellent.
Ingeneral,astrongertastingcloveofgarlichasmoresulphurcontentandhencemoremedicinal
value.Somepeoplehavesuggestedthatorganicallygrowngarlictendstowardsahighersulphur
levelandhencegreaterbenefittohealth.InmyexperienceitcertainlytastesbetterandIbuy
organicwheneverpossible.
Somepeopleprefertotakegarlicsupplements.Thesepillsandcapsuleshavetheadvantageof
avoidinggarlicbreath.
Modernsciencehasshownthatgarlicisapowerfulantibiotic,albeitbroadspectrumratherthan
targeted.Thebodydoesnotappeartobuildupresistancetothegarlic,soitspositivehealthbenefits
continueovertime.

HealthyAntioxidant
Studies(2)haveshownthatgarlicespeciallyagedgarliccanhaveapowerfulantioxidanteffect.
Antioxidantshelptoprotectthebodyagainstdamaging"freeradicals".

SideEffects
Rawgarlicisverystrong,soeatingtoomuchcouldproduceproblems,forexampleirritationofor
evendamagetothedigestivetract.
Thereareafewpeoplewhoareallergictogarlic.Symptomsofgarlicallergyincludeskinrash,
temperatureandheadaches.Also,garliccouldpotentiallydisruptanticoagulants,soit'sbest
avoidedbeforesurgery.Aswithanymedicine,alwayscheckwithyourdoctorfirstandtellyour
doctorifyouareusingit.
Important:Researchpublishedin2001concludedthatgarlicsupplements"cancauseapotentially
harmfulsideeffectwhencombinedwithatypeofmedicationusedtotreatHIV/AIDS".More
detailsareavailableontheNIAIDwebsite.
Seealsothewarningspageonthissite.

MedicinalIngredientsofGarlic
Therearetwomainmedicalingredientswhichproducethegarlichealthbenefits:allicinanddiallyl
sulphides.I'vegiveneachoftheseapageoftheirown:

HealthEffectsofAllicin
HealthEffectsofDiallylSulphides

Alsoapageonthechemistryofallicin.

Garlicmakesawonderfulhealthsupplementbutthegarliccureisnosubstituteforthebasics:
sensibleeatingandappropriateexercise.Garlicshouldbeseenaspartofahealthylifestylenotas
analternativetoit.Alwaysconsultyourdoctorfirstregardinganymedicalcondition.

Kandunganbahanaktif
Allicin
Allicinisthemostpowerfulmedicinalcompoundderivedfromgarlicandprovidesthegreatest
reputedhealthbenefits.
Allicindoesnotoccurin"ordinary"garlic,itisproducedwhengarlicisfinelychoppedorcrushed.
Thefinerthechoppingandthemoreintensivethecrushing,themoreallicinisgeneratedandthe
strongerthemedicinaleffect.
Thetechnicallymindedmightbeinterestedinthechemistryofallicin.
Aswellashavingantibioticproperties,allicinisanexcellentantifungalandhasbeenusedtotreat
skininfectionssuchasathlete'sfoot.Becautious:toomuchcontactwithcrushedgarliccanresultin
skinblistering.Youshouldalsobeawarethatafewpeopleareallergictogarlic.Garlicispowerful
andneedstobetreatedwithrespectseethewarningspage.
Allicinstartstodegradeimmediatelyafteritisproduced,soitsmedicaleffectivenessdecreases
overtime.Cookingspeedsupthisdegradationandmicrowavingappearstodestroyallicintotally
andeliminateanyhealthbenefits.
Soforthemostpowerfulmedicinaleffect,crushalittlerawgarlicandcombinewiththecooked
foodshortlybeforeserving.Don'toverdoittoomuchcanproduceirritationofandpossiblyeven
damagetothedigestivetract.Remembertoothatraw,crushedgarlicalsohasthemostpowerful
flavour!
Beforetakinggarlicoranyothersupplement,consultyourdoctor.

DiallylSulphides
Thediallylsulphides(sulfides)obtainedfromgarlicarelesspowerfulthanallicinbutcanstill
reportedlyprovidesomebenefitstohealth.
Diallylsulphidesarealsolessvolatilethanallicin.Theydonotdegradeasquicklyand,importantly,
thehealthbenefitssurvivecooking.Notethatgarlicstillneedstobechoppedorcrushedtoproduce
thesulphidesifgarliciscookedwholethenithasalmostnomedicinalvalueorhealthbenefits.
Diallylsulphidesdonotsharetheantifungalpropertiesofallicin.Howevertheyarereportedlygood
forthebloodandcirculationinsomecases.Thesulphidesmightalsohelptolowerthelevelsof
"bad"cholesterol,hencegarlicmighthelptokeeptheheartandcardiovascularsystemhealthy.
Diallylsuphidesalsohaveareputationforboostingtheimmunesystem.
Thegarlicsulphidesbreakdowninthebodywithinafewhourssoformaximumhealthbenefititis
besttohave"alittleoften"asopposedtoonelargedailydose.
Beforetakinggarlicoranyothersupplement,consultyourdoctor.

MANFAATBAWANGPUTIH
Dr.YudaTurana
Bawangputihtelahdigunakansebagaiobatdalamherbalmedicinesejakribuantahunyanglalu.
Pada tahun 2700 1900 sebelum masehi bawang putih telah digunakan oleh pekerjapekerja
bangunan piramid sebagai obat penangkal penyakit dan rasa letih. Dan sekitar tahun 460 SM
khasiatnya telah dipuji oleh Hipokrates. Saat perang dunia tahun 19141918 bawang putih
digunakan oleh tentara perancis untuk mengobati luka.

Bawang putih terdiri dari berbagai macam komponen dengan berbagai khasiat antara lain
menurunkan kadar kholesterol darah, menghambat agregasi trombosit, meningkatkan aktifitas
fibrinolitik, menghambat atherogenesis dan menurunkan tekanan darah, sehingga dapat
menurunkan resiko penyakit jantung koroner. Beberapa penelitian juga menunjukkan peranan
bawang putih sebagai antioksidan maupun efek anti kanker.

DiThailandInstituteofScientificandTechnologicalResearchdibuatkapsulberisiekstrakbawang
putihyangsetaradengan7grambawangputihsegarsetiapkapsul.Dosisyangdipakaiadalahdua
kali satu kapsul setiap hari selama 5 bulan. Pada bulan pertama pemberian kholesterol darah
meningkat. Hal ini kemungkinan adanya pengikisan dari endapan lemak di pembuluh darah.
Kholesterol HDL meningkat setelah 2 bulan pemberian. Kadar kholesterol menurun bermakna
setelah 8 minggu, namun penurunan kadar trigliserida baru terjadi setelah 5 bulan pemberian
bawang

putih.
Penelitianlainmenunjukkanbahwapemberianminyakesensialbawangputihsetaradengan1gram
bawangputihsegar/kgBB/hariyangdiberikanbersamaandengandiettinggikholesterol,akan
menurunkankadarkholesterol,trigliseridaserum.VLDL,LDLdanmeningkatkanHDL.