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Alternative
Medicine for Immune System Strengthening
Garlic
Garlic is a natural antibiotic that stimulates the immune system and increases the effectiveness of white blood cells and T cells.
It blocks toxin production by germs.(1) Garlic is a key to achieving optimal immunity and protecting against infections.
More than 1,800 scientific studies detail garlic's chemical complexity and multifaceted roles in preventing or treating disease. At least two hundred compounds have been identified in garlic cloves, including more than seventy sulfur compounds; vitamins A,
B1, and C; the minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc; vitamin-like
flavonoids; and the eight essential amino acids and nine nonessential ones. Many of these micronutrients contribute to immunity, although the amounts in a single garlic clove would be
very small.
Garlic and Cancer
Garlic is a potent antibiotic and inhibitor of many germs. It also has powerful anticancer properties.
In 1957, researchers at Western Reserve University had used raw garlic enzyme (alliinase) to prevent the growth of sarcoma in Swiss mice by inactivating certain chemical components of these tumor cells called sulfhydryl compounds.
(13)
A remarkable study on garlic in China involved eleven patients suffering from cryptococcal meningitis, which is usually fatal. All eleven patients were successfully treated and recovered after several weeks of garlic therapy.
(14) Doctors concluded that garlic is the best therapy for reduction of the transient chills, low-grade fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and pain accompanying this disease.
(15)
Benjamin Lau, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of microbiology of Loma Linda School of Medicine, found that Japanese aged garlic extract significantly enhanced the fighting ability of a macrophage cell line. Macrophages are an important part of the body's immune
defenses.(16).
Other research by scientists from around the world shows that garlic is one of the best weapons in the arsenal of natural drugs against cancer. Japanese researchers from Kyoto reported that Japanese Aged Garlic Extract suppressed the first stage of tumor promotion in a two-stage mouse skin cancer.
(17) Scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society published a review of garlic's wonderful anti-cancer properties
(18)
Other research has shown that garlic is effective in the prevention and treatment of cancers of the breast, stomach, colon, bladder,
and skin.
How To Take:
You can use freshly cut cloves of garlic or garlic powder. If you prefer garlic capsules
buy products that has standardized allicin content that provide 5-10 milligrams of
allicin. (equivalent to 75-150 units of penicillin.) for Cancer
management.
Caution:
Excessive use of garlic is said to be harmful to the eyes, cause dizziness, and scatter
energy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, garlic is said to cause ascending fire energy.
See Also: Herbal
Medicine Infocenter in Holisticonline.com
More
Natural Remedies for Immunity

References
1 Journal Nutrition, March 2001
2 Koch and Lawson, Garlic: The Science and Therapeutic Application, 2nd edition, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore 1996
3 Fitoterapia, Volume 5, 1984
4 Chowdhury, A. K., et al., 'Efficacy of Aqueous Extract of Garlic and Allicin in Experimental Shigellosis in Rabbits," Indian journal of Medical Research, January 1991;93:33-36.
5. Farbman, K. S., et al., "Antibacterial Activity of Garlic and Onions: A Historical Perspective," Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, July 1993;12:613-614.
6. Rao, R. R., et al., 'Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Garlic Extract,' Nature, April 6, 1946;157:441.
7. Hirao, Y., et al., "Activation of Immunoresponder Cells by the Protein Fraction from Aged Garlic Extract," Phytotherapy Research, 1987;1:161-164.
8. Spray, W., 'The Importance of Taking Garlic,' Nursing Times, February 16, 1978;295.
9.
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11. John Heinerman, Ph. D., The Healing
Benefits of Garlic, Wings Books.
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17. Oncology 46:277-80, 1989
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