Wild Rose College and Wholistic Clinic

Many cultures around the world hold Garlic in great regard, both as a food and as a medicine. Does it really have any medicinal value besides tasting good? I remember an old timer coming into the clinic about fifteen years back and after the examination I told him that there was nothing wrong with him. He said; “Well there better not be. I eat a Garlic sandwich every day for lunch.” Was there extreme wisdom in this old fellow’s habits or insight based on solid facts? Throughout known history, garlic has been considered one of the most important medicines. There is evidence of wars being fought over garlic and strikes being caused by not supplying enough garlic to the workers. We have grown up in an era of ‘Wonder Drugs’ and we seem to always be on the outlook for new ones. Garlic is one of the ‘Greatest Wonder Drugs’ of all time used by almost all societies throughout history as a major medicine.

The following is a quote from Dr. Herbert Pierson U.S. National Cancer Institute {1}

Garlic is a veritable pharmacopeia. That’s why garlic has been found in every medical book of every culture ever. For thousands of years, garlic has been used for treatment and prevention of disease. So there has to be something there

Garlic has been prized by human beings ever since the first recorded civilization. We can find remains in 10,000 year old caves. In Mesopotamia (the Cradle of Civilization) we find descriptions of Garlic written on the Nineveh Sumerian Tablets (circa 3000 BC) being used as a tonic, in the form of a strengthening wine and to ward off disease and being used externally for swelling and boils.

In India (5,000 years ago) Garlic was used for underweight, weak digestion, fatigue, coughs, head colds; along with skin problems, hemorrhoids, abdominal swelling, spleen enlargement, indigestion, constipation, worms, rheumatism, TB, leprosy and epilepsy. Vishnu (God of the Physical Universe) is said to dispense to lesser gods a special potion called “The Nectar of the gods”. The good gods (devas) and the evil demons fought over the nectar. Vishnu lined up all of the devas and gave them the nectar. The Sun and Moon devas noticed a demon had snuck into line and told Vishnu who cut off the demon’s head before it could swallow the nectar. A few drops of the nectar landed on the ground creating the first garlic plant. This makes today’s Garlic, the off-spring of the Nectar of the gods.

In Ancient Egypt, the Ebers Codex (1550 B.C.) listed 22 uses for Garlic, including treatment for: heart problems, tumors, headaches, worms and bites. One papyrus described an uprising among masons of the pyramids for too little garlic in daily food rations. Garlic was used to increase physical strength and prevent dysentery and epidemics. It was found in Tutankhamen’s burial chamber (1352 BC).

In the Bible (Numbers 11:5) states: ‘The Israelites, after escaping Egypt, said they missed the fish, the cucumbers, and the melons, and leeks, and the onions, and the garlic that they enjoyed in Egypt’. In Ancient Greece, Homer wrote in the Odyssey (1000 BC) of Garlic being used to escape demons. Olympic athletes ate garlic to gain strength to help them in competition. Greek soldiers ate it before battles and used it as a battlefield medicine to prevent infection. Hippocrates (Father of Medicine) used Garlic for infection, wounds, cancer, leprosy and digestive problems. Dioscorides (Father of Pharmacy 100 AD) used garlic for gas, bite of rabid dogs, cough, tooth extraction, clear arteries (atherosclerosis), as a diuretic, for skin afflictions and leprosy. We find Garlic was a major presence in the Medicine of Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder, and Galen (the great physician).

In China, it was first mentioned in 1100 BC in the manual of cultivation and the Collection of Commentaries of Classic Materia Medica (500 AD). Pen Ts’ao (1552 AD) used Garlic as an antidote for poison, for worms, diarrhea and for coughs. It was used in Arabia since ancient times where the Prophet Muhammad gave it to children during a plague, recommending his followers eat garlic.

Hildegard von Bingen (German mystic 1099 AD) said that an angel told her to mix garlic with hyssop to cure asthma, mix it with heal all for bloody coughs and to mix it with lavender blossoms and comfrey leaves for TB. Paracelsus (16th century Great Alchemist and “Father of Scientific Medicine”) used garlic for bubonic plague, as an antidote for poisons, for expectorating coughs, as a diuretic, to dispel after birth and for skin ulcers. In England, Garlic has been used heavily since the 16th century as one of the most imported medicines. John Gerard and Culpeper used it, and it was much used during the Bubonic Plagues.

Some other mystical uses include: the Swede hung necklaces of Garlic on their cattle to protect them from trolls; medieval Europeans used Garlic as it protected one from the evil eye; in Bolivia, bullfighters carried garlic to stop bulls from charging.

Europeans (until 100 years ago), hung garlic in birth places to give the mother strength and to protect her during labor. Louis Pasteur (Father of pasteurization) wrote a paper in 1858, on the antibacterial activity of garlic. In North America garlic was used by Spanish settlers, Eclectic Medicine and was listed in the USP until 1900 for coughs, digestion, sluggish stomach, worms, promoting menstruation, deafness, depression, rheumatism. In the Twentieth Century, Albert Schweitzer used garlic to combat dysentery in Africa, in WWI it was used as a poultice for wounded soldiers and in WWII garlic was used by Russians after the introduction of antibiotics

Of course we would be remiss if we didn’t look at garlic’s use with vampires. Garlic is said to have turned the evil eye, burn vampires much as holy water would. Considering vampires as very large parasites, this might be at least a good metaphor.

When we look at the scientific data and clinical evidence on Garlic, we find it is a very remarkable herb backed by over 1,000 scientific papers. Today in the Clinic we use Garlic for many things, employing it regularly for: Respiratory problems - colds, flu, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, TB. Digestive problems - stomach ulcers, diarrhea, amoebic dysentery, worms, parasites, especially Candida. Cardiovascular problems - atherosclerosis, lowers cholesterol, blood thinner, post heart attack, post stroke therapies. Immune problems - prevents many forms of cancer, antimicrobial. Skin problems - acne, boils, eczema, fungal infections, insect bites and stings.

It has been shown that Garlic is antibiotic against a very large group of organisms, killing numerous bacteria {2} (both Gram- positive and Gram- negative), fungi{3-5} , , (stronger than nystatin for Candida), viruses{6,7} , (including influenza B and Herpes simplex I), worms and larvae.{2,8}1, We can easily say Garlic is one of the most beneficial broad spectrum antibiotics that aids in keeping a healthy balance of beneficial organisms in our bodies.

Garlic’s magic doesn’t stop here though, it also enhances our immune systems. There have been many studies showing that Garlic aids the body in fighting the growth of cancerous cells, having an anti-mutagenic activity (cancer preventing).{9-11} , , As well, studies also indicate a significant increase in phagocyte activity (increased immune function) after the consumption of Garlic. It’s also been shown to increase T-lymphocyte activity, macrophage action, interleukin-1 levels, and natural killer cell action (all signs of increased immune function).{12-14} , ,

But, there’s still more to Garlic! It has a profound effect on our circulatory system. It can prevent and control atherosclerosis (fatty deposits inside our blood vessels), while lowering blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It not only lowers total serum cholesterol, (6 - 12%, in 3 months) it lowers the LDL (‘bad cholesterol’- 12 - 15%), while increasing the HDL (‘good cholesterol’). Garlic lowers LDL by suppression of its biosynthesis. Much of the bad cholesterol is manufactured by our own bodies. By having a more healthy ratio between the two cholesterols, we can actually dissolve some of the plaque inside our arteries and still have good cholesterol to build sex hormones, etc. Garlic has been shown to lower cholesterol in the liver by as much as 30%, due to increasing bile production. Serum levels of triglycerides have been reduced 17 - 35%, while lowering the uptake from diet. Blood pressure usually can be lowered (25 mm Hg systolic and 15 mm Hg diastolic) over a few months. Consumption of Garlic has proved to significantly reduce platelet aggregation (responsible for strokes) after as short a time as ½ to 1 hours, with permanent results after one month of consumption. Cardiac arrhythmias have been shown to be noticeably reduced with the use of Garlic or onions.{15-19} , , , ,

Another aspect to Garlic is its activity in controlling blood sugar, for both hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (diabetes). It does this by reducing the body’s requirement for insulin. It is most effective in mild cases, and diabetics should not consider it as a replacement for insulin. However, Garlic can often help reduce the amount of insulin needed.{20,21} ,

Garlic has been getting good reports in the respiratory area, too. Not only can it reduce viral and bacterial attacks due to its antibiotic action, it also reduces congestion in bronchitis, asthma and allergies.{22,23} ,

The amount of Garlic used should be between 1 - 2 grams (2 - 4 capsules) a day of dried Garlic. More can be used if desired. Most of my patients prefer to use one of the odour-reduced preparations providing high alliin content. This is converted into allicin in the body. To understand this more fully we should look at Garlic’s chemistry.

The main sulfur-containing compound in raw garlic is alliin. It is approximately 0.25% of the weight of fresh garlic. It is extremely unstable in crushed garlic. Allinase is an enzyme in garlic that breaks down alliin and other compounds in cut or crushed garlic. Allinase interacts with alliin to produce allicin, the odour you smell and the bite to the taste when you crush garlic. Allicin has been shown to be one of the most important medicinal compounds, responsible antimicrobial action as well as producing many of the other compounds.

From the garlic’s point of view, it produces allicin as a form of self defence. If a mold, plant virus or bacterium attacks the bulb, the injury will make the allinase interact with the alliin to produce allicin. This produces a strong anti-microbial counter-attack on the part of the garlic. Usually the garlic wins. This same thing is true if an animal or insect breaks the bulb, allicin produces an odour that drives away the perpetrator.

Most research shows the medicinal properties of garlic come from the allicin or it metabolites created by its breakdown. Allicin itself is quite unstable, degrading in about three hours at room temperature. This breakdown produces a entire pharmacy of medicinal compounds.

Constituent	Anti-biotic	Detox-ifies	Inhibits cancer	Anti-oxidant	Lowers blood sugar	Lowers choles-terol	Thins blood	Protects the liver
ALLICIN	x	x	x		x	x	x
ALLIIN		x		x
THIOSUL-FINATES	x
GAMMA GLUT- AMYLCYSTEINES		x	x	x		x
SULFUR	x	x	x	x	x		x	x

When you are choosing a garlic product, it should be guaranteed for gamma-glutamylcysteines, alliin, sulfur, thiosulfinates and allicin yield.

This brings us around to a very complex and somewhat controversial subject: that of standardization of herbal products. Is standardization just another marketing tool? We see many standardized products coming on the market. Is this good or not? There is no easy answer for this. Well over 50% of the information on this subject is biased by marketing issues related to financial gain, and contains little scientific or, more importantly, clinical evidence. My view is somewhere in the middle of the road as I feel there are both positives and negatives involved.

One of the major reasons for standardization is the hope of creating a better product. Does it always do this? Not really. Sometimes it creates a better quality, sometimes not. One of the biggest problems is that there are no standards on which to base standardization. Critics of the herbal industry often have stated that until a practitioner can get good reliable, repeatable results in a scientific manner, the herbal industry will never gain the respect of main stream medicine. Standardization is an attempt to answer these critics, but I feel it falls quite a bit short of its mark. Is there a better way? I think so, but let’s first look at the issues and their evolution.

Herbalists in North America and around the world have always had standards to maintain. These standards, for centuries, have reflected the tools available at the time. They included the season in which the herb is picked, the ripeness, the taste, smell and appearance. This was further supplemented with drying, storage, processing of the botanical matter before it was given to the patient. We still find these standards in place in the production of a fine wine or a Cuban cigar. Quality is demanded, and thus produced, by the connoisseur. Do we want any less for our herbal medicines?

Quality of the original botanical material is the most important factor. We don’t want to lose that by moving our attention toward a chemical standard. Machine harvesting of 1,000 acre fields of St. John’s wort will not get the same quality of leaf to flower bud ratio as hand picked herbs. The flowers mature at different rates. On my farm, we harvest St. John’s wort 6 - 8 times throughout the season to assure the quality. To say a product is standardized to 0.3 % hypericin content is a joke. We are lead to believe this makes it better. It was proven in 1996, long before the latest sales trend, that hypericin is not the active ingredient responsible for its anti-depressant effect. We still see most products on the market standardized to this. Is this science or marketing? It looks more like marketing to me. However this is not to say that some standards are not useful. Let’s say you get up in the morning after a very little sleep. You go to the coffee pot to get some wake-up juice and find it is decaffeinated. All of a sudden one of the active ingredients is important to you.

One of the biggest questions is - What active ingredient do we standardize to? I have been interested in the biochemistry of plants for several years. Heck, I wrote a series of three textbooks on the subject. It holds great fascination to me. But, it is not the whole issue. We really don’t know all of the active ingredients of many botanicals. As an example, the ‘active ingredient’ of Valerian has changed five times in the last ten years. There are hundreds of thousands of different chemicals in each cell of a plant. To say we know the entire interaction is absurd and is, at the least, arrogant of us to presume this knowledge. Maybe the great architect in the sky has the answer to this question, but I can say this herbalist doesn’t.

It is really interesting to understand how a spark plug fires the engine of a car and it is easy to say it is an active ingredient of a car, but to standardize a car purchase to a spark plug would be pretty absurd. When I buy a car I want to know it has spark plugs, but I also am looking for a few other things such as an engine, tires, a steering wheel and maybe even a rear view mirror. Perhaps when looking at a herb, we should take into consideration a larger array of the active and marker chemicals. This is a concept called finger-printing or what, at Natrol, we call SpectrAll, to connote a large spectrum of important chemicals. Instead of looking at just allicin or allicin yield, we look for gamma-glutamylcysteines, alliin, sulfur, thiosulfinates and allicin yield in the spectrum of important ingredients. This is basically the difference between a standardized product and a guaranteed potency product. This can give us a better look at how the environment treated the plant instead of just looking at one single standard. The equipment and methods of analysis vary a lot from laboratory to laboratory, presenting yet another problem. To make sure every one is comparing apples to apples, analytical standards also need to be in place. This has caused some media concern when various products didn’t appear to be ‘up to standards’, but in reality the analyses were not up to standards.

In an attempt to explain the SpectrAll concept both internally and externally to my students, I came up with the following stories. As one of my clinics has been in Vancouver where I had members of the X-File staff as patients, the analogy comes out of the X-Files, so please bear with me. Let’s say we are in a board room with closed doors. We are talking about extraterrestrial life and an alien beams into the middle of the room. He looks around and tries to figure out what these human beings are? What is their active ingredient? One of the people gets up, runs to the door, turns the door handle, and disappears from the room. The alien says, “Eureka! The active ingredient of a human is the hand.”

Well, he goes up to the closest person, cuts off a hand, goes to the door and tries to open it. It doesn’t work. Then he realizes the hand has to be connected to the whole person. This gets the alien studying hands more closely and he realizes over the next few months that some hands are good at painting, others are good at pitching balls and still others are good at playing the piano. It is the personality of the whole person that shows how the hand works. Similarly, it is not a single ingredient that make a herb work - it is a group of factors. The true active ingredient of Garlic is - - - Garlic!!

While standardization has problems, it does have benefits. To say it is just a marketing ploy of the pharmaceutical industry’s desire to take over the herbal market is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. As a herbal clinician, I want a certain quality of botanical to use, may it be high quality tincture, standardized extract or herbs picked by the farmer down the road. It is understood that given chemicals can help produce a certain level of activity with patients. It is not the only factor at work though. There might be other active ingredients and most likely a synergistic action of several factors. The true test is how the herb reacts when consumed by the patient. Let’s be perfectly blunt, if the pharmaceutical industry thought the single standardized ‘active ingredient’ was the reason for the whole medicinal action, they would isolate it, patent it, synthesize it and sell it to us as a single, high cost drug. They can’t because there is much more to the picture and they know it.

All grape wines are standardized to the same basic alcohol content, using a single plant species, but there are several other factors influencing the quality of the wine. Certainly the ‘year’ is a big factor. A bright sun when the buds were full, high humidity, moderate cloud cover during ripening - all of these affect the final quality of wine. The way the grapes were picked and processed have a factor in the color, bouquet, and taste of the wine. These same factors affect the quality of our herbal medicines.

It is very important to realize just because we understand the chemical content of a plant and its relationship to an activity doesn’t mean it works better. It doesn’t mean that because a product label tells you information about its chemical content, it will work better than one that does not have this information. Sometimes by knowing the spectrum of chemicals we can aid in concentrating it. We often concentrate the herb for convenience of consumption. Most people prefer to take two or three capsules instead of 20. Let’s not forget these herbs are vegetable matter just like carrots. If I want the therapeutic effect of 10 - 20 carrots, I will make carrot juice. If I were going after the antioxidant effect, it would help to know the mixed carotinoid content of the glass of carrot juice. The knowledge of the carotinoid content does not make it work better, but it helps me decide how many glasses I should drink and assures me I will get the desired action. Of course, sometimes it is nice to sit back and enjoy some carrot juice just because I like it.

When looking for a good Garlic you should look for a whole spectrum of components, not just allicin or allicin yield. You should look for gamma-glutamylcysteines, alliin, sulfur, thiosulfinates and allicin yield. Of course we can all do what the old timer did and eat Garlic sandwiches every day and no one would get close enough to use to give us a cold or flu.

As much as I searched, I could not find solid evidence that Garlic can keep away werewolves or vampires, but Garlic definitely seems to have a beneficial effect in protecting us from all kinds of other unwanted organisms and parasites Garlic also works as a tonic and is beneficial in a large array of other health related issues.

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