Sponsored by The School of Natural Healing & Christopher Publications

---

October 12, 2016

The Health Champion, Garlic Kelly Pomeroy, M.H.

I can hear the soundtrack from the classic movie Rocky playing in my head. In my mind movie scenes play of Rocky Balboa, a fictional boxing hero, running up the stairs with his victorious leap and the final 15 round fight with Apollo Creed. This man had incredible determination, honor and heart. Also known as the Italian Stallion, Rocky came out on top every time.

We have our own Italian Stallion in our gardens and grocery stores, Allium sativum, also known as garlic. This powerhouse is not just flavorful, but excellent for a healthy heart and blood stream. It is an extraordinary antioxidant and incomparable when it comes to its antibacterial and antiviral effects. For some additional reading on its antioxidant effects, try Science Daily's findings on garlic. Garlic has fought my battles many times and I always come out on top.

I am currently enrolled in a microbiology class at a local university. We began to study antiseptics, disinfectants and antibiotics (antimicrobials) and test them out on plates of bacteria grown on blood agar. We did common household disinfectant sprays, toothpaste, hand soap, bleach and a plate with prescription antibiotics. We weren’t studying natural antiseptics or disinfectants, so I asked permission to run the same test but with natural substances on the side. The results were thrilling. On two plates of bacteria, one gram negative E. coli and one gram positive Staph. aureus I tested Dr. Christopher’s X-Ceptic and Super Immune Garlic Formula​, apple cider vinegar, rejuvelac, goldenseal, Armor ​by Health Fusion -an essential oil blend I use topically as a disinfectant, and last but not least- fresh GARLIC​! Gram negative bacteria have a unique outer membrane that resists certain drugs and antibiotics more so than gram positive. I placed a standard amount of each natural antiseptic/disinfectant on each bacteria plate and let it sit for about 2 days. When I came back I saw that the fresh garlic and the essential oil blend were knock outs compared to all the other substances tested, in both gram negative and gram positive bacteria. (The other’s had good effects, but fresh garlic was the strongest.) Both bacteria plates had substantial clearing, proving to be sensitive to garlic. Even in my reports of the antibiotics used, no clearing was as substantial as the garlic. After several more days though, the bacterial growth crept in, suggesting the need to keep taking the garlic constantly until you get through your illness. Often when doing natural remedies, such as garlic, we are doing the right things but need to do more and more frequently.

When using garlic, knowing what it’s made of will help you to best harness its capacity. Garlic’s antibacterial/antiviral effects can be likened to epoxy. For epoxy to work, you combine two substances to create a strong glue. With garlic, when you crush or injury it, the enzyme allinase is activated which metabolizes alliin to allicin. Allicin is responsible for that powerful antibacterial and antiviral effect. When you cook garlic, this enzyme is destroyed. To get the most of garlic, chop it up or score it well and let it sit for several minutes so that the enzyme has time to effect the alliin, then consume or use it topically raw. Ajoene is derived from allicin which is reported to be as potent as aspirin in preventing sticky red platelets from clumping together. It reduces cholesterol and has anti-tumorous and anti-cancerous effects. Garlic is full of sulfur compounds and 17 amino acid, and minerals. Read more on garlic here! Or visit our publications site to purchase a newsletter by Dr. Christopher on garlic Volume 2, #9. Garlic is so flavorful, so powerful and so beneficial to our health. Invite this Italian Stallion into your meals more often and enjoy the amazing benefits it has to offer!

P.S. Don’t forget, fall is the best time to start your garlic growing in the ground. Plant now to bless your future health!


Kelly Pomeroy is a Master Herbalist and a Student Adviser at The School of Natural Healing. She loves being a mother to her four awesome children and is pursuing a biology degree.


Printable Version: http://www.herballegacy.com/

If you missed an article be sure to visit http://www.herballegacy.com and click on Articles. Also, take advantage of David Christopher's Radio Show (see Resource Links below for more information).