Most of us know garlic as a favourite seasoning in salad dressings and as a staple of French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Chinese cooking. But garlic is also a medicine, an unusually powerful and versatile one that has been used since the dawn of medicine.

 
Garlic has long been considered a medicinal food. Hippocrates used garlic vapours to treat cervical cancer. Garlic poultices were placed on wounds during World War II as an inexpensive and apparently quite effective replacement for antibiotics which were scarce during wartime.

The health benefits of eating garlic on a daily basis can play a big role in your overall health. It can help protect you from illness and to act as an antiseptic for a wide range of infections.

So what diseases can garlic help?

    
* Cardiovascular disease
    
* Infections
    
* Diabetes
    
* Respiratory problems
    
* Cancers
   
* High Blood Pressure

Benefits of garlic:

    
* Lower total cholesterol (but raise the good-type HDL cholesterol)
    
* Natural antibiotic properties help to fight infection
    
* Lowers blood pressure
    
* Reduces the risk of blood clots.

Here's a short list of other disorders which, studies show, can be eased with regular doses of garlic.

    
* ARTHRITIS: Garlic taken daily helps ease the pain and possibly eliminate the disorder by stimulating the immune system.
    
* ASTHMA: A combination of garlic and honey can help stop an attack if taken right away, say herbal practitioners.
    
* BLADDER INFECTIONS: Garlic has proven effective in killing the bacteria responsible for recurrent bladder infections.
    
* BLOOD PRESSURE: Garlic and onions are both packed with allicin, selenium and other nutrients which, studies show, help keep hypertension under control.
    
* CANCER: For many years the National Cancer Institute has been studying how common foods can help safeguard against this killer disease — and garlic has definitely proved to be a formidable weapon. It is a member of a food group that contains powerful phytochemicals — compounds researchers believe inhibit cancer growth. The pungent herb may also be effective in preventing the onset of deadly colon cancer,
    
* CHOLESTEROL: Heart-damaging LDL cholesterol can be reduced by eating a moderate amount of raw garlic or a couple of garlic pills on a daily basis, studies show.
    
* COLDS, FLU AND PHLEGM: 2 garlic cloves crushed, boiled in a cup of water along with ½ tsp turmeric powder is excellent.
    
* COUGHS: A syrup made of raw garlic and honey can quell the toughest cough. Mince six cloves of garlic and put them in a jar with a cup of honey, then let it sit for about two hours. When your cough gets bad, take a teaspoon and enjoy the relief. This can also be effective in pill form. Garlic tea is also an effective cough remedy. To make it, add three minced cloves to a cup of just boiled water and let the mixture steep for about ten minutes. Strain out the garlic bits and drink the remaining liquid. But don't throw out the garlic — you can add them to soup or other dishes at dinnertime.

Acne – Most people at some point in their lives suffer from acne to some degree. Companies make a fortune selling facial washes and creams to help. The problem is that there are many reasons for acne including hormones, diet and stress. Although garlic on its own is unlikely to cure acne, it can certainly be used in conjunction with other treatments.

Anti-Bacterial – Garlic has 1% of the potency of penicillin and can ward off a number of bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, Cryptococcal meningitis, Candida albican and Staphylococcus. The problem with most antibiotics is that bacteria develops resistance to them, however this is not the case with garlic.

Garlic is thought to work because of its antibiotic and blood cleansing properties. When using garlic in your food, make sure your crush and chop it up. This will help release the active compounds. Another way to take garlic is by placing a few cloves in a bottle of olive oil and then drizzle it over a salad.

Garlic, despite its offensive odour, has remained a part of the domestic arena with properties established in traditional and holistic healing practices. Natural healers know that garlic is a powerful medicine. Recently, however, modern medicine has also studied garlic as more and more bacteria become increasingly resistant against man-made antibiotics.  In their studies, scientists have found that garlic is indeed a powerful healer but that it does not come without some dangers and side-effects. Natural healers are aware of these side effects as well and often take them into consideration when suggesting garlic as a medicine.

The Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W) once informed his followers: "Whoever has eaten [garlic] should not approach the mosque" (Sahih Bukhari ).

The Prophet Muhammed S.A.W has said: treat yourself with garlic as it cures 70 diseases.

Despite all the health benefits of garlic you may feel that "garlic breath" is too much of a deterrent. If this is the case you can take Odourless Garlic Supplement instead.

Here are some more tips to prevent garlic breath:

1. Switch to garlic capsules. Using garlic capsules can reduce garlic breath but will not reduce it entirely. There is no way to eliminate the garlic odour totally as the highly-odiferous sulphurous compounds are what give garlic their medicinal benefits.

2. Eat parsley. Having 1 or 2 tablespoons of raw parsley after eating garlic can remove the smelly breath of garlic.

3. Eat fennel or cardamom seeds. Chewing on 2 teaspoons of fennel or cardamom seeds after eating garlic are other possible option.