Comment: The most common use of garlic in my practice is the treatment of toxic mold exposure with garlic oil and for the treatment of bacterial infections (raw drug).
Botanical name of garlic: Allium sativum L.
Plant family: Allium family / Alliaceae
Main botanical characteristics: A leafy, upright, round flower stalk grows from the bulb, up to 1 m tall. The leaves are broadly linear, pointed, entire, and approximately 1 cm wide. Flowers are arranged in umbels, have long stalks, and are reddish-white. Next to the flowers are 20-25 bulbils. The entire inflorescence is surrounded by a bract, which falls off completely. The bulb develops in the ground, and is almost spherical. The egg-shaped main bulb is surrounded by curved secondary bulbils (garlic cloves), each individually enveloped by a layer of white leaves.
Flowering time: July-August
Plant parts used: Garlic bulb (Allii sativi bulbus)
Ingredients: Essential oil (chopping converts alliin into allicin), vitamins A, B1, C, choline, iodine, hormones similar to male and female hormones.
Effect: Antibacterial (allicin) especially against Yersinia, vasodilatory (affects K and Ca channels in the vessel wall), anti-flatulent, antifungal, lipid-lowering, choleretic, inhibits platelet aggregation, prolongs bleeding and clotting time (fibrinolitic).
Indications: Arteriosclerotic diseases (narrowed vessels of the legs, fundus of the eye, brain, heart), intermittent claudication, hypertension, high cholesterol, dyspepsia, flatulence, bladder infection (Yersinia – caution – frequent contamination of tap water and coffee machines), mold contamination, sorbitol intolerance, glomerulonephritis, rheumatism / ankylosing spondylitis (fresh drug)
Contraindication / Side effects: None, rarely MD irritations, strong odor
Preparation and dosage form:
- Fresh herb chopped (3xTg. 1 clove)
- Tincture (3x 10 drops/day)
- Garlic oil dragees,
- Homeopathic D3-D6, for chronic bronchitis, rheumatism, digestive disorders,
- It can also be used dried, but its effect is weak.
Effect of garlic according to Traditional Chinese Medicine – TCM (warming):
- Dispels wind-cold and dampness, has a diaphoretic effect
- Simulates liver and gall bladder, stimulates bile flow
- Drives away parasites, strengthens the Immune system, clears toxic heat
- Dispels phlegm cold and stagnation in the lungs and large intestine
- Tonifies the heart and lung Qi in cases of heart and lung Qi deficiency
- Tonifies the Yang, stimulates circulation
