In my quest for health over the last year or so, I have discovered something that in my opinion trumps everything else in the health arena. GARLIC – that’s right. It’s name is fokhagyma in Hungarian and it has also been dubbed as Russian Penicillin because of the volume in which they use it to fight flu and colds. Perhaps you thought that this little food was only good for adding some flavor to your dishes, or for scaring away those who come too near to you. Well, I’m here to tell you after much research and personal experimentation, it’s really a miracle food.

It all started about year ago when I read that incorporating garlic cloves into your every day diet is very healthy. I began chopping up one or two cloves a day and taking it by teaspoon, using water to wash it down. The good thing about this method is that the garlic doesn’t sit in your mouth for too long, which reduces the chance of odor from the mouth anyway.

Besides just being good for basic health, I have personally used garlic as a remedy for:

Sore throats – you chew the garlic slowly and towards the back of your mouth before swallowing and it takes away the sore throat pain (yes, it burns a little, but just keep some water on hand and you’ll be fine).

Ear aches – cut the clove in half and then cut the outer part from the garlic so that the fresh part is exposed, wrap in a thin tissue and let it rest inside the outer part of your ear for a few hours. It takes the pain away (PLEASE take proper care not to cut the garlic too small so that it can fall into your ear deeply!!!).

Yeast and candida overgrowth – overgrowth of candida yeast is a huge problem with the diets of many today, and some studies have even shown links between this candida overgrowth and cancer. Garlic has the greatest anti-fungal properties to fight this yeast and other bacteria, and can get you on the road to health if you combine taking it daily with the proper diet.

Tooth pain – yes, garlic can even help with tooth pain when you cut around the clove so that the fresh parts are exposed and then insert the garlic into the area of your mouth where there is pain. (This is not for the faint of heart. IT WILL BURN at first, but after several minutes it feels therapeutic). I did this during a terrible bout with tooth pain and even days after I had an old root canal tooth extracted and found that it helped dramatically.

Insect repellant – want to venture out into the woods but don’t want to come back looking like Mr. Spot? Well, garlic is the secret for you. I went on a short camping trip last year when I discovered that the insects were staying far from me due to the garlic I had been taking.

There you have it. If it was good enough for ancient people groups and for the Russians today in the brutal climate in which they live, then it will continue to be my drug of choice. Besides, I believe it’s not only healthier than antibiotics but much cheaper too!