Graedons' Pharmacy | The healing properties of raw crushed garlic

Q: You recently had a letter from a doctor who was skeptical that garlic can be medicinal. I can attest to its healing powers!

I have Type 2 diabetes, and I had constant yeast infections due to high blood sugar. My yeast infections were so terrible that I was in constant pain.

I read online about treating my condition by eating crushed garlic. I consumed 3 tablespoons of raw crushed garlic four times a day with a pint of warm lemon water for three days. The infection went away completely. This worked better than Monistat or Diflucan or anything else that had been prescribed.

Once the infection was gone, I took 3 tablespoons of raw crushed garlic three times a day instead of four. This dropped my blood pressure from 189/96 to 134/86. Based on my experiences with using garlic, I can truly say that it heals the body.

A: Thank you for sharing your extraordinary story. We're not sure, though, that very many people could tolerate 3 or 4 tablespoons of crushed garlic a day.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was reputed to prescribe garlic for patients suffering chest pain. Modern science has confirmed that garlic has anti-platelet activity, meaning it may reduce the risk of blood-clot formation. Research also has revealed that garlic lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and combats fungi (Journal of Nutrition, February 2016); Canadian Journal of Microbiology, October 2010).

There also is evidence that garlic helps control blood sugar (Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2015).

For people who would prefer less intense garlic therapy to maintain good blood-sugar levels, we offer our Guide to Managing Diabetes. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (71 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. DM-11, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Graedons' Pharmacy | The healing properties of raw crushed garlic ."