Thai Traditional Medicines, The Wonders of Garlic

Thai traditional medicines, explained by my grandmother, passed on from generation to generation, the medical properties of garlic.

A small perennial plant with a subterraneous bulbous stem, garlic is more than just a culinary ingredient; it provides a whole range of medicinal properties. Apart from kratiam tone, which is single-clove garlic Thai variety, a garlic plant generally comprises several cloves.

When garlic is peeled, the cream-colored flesh gives off a pungent aroma. Its long, oblong-shaped leaves are hollow at the center and the plant flower in bunches at the end of a long stem. Garlic blooms are circular with pinkish-white petals.

Garlic boast a number of important substances including calcium, vitamin C, protein, carbohydrate, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin B1 and vitamin B2, among others. Sulfur, in the form of oil is also found in garlic; it is obtained through enzyme processing resulting in a substance with healing properties.

According to ancient Thai medicine, garlic helps reduce fat levels in the blood, lowers blood pressure and heals fragile arteries. An intake of five to seven garlic cloves helps relieve gases in the body. To treat coughs, five to seven garlic cloves are mixed with two tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of water plus a pinch of salt and sugar. This concoction gets rid of phlegm.

People suffering from tuberculosis find that seven to eight fresh garlic cloves can ease symptoms because garlic stops the bacterial growth that causes this illness. To treat ringworm, garlic is peeled and rubbed over the affected area four to five times a day.

Garlic helps heal the common cold and bronchitis as well as helping relieve digestion, treat diarrhea, prevents blood clots resulting in thromboses. Moreover, it enhances positive cholesterol in the blood, improves blood circulation and stops the growth of bacteria that causes diphtheria and typhoid and reduces the chances of catching legionnaire's disease and prostrate cancer. Degeneration of different sorts can be slowed and the immune system improved with daily intake of five to seven garlic gloves.