How to Harness the Healing Power of Garlic

Certain time-honored remedies have had such a reputation in folk medicine that it can be difficult to determine how much of the reputation is hype and how much could be supported by science. Garlic is certainly one such natural product. It has a long history. More to the point, plenty of people attest to the healing power of garlic. There are even scientific studies pointing to intriguing biological activity.

Garlic Against Infection:

Q. Aged garlic extract in pill form works very well to fight infection. On several occasions when I was bitten by multiple fire ants, as many as ten bites, not one bite became infected if I was taking garlic. Symptoms and redness were gone in 24 hours.

Normally, if I am bitten by a fire ant, every bite becomes infected. The garlic pills made an amazing difference. Again, this happened a number of times, and no infection, not ever, while taking the garlic pills.

A. We are intrigued by your report. Scientists studying garlic against infection have focused mostly on applying the extract topically (Journal of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Sep. 2025).  It is effective, especially in combination with ginger, against several pathogens.

Because you are taking aged garlic extract in pill form, we looked for research on that. In fact, a randomized clinical trial found that elderly residents of care facilities were significantly less likely to develop respiratory infections on garlic than on placebo (Nutrients, May 15, 2023).

The Healing Power of 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!

Chronic Yeast Infections:

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 three 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.

High Blood Pressure:

Once the infection was gone, I took three 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 three or four tablespoons of crushed garlic a day. That is a lot of garlic!

Modern science has confirmed that garlic has anti-platelet activity, meaning it may reduce the risk of blood clot formation.

Research has also revealed that garlic lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and combats fungi (Journal of Nutrition, Feb. 2016; Canadian Journal of Microbiology, Oct., 2010).

Garlic Lowers Blood Sugar:

There is also evidence that garlic helps control blood sugar (Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dec. 2015). A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials confirms that people taking garlic have lower fasting blood gluse and HbA1c as well as total and LDL cholesterol (Nutrients, May 29, 2024).

Garlic for Long Life:

Can garlic help you live longer? A Chinese study of octagenarians and nonagenarians suggests that those who eat the most garlic are least likely to die prematurely (Nutrients, June 30, 2019). In this instance, of course, “premature” is a relative term. Anyone who reaches 80-plus is already enjoying a long life.

Long Life for Garlic Lovers:

Researchers recruited 27,000 Chinese elders at least 80 years old between 1998 and 2011. Since these people had already reached an advanced age before joining the study, approximately 22,000 of the volunteers died while enrolled. When the researchers followed up through 2014, they logged 92,505 person-years of data.

People who reported that they ate garlic five or more times a week survived longer than those who reported eating it less than once a week. They were about 11 percent less likely to die during the study period. Those who reported consuming the pungent vegetable one to four times weekly also benefited.

Why Would Garlic Be Helpful?

Perhaps one reason garlic might contribute to long life could be its effect on blood pressure. In China, older people with moderately low blood pressure live longer than those with either very high or very low blood pressure (BMJ, June 5, 2018). Crushed raw garlic lowers blood pressure, triglycerides and fasting blood sugar (Journal of Dietary Supplements, July 4, 2018).

Will an Extract Work as Well as Crushed Garlic?

There is conflicting evidence on whether an aged garlic extract (such as Kyolic, for example) is able to lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation as well as fresh garlic does. One recent study suggested that an aged garlic extract holds promise (Integrated Blood Pressure Control, online Jan. 27, 2016). Another study in people with type 2 diabetes did not find that aged garlic extract made blood vessels more flexible or reduced their inflammation in a month-long placebo-controlled trial (Journal of Diabetes Complications, online Jan. 6, 2016).

Learn More:

To learn more about the healing power of garlic, ginger and many other favorite flavors, you may want to read our book, Spice Up Your Health: How Everyday Kitchen Herbs & Spices Can Lengthen & Strengthen Your Life. It can be found in the books section of the store at www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.  For people who would like to know more about natural approaches other than garlic to maintain good blood sugar levels, we offer our eGuide to Preventing & Treating Diabetes.