This month, we have a review on the brand new book, "The Garlic Cure", by James F. Scheer, Lynn Allison and Charlie Fox. An informative, easy-to-read book, "The Garlic Cure" is packed full of solutions for an extensive variety of health issues, including cancer, fatigue, and heart problems.
Last week, Bill Evans and I had the opportunity to have dinner with both James Scheer and Charlie Fox. Afterwards, when we dropped them at their hotel, Charlie challenged us to a race to the opposite side of the parking lot. We gullibly accepted, and promptly lost. I should admit that we were in a car while Charlie was on foot. I should also mention that Charlie is seventy-five years young. He is remarkably fast and a strong testimony to the healthy lifestyle he practices. Charlie attributes his amazing energy and health to his eating habits and, of course, his regular consumption of aged-garlic extract. Listed in "The Garlic Cure" is a long list of ailments that can be improved, or even cured, by a daily dose of garlic. It is great reading!
Book Review: THE GARLIC CURE Authors: James F. Scheer, Lynn Allison and Charlie Fox
Review by Tamara Jankoski
It was almost 24 years ago when I first met Charlie Fox, at the place of business where my husband worked. The most unusual and humorous characteristic about him was that - even though none of us were in the nutrition business at the time - whenever Charlie was coming down with a cold, he would walk in the office reeking of garlic, chomping on cloves in hopes of rebuilding his immune system and avoiding the annoying ailment.
One day Charlie was offered a "perfect-fit" job. He was asked to be the sales manager for a new, little-known company called "Wakunaga of America", makers of Kyolic Odorless Garlic. At Last! Something that would protect all of Charlie's family, friends, and associates whenever he was feeling a bit under-the-weather. That was 22 years ago, and Charlie is still at Wakunaga, though it is no longer a little-known company. Kyolic garlic is now the most recognizable name in odorless garlic supplements.
Charlie Fox and another friend of mine, James Scheer - former editor of "Let's Live" health magazine have teamed up with Lynn Allison to write "The Garlic Cure", newly released and published by Alpha Omega Press, of Fargo, North Dakota. In the fresh, bubbly, sprinkled-with-humor writing style that I have come to recognize as James Scheer's writing, this book is an easy-read for anyone interested in discovering the healing properties of garlic.
"The Garlic Cure" reveals a multitude of benefits for an amazing variety of ailments. Backed with clinical trial references and dosage instructions, I was fascinated to read all that garlic can do.
As an example, "The Garlic Cure" contains an extensive discussion on cancer and heart disease. Also mentioned is what it does for the herpes simplex virus II and candida albican. Both natural garlic and aged, odorless garlic extract are shown by dozens of studies - many double-blind - to outwit allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer's, cancer, candida albicans, colds, flu and sore throat, toxins, fatigue, and cardiovascular complications. The list goes on.
Probably the biggest surprise to me was how garlic relieves fatigue. "The Garlic Cure" states that even "Egyptian laborers who constructed the Great Pyramid at Giza were issued a daily supply of garlic to renew their energy."
Equally impressive was how garlic is considered by the National Cancer Institute's Designer Foods Program to be the most promising food for the prevention of cancer and other devastating diseases.
Dr. John Pinto and Dr. Richard Rivlin, researchers at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, found that, "aged-garlic slowed the progression of prostate cancer by means of its unique sulfur compound called by the unspellable name S-allylmercaptocysteine - SAMC, for short." "The Garlic Cure" notes how prostate cancer is highly prevalent in countries where large amounts of animal fat are consumed. In Thailand, where little animal fat is consumed, prostate cancer is almost non-existent.
Another topic covered pollutants and toxic substances. Garlic can help protect us against the effects of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides in our environment - including additives that are found in our processed foods. One statement in this section that I found particularly interesting was the comment on fluoride. The Garlic Cure states, "A former rat poison, called fluoride, widely used in drinking water, toothpaste and mouthwash to prevent tooth decay, fails in its main purpose (as shown by solid studies in respected publications); reduces our immune power; and makes us vulnerable to many serious diseases."
"The Garlic Cure" also discusses how heavy metals poison our bodies. One such heavy metal, aluminum (found in foods, beverages, medicines, cosmetics, antacids, antiperspirants, antidiarrhetics, and medications) is considered to be a prominent cause of Alzheimer's disease. How many other ways are we exposed to toxic metals, such as mercury, cadmium and lead? There is neither any way of knowing, nor any way to prevent it. However, by turning to foods and nutrients that detoxify, such as aged-garlic that binds heavy metals, we can limit the effects such pollutants have on our bodies.
Overall, however, what caught my attention the most was when I read that aged-garlic extract reduces homocysteine levels. Many health professionals now regard homocysteine levels as a far more serious threat to the heart and arteries than cholesterol.
Evidently, garlic is better than the proverbial "aspirin to the thin the blood" as a crucial factor in heart health. Aspirin prevents abnormal blood clotting, yet often causes the unpleasant side effect of bleeding in the stomach and elsewhere. Also, aspirin cannot cope with excessive blood fats, cholesterol, triglycerides and the ravages of homocysteine. Aged, odorless garlic can, as demonstrated by many cited studies.
Gary Gordon, MD, DO, cofounder of the American College for the Advancement in Medicine and president of Gordon Research in Payson, Arizona cites the overlooked importance of lowering homocysteine levels. In a five-year follow-up study of 14,916 doctors, there was a three-fold increase in heart attacks in those with the highest blood levels of homocysteine. Dr. Gordon states that soon it will be a common practice for doctors to pay more attention to their patients' homocysteine than to their cholesterol.
Susan Lark, MD, a prominent heart specialist, alerts us to the fact that "women with high levels of homocysteine have 24 times the risk of heart disease than those whose levels are low." Some 80 clinical studies reveal that homocysteine damages the lining of veins and arteries, stimulating the harmful growth of smooth muscle cells over injured areas. This limits or blocks critical blood flow.
Research by Dr.Y.Yeh, at Pennsylvania State University, reveals that when there is not enough folic acid in the diet - a widespread condition contributing to higher homocysteine levels - the most powerful biochemical is aged-garlic extract, which slashes blood homocysteine levels by 30 to 70 percent.
A nutrient that revs up the immune system for minimizing the risk of killer diseases, garlic also helps in fending off and treating minor but annoying ailments. With the common cold, most people - at the first sneeze - think of vitamin C, vitamin A and zinc. Not bad thinking, but it excludes another helpful nutrient: garlic. For a recurrent sore throat, natural health guru Andrew Weil, MD, recommends a modern version of grandma's cure: two diced cloves of garlic mixed with food.
A frightening problem that The Garlic Cure deals with is the increasing impotency of antibiotics against disease. Even powerful antibiotics cannot seem to control the resurgence of tuberculosis (TB), an old scourge that is once again being brought to the forefront. Farm animals are regularly dosed with antibiotics, not just for infections but as growth promoters, also. Patients quite readily pop antibiotic pills to prevent the most minor of infections. These are some of the reasons that people have developed a resistance to antibiotics faster than drug companies can develop new ones.
Highly contagious, TB can be spread by a cough in an airplane, or any other pubic area where stagnant air is present. These words are intended as a wake up call, not as a scare tactic. This book tells exactly how garlic, "Russian penicillin," was used early in the 20th century for the prevention or treatment of TB, and how it can be used effectively today.
Dr. James A. Duke, one of the world's foremost authorities on medicinal plants and herbs, writes: "The Chinese use garlic to treat TB with decent results. If I feared that I had been exposed to TB, I would take at least one garlic capsule a day, and I would make sure the label said that each capsule was standardized to the equivalent of at least one gram of fresh garlic."
The list goes on for ailments that can be cured, prevented, or at least improved by garlic and aged-garlic extract. "The Garlic Cure" also reports on preliminary studies that indicate aged garlic extract may prevent Alzheimer's disease. In-depth research also shows it to be effective in coping with stomach ulcers and even sickle cell anemia! Some of the most interesting sections of "The Garlic Cure" are chapters featuring testimonial letters from people with ailments that range the total medical alphabet.
Overall, I was highly impressed with the information found in this book, and surprised at the extensive ways that garlic and aged-garlic extract can help critical ailments - not just viruses and colds. I appreciate "The Garlic Cure" referring to the solid, double-blind studies that show this herb's effectiveness in disease prevention and treatment. In addition, the book offers 139 gourmet garlic recipes created by Lynn Allison.
Aged-garlic will now be an addition to my daily supplement regimen, not just when I am coming down with a cold. I believe anyone who is interested in better health will find the information in this book eye-opening and beneficial - truly worth the trip to the bookstore!
If you are interested in how to purchase this book, you may contact us at
.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery everyday. Never lose a holy curiosity."
