There's a cure for the common cold.

Garlic - an ancient cold remedy

Garlic has been used as medicine ever since ancient medieval times by many civilizations of the world. They were not wrong to use it, because garlic does have some healing qualities, not excluding qualities contributing to the healing of a common cold.

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The common cold can be caused by over 200 known viruses. A treatment aimed at a specific type of cold or flu can often not be used in treating the others. This is where garlic comes in. Garlic has properties of an extensive, wide-ranging antibiotic rather than a targeted one. It can also have positive effects for the immune system as a whole. Many herbal supplements on the market include garlic, often together with other more traditional herbs such as echinacea.

Garlic can help treat symptoms of colds and flu; however it is best seen as a preventative. The use of garlic against colds and flu seems to be most effective when applied before the infection is caught, or immediately the symptoms begin to show.

Research has revealed that people taking garlic can suffer less from colds than others. There is also plentiful subjective evidence that taking large amounts of garlic at the onset of a cold can reduce the time taken to recover. Beware, garlic can interfere with the working of certain medicines, discuss with your doctor if unsure.

It's vital to remember that the main antibiotic effect of garlic comes from allicin. This is obtained from crushed, raw garlic and is destroyed by cooking. Garlic supplements vary tremendously in their allicin content.