Effectiveness of garlic for antibiotics?
The efficacy of garlic is not only for kitchen affairs. In fact, garlic contains natural antibiotic properties, you know!
Garlic is a hero as a flavoring or aroma enhancer. However, not many people know that garlic also has natural antibiotic content.
Having the scientific name of Allium Sativa, garlic has long been used to combat viruses and bacteria. A prominent French scientist, Louis Pasteur, in 1958 has even found that garlic can kill bacteria. Starting from the Middle Ages, garlic is also used to heal wounds and prevent infections.
Antibiotic medication can indeed save human life because it has a function of killing bacteria in the body.
Nevertheless, antibiotics are not always good for the body. One side effect is antibiotic resistance, especially if the use is not as recommended by the doctor. Antibiotic resistance is a condition when bacteria or viruses that should die are even immune to antibiotics. Finally, antibiotics became useless and could not cure the disease.
Try it Natural
The antibiotic is in fact not only pill-shaped but can also come from natural herbs. One of them is garlic. Garlic has a major compound called allicin. If you ever smell a typical garlic smell, it comes from allicin. This content is also the one that turns out to serve as antibacterial and effective against parasites.
Also, there is indeed a lot of chemical content in garlic that has been studied as a potential antibiotic. In a 2011 study published in the Medical Journal "Applied Microbiology and experimentally", some of the compounds contained in garlic were able to interact with bacteria and were effective against bacteria Campylobacter jejuni. This bacterium is usually a food poisoning culprit.
Meanwhile, another study published in the "Journal of Medicinal Food " mentions that allicin can kill some pathogenic oral bacteria, such as Streptococcus Streptococcus and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Both are causes of tooth and mouth decay.
Remains to be consumed in proper dosages
Although garlic has efficacy as an antibacterial, you are not advised to consume it excessively. Regarding this, unfortunately, it is unclear how much a safe dose for garlic consumption.
Most scientific studies have studied specific components of garlic, such as allicin, and usually, use a dose of 600 mcg/mL with the aim of treatment. However, the amount of allicin can vary depending on the type and how the garlic grows.
Also, it is quite difficult to calculate the amount of garlic that can match the efficacy of antibiotics. This is because different antibiotics can be used at different dosages and for different types of infections. However, if you want to consume garlic for the purpose of body protective antibacterial, the University of Maryland Medical Center, USA, recommends 2-4 garlic cloves or 600-1,200 mg of old garlic extract every day.
Although garlic is generally safe to digest, excessive garlic consumption can cause internal bleeding. Reported from Healthline, if you consume a supplement containing garlic, be sure to follow the dose written on the packaging or better yet according to the doctor's recommendation.
Important note for those of you who are taking blood-thinning drugs, consult your doctor before using garlic as an antibiotic. Large doses of garlic can potentiate the effects of this drug.
Well, it is the benefit of garlic that has antibiotic properties. Again, although it is a natural ingredient, you need to contact it your doctor before you want to consume it. Combine also with a variety of healthy foods that are nutritiously balanced so that the impact is more optimal, yes!