It’s always been known to lower blood pressure, reduce plaques, fight infections due to it’s anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic properties. Now, the humble garlic has proven successful in fighting stubborn UTIs as well. A study conducted by researchers at the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences in India, the study found that even crude extracts of garlic showed good activity against multi-drug resistant strains where the antibiotic therapy itself had limited or no effect.
Garlic (Allium sativum) has been traditionally used for treatment of diseases since ancient times. A wide range of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses are known to be sensitive to garlic preparations. Allicin and other sulphur compounds are thought to be the major antimicrobial factors in garlic.
In this study, the team found that 56% of 166 bacteria strains isolated from the urine of people with UTI showed a high degree of resistance to antibiotics. However, about 82% of the antibiotic resistant bacteria were susceptible to a crude aqueous extract of Allium sativum. According to the researchers, “ours is the first study to report the antibacterial activity of aqueous garlic extract against multidrug resistant bacterial isolates from infected urine samples leading to UTI.”
Taking 2 cloves of crushed garlic every morning on an empty stomach also ups immunity to fight most seasonal infections and virals, apart from lowering blood pressure. Just make sure you brush afterwards!
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