Garlic revisited: therapeutic for the major diseases of our times?

Garlic may play an invaluable role in the prevention and therapy of the major causes of death. Anecdotal, basic, and clinical research data are confirming the efficacy of this herb in the treatment of hyperlipemia, cancer, heavy-metal intoxication, infectious diseases, hypertension, free-radical damage, and immune deficiency states. Garlic's broad antimicrobial spectra and its ability to modulate immunity may play a strategic role in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome pandemic. A review of the literature supports a greater scrutiny of this herb's therapeutic potential.