Only 10 to 30 percent of world health care is allopathic or "Western"; the rest is what we now call "alternative," "natural," or "complementary." Do these treatments actually work? Where are they found? How should we take them? DK's Natural Care Library is a series of twelve books on herbs and vitamins, including this one on garlic.
Cuneiform tablets from 3000 B.C. show that Sumerians and Assyrians used garlic to strengthen the body and treat infectious fevers, swollen joints, and sprains. This herb, also known as the "nectar of the gods" and "stinking rose," is a much-touted blood thinner that is used to dilute cholesterol-thickened blood and help lower high blood pressure. Garlic has also been known to treat fatigue, colds, acne, and boils.
This handy paperback contains sections on What is Garlic?, Science Talk, Common Side Effects, Precautions, Conditions and Doses, Do-It-Yourself Remedies, and a Herb Glossary. Other volumes in the series cover kava, dong quai, saw palmetto, echinacea, St. John's wort, and ginseng.