Interested in Preventing Cancer and Lyme Disease?

Published: Wed, 04/20/22

Did You Know?

Chopped fresh garlic in moderation is excellent for dogs but should not be given to cats.

Garlic prevents cancer and kills bacteria.

It's a great story!!

Garlic (Allium sativum) has been valued for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. Five-thousand year-old Sanskrit and Chinese medical manuscripts describe the benefits of garlic. Garlic was also a valued staple for the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. In fact, fifteen-pounds of garlic was the going price for a healthy male slave in Egypt. When King Tut’s tomb was excavated, bulbs of garlic were found scattered throughout.

For as long as people have been been using garlic, they have been feeding it to their animal companions. However, recently, the safety of garlic for dogs has come into question. Knowledge is a powerful thing but astute pet owners should gather all the data before shunning this celebrated bulb.

The National Animal Supplement Council records adverse advents and had found, after decades of reports, no adverse effects of garlic. I don't know if any of you remember as it was a few decades ago, a concentrated liquid garlic product (smelled like 1000 Italian Restaurants left in a container for a year) which we poured on our dog's food to help prevent fleas. There were no adverse affects reported. In fact, garlic is approved as a flavoring, spice or seasoning for use in pet food,

That said, the FDA tested garlic's safety....giving 75 cloves of garlic per meal to a Golden Retriever sized dog and concluded that it's a poisonous plant! A dog weighing 12 lbs would have to eat 8 to 10 garlic cloves per meal to state 'it may cause damage to the red blood cells of dogs'.

Drinking too much water can kill you but we all drink water. In fact, we all know that drinking enough water is a healthy thing to do. So what’s healthy and what’s too much? Let’s get to the bottom the garlic story. Where do you draw the line on how much garlic your dog can get in his meal?

BENEFITS OF GARLIC

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen carried out a study that showed a compound in garlic can destroy the important components of bacteria’s communication systems involving regulatory RNA molecules.

This can also have the effect of helping antibiotics work again in difficult cases where it once failed to make an impact.

In addition to stopping DNA molecules in the bacteria, the garlic compound can also destroy the protective slimy matrix that surrounds the bacteria known as biofilm. Once the biofilm has been weakened or destroyed, the body’s own immune system and antibiotics can attack the bacteria more

directly and get rid of the infection with ease.

Garlic increases general immune activity along with the activity of Killer Cells (cells that seek out and kill invading bacteria and cancer cells). Uncooked garlic helps to lower blood triglycerides and choleterol making it useful for certain breeds (Schnauzers and Beagles) that are predisposed to this problem.

Garllic can boost heart health, regulating cholesterol levels and preventing blood clots from forming.

A 1988 study found that diallyl sulfide, a compound in garlic, prevented tumor formation in rats. Other studies have shown that garlic inhibits various forms of cancer growth in the body. Garlic also enhances overall liver function and triggers enzyme responses to help break down waste materials before they go into the bloodstream. In other words, garlic helps the liver out - and in today’s toxic world, our dogs’ livers need all the help they can get.

Although it has a strong flavor that sticks with you long after you’ve eaten it, it can actually help digestion quite a bit by supporting intestinal function, reducing gastric canal swelling. By killing the bad bacteria in the intestines, it can help ease diarrhea, colitis and even dysentery. It has also been linked to preventing cancers like those of the esophagus, stomach and colon, in addition to inhibiting the growth of breast tumors.

The research delineating the medicinal powers of garlic is extensive. Of all of garlic’s reputed benefits, perhaps the best well known is its use as a natural antibiotic with reports going back through history. In fact, Pasteur noted garlic's antibacterial activity in 1958. Modern researchers have compared the effectiveness of garlic with that of antibiotics and have found that garlic has a broad-spectrum anti-bacterial effect. Additionally, bacteria don’t seem to build up a resistance to garlic as they do to many modern antibiotics.

There’s a secret to releasing the healing powers of garlic. Allicin is the most powerful medicinal compound derived from garlic, providing the most important health benefits. Garlic does not contain allicin. Rather, garlic first has to go through a chemical process so the allicin can be released. When garlic is crushed, an amino acid contained within it reacts with an enzyme, creating allicin. You must finely chop or crush a garlic clove then wait a few minutes to allow the chemical reaction to occur. Additionally, allicin is unstable when exposed to air and heat so don’t wait more than 20 minutes before you top your dog’s meal with some healthy raw garlic.

While cooking garlic destroys allicin, other components in the cooked or powdered garlic continue to provide some beneficial health effects. Compounds in garlic act as antioxidants and help flush toxins out. If you cook meals for your dog, it’s totally safe to add garlic as a flavoring and for improved health. (Unless you add 75 cloves to one meal; forgive my tongue-in-cheek. Seriously, would the average dog even eat that meal?) Remember, it is approved as a dog food flavoring.

A host of studies provide evidence that the allicin in garlic works to inhibit cancer formation and kill bacteria. With cancer being the number on cause of death in dogs in the United States and Lyme disease being ever present in certain States, it's good to know all of this information. Buy a garlic press or simply chop some garlic very finely and let it sit for about 15 minutes. You can then mix it in with a tablespoon of cooked, cooled chopped beef or chicken and place it on top of your dog’s meal. Voila- a meal fit for a King - or a Pharaoh!

Dogs less than 10 lbs- 1/2 of a small clove of garlic a day

Dogs between 10 and 20 lbs- 1/2 of a medium clove of garlic a day

Dogs from 20 lbs to 30 lbs- 1 small clove of garlic a day

Dogs from 30 to 50 lbs- 1 medium clove of garlic a day

Dogs from 50 to 70 lbs- 1 large clove of garlic a day

Dogs 70 lbs and up- 1.5 cloves of garlic a day

www.doctordeva.co

Dr. Deva Khalsa