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Use of Garlic Against Fungus

Garlic has many uses in cooking. It has been used to flavor food for decades. Besides its culinary potential, garlic also has a great deal of medicinal value, primarily because of the more than 100 chemicals it contains. Besides the several commonplace illnesses that it helps alleviate, garlic is extremely useful in fighting off fungus. Some common fungal infections include tinea pedis, which is fungal infection of the toenail, and candida.

  1. Fungus-Killing Properties of Garlic

    • Several plants play a role in strengthening the body’s immune system naturally. Garlic is believed to be akin to an antibiotic. Garlic is used to fight bacteria, fungi of various kinds, parasites, protozoa and even viruses. Garlic possesses this capacity through allicin, a substance released when a clove of garlic is sliced. Garlic helps white blood cells improve on their capacity to fight off infections.

    How Garlic Wards Off Fungus

    • You can use garlic in several simple ways to fight fungus. Take a piece of garlic and rub it on the spot affected by fungus. Or crush the garlic, apply it to the affected area and then rinse off after a while. Doing this daily for a week will help reduce the infection. If you have sensitive skin and the raw garlic burns you, wash off the area. Make a juice of the garlic and check on the level of potency your skin can handle.
      If your toenail fungal infection is in the beginning stages, you could treat it by keeping a few cloves in your socks before you go to bed at night. You could also use concentrated garlic powder to fight the infection off. A light coat of the powder will be sufficient.
      Garlic has allyl alcohol, an extract of garlic which can help fight off candida if taken internally.

    Minor Side Effects

    • The one problem with garlic is the pungent smell it emits. Since many people do not like this smell, they often try to use the odorless varieties that are available in the market. However, the odorless varieties are of no use. The odor of garlic is due to allicin, which is the primary ingredient in garlic’s healing properties.
      Also, when using garlic to treat toenail fungus, you may end up with a yellow discoloration of the nail. But this will reduce with time.

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