People believe that garlic has antiviral and antibacterial properties.
All over the world, almost every tenth person tries to treat colds with garlic.
It is clear that a huge number of people regularly eat garlic with food, and nothing bad is expected from it.
In 2014, a scientific study was published on the topic of garlic for the common cold. It was called "Garlic for the common cold". This was the so-called Cochrane Review, in which the most die-hard experts rigidly select the most reliable information, chew it up and publish it for everyone to see.
So experts have shoveled a heap of scientific waste paper over the past 65 years in search of evidence of the effectiveness of garlic.
Despite the fact that garlic is eaten all over the world almost more often than bread, experts managed to dig up only eight decent scientific studies that could be read and not spit.
According to all the data accumulated over such time, it was clear that it was difficult to get poisoned with garlic. In the worst case, there will be a skin rash and an unpleasant odor from the body.
It became clear that there was no chance to evaluate the effect of garlic in terms of treating an existing cold. Nothing worked there.
But we managed to dig up one single study that very beautifully showed the effect of garlic for the prevention of colds.
The study met all the hallmarks of decent scientific work. People were randomly fed either a garlic preparation or a dummy for three months, and then they calculated how many of them would get a cold.
And it kind of worked out. From garlic, colds hurt much less often.
It would seem that there is a result, and you can celebrate. But experts concluded that the 146 people who participated in the study are somehow not enough for 65 years of scientific work in that field.
That is, the entire population of the Earth consumes garlic together, but was it really possible to test its effect on only 146 people? This is very strange and unreliable.
We agreed that no official conclusions could be drawn so far. Maybe someday someone will be smart enough to organize everything properly and make the rest of humanity happy. But this is what experts said in 2014. Six years have passed, but nothing new has been found.
People continue to eat garlic and believe that it helps them. There is no particular harm from garlic, so no one forbids it. But no one will also advise using garlic for the prevention of viral infections.
The results of this review could be directed to anyone, but more often pediatricians refer to it. An adult can eat all sorts of nasty things for his own entertainment, but it is not normal to stuff children with it. So eat yourself, but do not bother others with your garlic.
How do you feel about this matter?
