Because of garlic s antibacterial properties, it can help prevent secondary infections in people who have lowered immunity. An American study in 1989 found that protective natural killer cell activity was restored in some AIDS patients after they took garlic supplements for six weeks. If you find the flavor repulsive or you don t want to walk around all day with dragon breath, you can take powdered supplements, which are widely available in health food stores and drugstores. I prefer that people take garlic in their food because I think it is more easily absorbed into the system. In that case, taking a garlic supplement is appropriate.
Supplements are available as tablets, capsules, and tinctures.
Although oil-based garlic preparations are widely available, their effectiveness is questionable, since allicin is unstable in oil. Moreover, since allicin is formed only when the cells of garlic are crushed to create the enzyme reaction, dried garlic doesn t contain this important component. Dried garlic does contain alliin and alliinase, the enzyme that converts alliin to allicin . Look for enteric-coated tablets or capsules, which are designed to pass through the stomach and degrade in the alkaline environment of the intestine, where the beneficial conversion takes place. You ll get the medicinal benefits without the odor or taste.