Q&A: Too Much Garlic?

Question: Thanks for your suggestion to eat garlic for combating the low-grade infection in my hand from the dog bite. I used minced garlic from the grocery and have been mixing it heavily in the foods I eat. It seems to work well. In fact, with the first garlic burger I ate I could feel a sensation move through my body (yes, I used A LOT of garlic) that I presumed to be the killing of bad bacteria – candida, if I had to guess. I’ve noticed, too, I have more energy now than I did have. A great $2 cure. My question: Can one eat too much garlic? Is there any toxicity to it? Answer: Only one of King Henry’s wives came close to eating too much garlic – she followed a Gaulish tradition that biting down on a clove of garlic when one’s marriage was being consummated would ensure an heir…Henry promptly removed himself from the marriage bed for several consecutive nights until, when she threatened to call for her Daddy’s troops, he was persuaded by his advisers to do as she did, thereby overcoming the odor and consummating (we suppose) the marriage (which I believe remained unproductive anyway, resulting in another disavowed queen…) There is no risk except for some possibly warmer-than-usual bowel movements. Garlic was found effective by the US government against a host of viral and bacterial agents in the 1940’s, including influenza, cholera and typhus; on one of my tapes I discuss how it removed an infected wart in a matter of days and kept a friend from being sent home from a mission in Mexico. There is one possible caution with the pre-minced, jarred kind, which is that some brands contain lots of other elements, even though pure garlic should not really need preservatives. Check your label – fresh is always best.