In the world of herbal medicine, garlic rules. It is said to lower blood pressure, promote healing, and reduce inflammation. Everyone is encouraged to consume more garlic, whether raw, cooked, or in capsule form. Garlic, it seems, can work wonders inside the human body. It can even repel insects when sprayed or grown between infected plants. That’s magic.

It is the power of garlic to repel that intrigues me. I remember that an experienced nature lover told me that if I ate garlic before going out into the forest, the insects would not bother me. I resisted the urge to ask if it worked the same way with bears. I like garlic and want to reap its many health benefits, but I can’t get over the fact that this wonderful herb sucks. Now I know that you are probably saying that its smell is subject to the disposition of the one who smells it. Some cultures love the smell of garlic, but not ours. Also, when even aphids are repelled by the smell of garlic, doesn’t that tell you something?

I recently sat next to an obvious garlic lover in a small hospital waiting room. The smell of garlic emanated from every pore of his body making me wish I was an aphid. She couldn’t escape the smell in such a small room. He was everywhere. I needed the blood work, so I sat trying not to breathe hoping that those in the room would know that the smell wasn’t coming from me.

I started taking garlic in capsule form in the early 1980s, had heard of its many benefits, and wanted to make sure I harvested as many of them as possible when I reached middle age. Taking capsules would surely eliminate any chance that he smelled like Garth Garlic. The aroma would be non-existent if the capsule were swallowed whole. It is not like this?

Everything went well for the first few days. My wife had no idea I was taking garlic until one night we were both reading in bed. Suddenly I felt the need to express myself gastrically, and I did so quietly and without fanfare. As the unmistakable smell of garlic filled the bedroom, my wife stopped reading, sniffed discerningly, and pronounced in a loud and rather disgusted tone, “My God, Mike, you’re garlicky.”

One would think that she would support my efforts to maintain and promote optimal health. Wouldn’t she, too, benefit from having a healthy husband who lived a long, healthy, if not completely odor-free life? The word gratitude never left her lips. Shortly after this episode I discovered odorless garlic capsules and my health and marriage were saved. Garlic Rules!

You have to laugh!

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