There is a particular kind of result that the modern medical literature produces every so often and then quietly buries. Not an incremental improvement. Not a "statistically significant trend." A clean, total, almost embarrassing result -- the kind that, if a pharmaceutical company owned it, would be on every billboard in the country. In 2005, four researchers at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences published a small clinical study in the International Journal of Dermatology with a title so plain it almost dares you to overlook it: "Healing effect of garlic extract on warts and corns." What they reported was this: a fat-soluble extract of ordinary garlic, applied twice a day, produced complete recovery in 100% of patients with warts within one to two weeks -- and no recurrence over the three- to four-month follow-up. One hundred percent. From a bulb you can buy for pocket change at any market on earth. I want to sit with this result, because it is not really a story about warts. It is a story about what we have been taught to believe medicine is, and where healing actually comes from. What makes this result so much more than a folk curiosity is that the researchers could name why it worked -- and the mechanisms read like a summary of everything garlic has been documented to do across the scientific literature. - It is antiviral. Warts are linked to human papillomavirus. Garlic's antiviral activity is among the best-established in all of botanical medicine -- it directly interferes with viral replication (Dehghani et al., 2005). - It is antiproliferative. A wart is, in effect, a benign, virally driven growth. Garlic has been studied for activity against a wide range of abnormal and cancerous cell lines -- the same property, turned toward a humbler target (Garlic in dermatology, Dermatology Reports, 2011).

Koreans have been enjoying salted and fermented vegetables known as kimchi for about 2000 years. It's typically served with steamed rice at every Korean meal. But this spicy dish is much more than a condiment. Researchers in Korea published a comprehensive review of the health benefits of kimchi as a probiotic. In it they cite 130 studies attesting to the amazing healing properties of this humble food. Probiotics are the good bacteria populating the gut. The human gut contains over 400 strains of bacteria and the mix of different strains in each person is very individual. Among other things, probiotics: - promote a strong immune system; - support healthy digestion; - improve the amount of nutrients absorbed from food; - help synthesize certain vitamins; - protect against tooth decay; - prevent diarrhea; - reduce the risk of colon cancer and bladder cancer. In addition, probiotics in kimchi help the body detoxify from toxins like bisphenol A, heavy metals, perclorate, and pesticides The balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut can be disrupted by the use of antibiotics. Gut bacteria is also disturbed by excessive alcohol use, stress, diseases and toxins. All of these allow harmful bacteria to thrive. To rebalance the scales, good bacteria or probiotics are needed to repopulate the gut. These good bacteria feature prominently in fermented foods like kimchi. Many bacteria strains are involved in the fermentation of kimchi but the most prominent is lactic acid bacteria. It's the source of many of kimchi's health benefits. In addition, all of kimchi's traditional ingredients are health foods in their own right including cruciferous vegetables, garlic, ginger, and red pepper. Kimchi also contains high levels of vitamins (vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin B complex), minerals (sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and potassium), and dietary fibers. According to the new Korean study, research shows that kimchi has a long list of health actions including anticancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and anti-constipation. It promotes brain, skin, and colorectal health. It reduces cholesterol and blood clots, and has anti-oxidant and anti-aging properties.