With winter approaching, STEPHEN LEWIS finds out about a food which is a great natural antidote to coughs, colds and winter snuffles - as well as much else.

ITS health-giving properties have been known for thousands of years. The Egyptians used it for headaches and sore throats, the Greeks believed it was great for fighting off disease, while the Chinese, Indians and Romans all advocated it for the treatment of everything from eye problems to old age.

More recently, it was used in both world wars as an oral medicine for battlefield infections and as a wound dressing. It is still widely used in Eastern Europe and the Far East today to complement more sophisticated drugs.

What is this wonder medicine? Humble garlic.

"Garlic, in my opinion, is one of God's gifts to keep us healthy - the quintessential medicinal food," says York-based nutritional therapist Azizah Clayton.

"It is legendary in its use as a magical cure-all and has been used as food or a remedy since time immemorial."

It's not just the ancients or Eastern mystics who trumpet the medicinal properties of garlic.

In the past 15 years, articles have appeared in a string of respected medical and scientific journals confirming that it is packed with healing compounds.

According to Azizah, a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists who runs a private practice from home and clinics two days a week at The Healing Clinic in York's Fulford Cross, there is clear evidence that the natural chemicals present in garlic help reduce harmful LDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots. It is, she says, the "single most important food for protecting the heart and arteries."

Garlic also has a strong antibacterial effect, according to Azizah - making it a great way of fighting off sore throats, bronchitis, skins infections, boils, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea. Against yeast and fungus it is even more effective - and so is a useful supplement for those suffering problems from fungal infections such as candida.

Azizah says there is even anecdotal evidence that it can help boost the immune system and, from its use in Eastern Europe and Asia, that it is effective against viral diseases such as the common cold.

Most recently, and perhaps most excitingly of all, studies have revealed that the natural chemicals present in garlic can even help to prevent cancer and reduce the size of tumours.

It's not going to replace anti-cancer drugs or even antibiotics in the fight against disease, Azizah stresses - and shouldn't be seen as a substitute for medicines prescribed by your GP. But taken as a supplement to your diet, it is a great way of boosting your body's natural ability to fight off disease. "I take it every day of the year," she says.

The reason for garlic's medical potency is thought to be the many sulphur compounds it contains.

The problem with it, for delicate British sensibilities at least, has always been its pungent smell - a smell caused by the sulphur compounds, which can, and does, linger on the breath in a way many people in this country find socially unacceptable.

But don't worry. You don't need to go around stinking of garlic to reap the benefits, says Azizah.

There are many ways of eating garlic. Cooking with it is just one. There are definite health benefits in cooking with garlic, Azizah says - but because to do so you have to cut, crush or slice the cloves, you release (and lose) some of the sulphur-rich allicin compound, believed to give garlic much of its antibacterial potency.

Since allicin also gives garlic its pungent aroma, by releasing it you are also ensuring that that whoever eats it will have that smell to reckon with.

One alternative is to swallow cloves of raw garlic whole - up to two or three a day, Azizah says. As long as you don't crush it with your teeth, you won't release the pungent taste in your mouth.

Her preferred option, however - and the one most likely to be acceptable to sensitive British noses - is to take garlic supplements.

They come in two basic varieties - garlic 'pearls', often described as odourless, which contain various amounts of garlic oil; and garlic tablets, which contain dried garlic powder.

The most effective of these, Azizah believes, are the garlic powder tablets.The oil in garlic pearls, while it might be odourless, has lost many of the beneficial constituents of raw garlic, she says.

"To make garlic pearls, what they do is steam the garlic and then collect the residue, which forms an oil," she says.

"It doesn't contain the compounds that have an anti-microbial effect, so it is useless as an anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, although it may be OK for circulatory problems.

"But the best garlic supplement, I believe, is the one which is carefully freeze-dried, then crushed into powder and put into capsules.

"That preserves the whole garlic."

The other advantage is that, since the capsule is swallowed whole, the garlic isn't digested until it reaches the stomach. "So you can't smell it in your mouth!" says Azizah.

u Garlic by and large causes no adverse reactions, Azizah says. A few people may experience mildly allergic reactions which cause discomfort in the stomach if too much is eaten. Garlic also thins the blood - so be aware it may increase bleeding. It is not advisable to take it before surgery.

Azizah plans to start classes this autumn for those interested in various aspects of nutrition. To find out more, she can be contacted at The Healing Clinic on 01904 679868 or at home on 01904 425850.