As time moved on, the uses of garlic in medicine flourished and many great physicians and philosophers made reference to its benefits. Hippocrates, Homer, Aristotle, Pliny, Galen, Virgil and Mohammed all believed garlic to have many useful properties. The Greek and Roman armies, like the Egyptian workers, fed garlic to build strength competitions to build stamina and keep keep themselves free from illness. It was thought to be food fit for a god or goddess, and was placed ceremoniously on piles of stones at crossroads for the Greek goddess Hecate.
Ever since, garlic has been used by the dominant cultures around the world. Nowhere more so than in China, where garlic has always been used in both cooking and medicine. The Chineses call garlic “suan”. The fact that this is written as a single sign in such an ancient language indicates a very early cultural recognition. Traditionally, the Chinese used garlic as an aid to long life as it was known both as a “healing” and a “heating” herb, which helped the circulation and was believed to be beneficial in cases of tumors tuberculosis, coughs, colds infections and wound healing.