Garlic is most sought after H1N1 ‘medicine’ in China

Morgan Stanley economists say that in China, garlic is currently the country’s best performing asset, outstripping gold and stocks.  The price of garlic has nearly gone up fourfold since March.

The reason given for the price appreciation of this pungent bulb is because the Chinese strongly believe that it can ward off the H1N1 swine flu virus that is increasingly affecting the country today.

Garlic has long been considered a herbal “wonder drug” with a reputation in folklore for preventing everything from the common cold and flu to the plague.

“I don’t know about H1N1, but it can prevent ordinary colds,” said Zhang Ping, 74, at a vegetable market in Beijing.  ”Take me.  I’ve not had cold for many years and every year I buy several dozen pounds of garlic.”

In the flourishing eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, a school reportedly purchased 200 kilograms of garlic and made students eat it at lunch every time to stay healthy.

[via abcnews.go.com]