Garlic also repels , and even kills fleas, which is what spreads the plague ; so people who were around garlic all day probably didn’t get the fleas that the other people had, thus helping to protect them.
It makes you think of how it was the norm back then for the masses to be unwashed, odorous and aswarm with parasites and diseases of all kinds....makes me appreciate modern times and my shower. Some people idealize past times as more 'natural' and therefore somehow healthier for mind and body. I don't think so. It's better to be clean.
This is absolutely true, and even way back in Old Testament times, many of the guidelines given to the Hebrews were for cleanliness. This is why they could miss many of the illnesses that the unwashed pagans were apt to get. Somehow, as people changed over to Christianity and following the New Testament, many of those cleanliness laws were forgotten, or sometimes just not available for people to do. Having lived where I had to use kerosene lights and pack my water for cleaning and drinking, I totally appreciate that I have hot running water that I can shower in and wash up when I want to do that.
I have often said that I would love to live in simpler times. Just let me take modern health care and toilet paper with me.