If you want to take advantage of the medicinal properties of garlic, my understanding is that you have to eat it raw and eat it quickly after you crush it.

We had a thread on here once with people saying how they eat raw garlic. I crush it into some olive oil to make dressing to put on salad, or add it to other food at the end of cooking.

Mixing it with some oil or butter cuts the chances of getting an upset stomach, for me anyway.

It's really good for your skin and your lungs.