Learn About The Garlic And Cancer Connection

Garlic is a vegetable and a member of the Allium family of bulb-shaped plants. This herb has been used for over 3,000 years for both culinary and medicinal purposes.

It has long been used for its great antibacterial and antioxidant qualities to treat many ailments like heart problems and skin conditions. Garlic is also very effective in helping prevent and treat cancer. And there are many studies showing the garlic and cancer connection.

Garlic’s health components

First and foremost, let us explore the chemical components of this herb which could be contributing to the positive link between garlic and cancer.

Garlic is rich in many antioxidants that can destroy free radicals in the body – free radicals are compounds which are behind cell damage in many cancers. It also has high sulfur and selenium contents. The most potent component in garlic is allicin, which also provides the distinct odor of this plant.

Allicin is effective in fighting off bacteria and viruses in the body. It can also be effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels. By eradicating bacteria and cholesterol from the body, it might also be helping to prevent cancer cells from developing.

In addition, the Cancer Active website says that garlic has other potential anti-cancer compounds that appear when fresh garlic is crushed or chopped. These include compounds called alliin and alliinase enzyme.

Further, garlic has good amounts of a substance called diallyl disulphide, which was found to be effective in reducing the growth of cancer cells in the bowels as far back as 1995. This study, which was conducted by the Pennsylvania State University, found that mice injected with diallyl disulphide had their cancer cells shrink and eventually die.

Garlic and cancer

Because of the above compounds, it seems that garlic is very effective in fighting cancer cells. According to the US National Cancer Institute, there are multiple studies showing that garlic is effective in reducing the risk of cancers of the stomach, of the breasts and of the colon. They also report that “data from seven population studies showed that the higher amount of raw and cooked garlic consumed, the lower the risk of stomach and colorectal cancer.”

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