People have used garlic for thousands of years to try to prevent many different types of maladies, from the plagues that swept across Europe to the gangrene that soldiers could contract during wars, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center. Currently, research reveals that garlic shows promising abilities to potentially prevent various kinds of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Types of Cancer that Garlic Affects
Consuming garlic may help you prevent a wide range of types of cancer. An increased consumption of garlic is linked to a reduced risk of developing different types of cancer, including cancer of the esophagus, stomach, intestine, colon, rectum, breast, pancreas and prostate, reports the National Cancer Institute. Laboratory studies have shown that garlic is able to slow or stop the growth of leukemia cells and tumors that affect the stomach, colon, bladder and prostate, the American Institute for Cancer Research says, and animal studies have revealed garlic's ability to slow or stop the progression of cancers in the lungs, breast, stomach, esophagus and colon.
How Garlic Prevents Cancer
Garlic contains substances such as allicin, quercetin and allyl sulfides that have demonstrated anti-cancer effects such as killing cancer cells, stopping tumor growth, and slowing the progression of cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. The National Cancer Institute reports that garlic may act to prevent cancer in many different ways, including blocking the development of substances that cause cancer in your body, stopping the activation of cancer-causing substances, decreasing cancer cell proliferation, killing cancer cells and helping your body repair DNA that cancer has damaged. Garlic may also strengthen your immune system overall, thereby strengthening your body's ability to combat cancer, says the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Effective Amounts of Garlic
It's best to eat garlic regularly with your meals rather than to consume it in supplement form, advises the National Cancer Institute, because garlic supplements vary widely in their concentrations of garlic's active ingredients. While the National Cancer Institute hasn't set any official amount of garlic to consume for cancer prevention, it recommends eating 2 to 5 g of fresh garlic from either one or two garlic cloves, 300 to 1,000 mg of garlic extract, 2 to 5 mg of garlic oil, or 0.4 to 1.2 g of dried garlic powder every day to promote good health overall.
Cautions
Garlic is generally safe when used in cooking, says the National Cancer Institute, but it can cause some side effects, such as diarrhea, nausea and heartburn. The National Cancer Institute recommends talking with your doctor about how much garlic you should consume if you're taking any prescription medications, since garlic may interfere with some of them. You should also avoid garlic if you're about to undergo surgery, since garlic can thin your blood.
