Garlic may get a bad rap for stinking up your breath, but cooking with fresh garlic offers so many health benefits that it may be worth the effort of keeping breath mints on hand. It may relieve infections and have implications in cancer treatment, and it provides a range of nutritional value. Never take garlic as a treatment for disease without first speaking to your doctor.
Provides Liver Benefits
Eating a diet high in iron can damage your liver, but using fresh garlic in cooking may mitigate that damage. A study published in the May 2011 issue of the journal "Endocrine" indicates that the compounds in garlic heal liver damage triggered by high iron and protect the liver from further deterioration. As the study was carried out on rat models, human studies are needed to determine if these findings correlate to men and women.
Imparts Antibacterial Benefits
Fresh garlic has long been in use as a home remedy for a variety of illnesses, but some scientific evidence suggests this bulb vegetable has anti-bacterial benefits. Evidence available in the March 2011 edition of "Toxicon" notes that laboratory testing of allicin and other compounds from garlic reveals it may prevent pneumococcal diseases in adults and children. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases reports that these diseases, caused by bacterial infections, most often affect people with weakened immune systems. If you have HIV, cancer or chronic lung and kidney conditions, cooking with fresh garlic may be beneficial.
May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk
Incorporating fresh garlic into your cooking may prevent some forms of cancer. Research featured in the 2010 issue of the journal "Nutrition and Cancer" correlates exposure to allicin in fresh garlic with colon cancer cell death in laboratory testing. It triggered a decrease in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma-2 cells. Animal and human studies are needed to confirm these findings. While your oncologist must recommend the most effective treatment for colon cancer, eating garlic in addition to cancer therapies will not damage your health -- include it in your meal plan for its chemoprotective benefits.
Provides Vitamins and Minerals
One clove of fresh garlic contains 0.9 mg of vitamin C, 0.04 mg of vitamin B-6 and 0.05 mg of manganese. You need 75 to 90 mg of vitamin C, 1.5 to 1.7 mg of vitamin B-6 and 1.8 to 2.3 mg of manganese daily.
References
- "Endocrine"; Biochemical and Histological Liver Changes Occurred After Iron Supplementation and Possible Remediation By Garlic Consumption; H. Ghorbel, et al.; May 2011
- "American Family Physician"; Health Effects of Garlic; E. Tattelman, Ph.D.; July 2005
- "Toxicon"; Allicin From Garlic Neutralizes the Hemolytic Activity of Intra- and Extra-Cellular Pneumolysin O In Vitro; M. Arzanlou, et al.; March 2011
- National Foundation for Infectious Diseases; Facts About Pneumococcal Disease; October 2002
- "Nutrition and Cancer"; Allicin Purified From Fresh Garlic Clove Induces Apoptosis in Colon Cancer Cells via Nrf2; W. Bat-Chen, et al.; 2010
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Garlic, Raw
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