Garlic is a plant that first grew in Asia and is now grown worldwide for food and medicinal purposes. People add whole, sliced or crushed garlic to foods or consume supplements made from fresh or aged garlic or garlic oil. Garlic contains antioxidants and alliin, which your body converts to allicin and other sulfur compounds that give garlic its health-promoting and immune-stimulating properties. Consult your doctor about the benefits of garlic.
History
Many civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians, have used garlic as both a food and medicine. The French gravediggers in the 18th century drank wine with crushed garlic, believing it would protect them from the plague that afflicted thousands of people in Europe. Soldiers in World Wars I and II ate garlic to prevent gangrene. Today, physicians prescribe garlic to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke caused by high cholesterol and high blood pressure, respectively. People also use garlic today to boost their immune system and protect against cancer.
Common Cold Virus
Increasing your intake of garlic can reduce your risk of catching a cold virus. The common cold, characterized by nasal congestion, a runny nose and sneezing, afflicts people of all ages and populations. Colds are caused by viruses that spread through tiny air droplets released when you sneeze, blow your nose or cough. Research by scientists at the Garlic Centre in East Sussex, England, and published in the July-August 2001 edition of "Advances in Therapy" found a supplement containing allicin can reduce your risk of becoming infected with a cold virus and lower the duration of a cold if you do become infected.
MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also called MRSA, is a life-threatening infection caused by a strain of staph bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics that physicians commonly prescribe to treat ordinary staph infections. You can become infected with MRSA in hospitals, usually after surgical procedures and invasive procedures or from healthy people through skin-to-skin contact. Garlic extracts may be an effective therapeutic agent in people infected with MRSA. Research by scientists at Chungshan Medical University Hospital in Taiwan and published in the "Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy" in December 2003 discovered that extracts of diallyl sulphide and diallyl disulphide from garlic administered orally significantly decreases the viability of MRSA in the plasma, liver, kidney and spleen of mice infected with MRSA from infected patients.
Cancer
Eating garlic may reduce your risk of some types of cancer, particularly those affecting your digestive tract. Cancer can be caused by viruses that induce changes to DNA within your cells. Research by scientists at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in October 2000 evaluated published studies on the association of garlic consumption and risk of cancer and found that a high intake of raw and cooked garlic may protect against stomach and colorectal cancers.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Garlic; 2011
- Medline Plus; Common Cold; June 22, 2011
- "Advances in Therapy"; Preventing the Common Cold with a Garlic Supplement: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Survey; P. Josling; July-August 2001
- MayoClinic.com; MRSA Infection; Nov. 5, 2010
- "Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy"; Garlic Extract and Two Diallyl Sulphides Inhibit Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection in Balb/Ca Mice; Shyh-ming Tsao, et al.; December 2003
- MayoClinic.com; Cancer; 2010
