Garlic's Benefits Attract Researchers

What many people think of primarily as a flavoring agent may actually be one of the most powerful functional foods, full of properties that promote good health. Garlic - admired for its taste and disdained for its odor - contains 40 organic compounds, including a number that helps protect the human body from other compounds that attack it.

"Most of these compounds in garlic are organic sulfur compounds and several have been shown to be powerful antioxidants," explained Dr. Larry Brace, Head of Coagulation Services at the University of Illinois at Chicago's medical school and Associate Professor of Pathology.

"Put simply, oxidants are compounds that damage the body. Antioxidants, as the name implies, interact with oxidants and prevent them from doing damage."

Dr. Brace offers an example of how antioxidants work. A typical candy bar is full of milk mixed with chocolate. A candy bar can remain unopened for weeks and even months, yet still be consumed safely. The same amount of milk as in the candy bar would deteriorate rapidly if allowed to sit for hours, let alone weeks.

"The cocoa within the chocolate is full of antioxidants. These compounds are what prevents the milk in the candy bar from oxidizing and turning rancid," he said. Antioxidants may be just one of the potential health aids in garlic.

"We have a number of studies that show that garlic intake can lower blood pressure," he said. "We also have a lot of anecdotal evidence - not backed up by studies - that garlic might be an anticarcinogenic agent and that it promotes better immune system response."

"The challenge is this: How do you measure these things?" Complicating the search for answers are the dramatic changes the chemical compounds in garlic undergo during preparation.

"Garlic's composition changes dramatically when you cook it in oil or water, from its composition in the raw," said Dr. Brace.

"Basically, if you put garlic in olive oil and then put it on a piece of bread, the compounds are different from those in garlic used in the pasta salad. Getting a handle on just what is going on in garlic is difficult."

Even in its raw state garlic can change. "By itself, a clove of garlic is quite odorless, but the minute you peel it or scratch the surface you get a whiff of that distinctive odor," Dr. Brace explained "The organic sulfur compounds in garlic are breaking down and that creates the odor."

Researchers are tracking the individual compounds in garlic and monitoring what each does or doesn't do. "Simply put, scientists are trying to find out just what in garlic makes it so darn good healthwise," Dr. Brace said. "I expect we will see some answers within the next few years."

Whatever the answers are, Brace is already convinced garlic is good for you. "I eat it on a regular basis and try to consume several cloves of garlic a week," he said.

Source: Food and Your Health, A publication of University of Ilinois Extension College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

 

Winter 2000
Christmas Tree Selection Time Again | Gifts for Gardeners | Holiday Season Pet Hazards | Prepare Your Garden For Winter | All America Vegetable Selections 2001 | Lawn Care Calendar | Bug Bites: Unwanted Visitors That Are Lurking In Your Firewood | Cybergarden Sites | Hort Tips | Hort Shorts | Garlic's Benefits Attract Researchers | Cranberries | Let the Buyer Beware | Roasting Chestnuts | Health and Household Tips | Did You Know?

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