Unlocking the Benefits of Garlic
cloves of garlicWhat makes garlic good for you?
(Chris Ramirez for The New York Times)
Garlic has long been touted as a health
booster, but it’s never been clear
why the herb might be good for you. Now new research is beginning to unlock the
secrets of the odoriferous bulb.
In a study published today in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that eating garlic appears to
boost our natural supply of hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is actually poisonous
at high concentrations — it’s the same noxious byproduct of oil refining
that smells like rotten eggs. But the body makes its own supply of the stuff,
which acts as an antioxidant and transmits cellular signals that relax blood
vessels and increase blood flow.
In the latest study, performed at the University of Alabama
at Birmingham, researchers extracted juice from supermarket garlic and added
small amounts to human red blood cells. The cells immediately began emitting
hydrogen sulfide, the scientists found.
The power to boost hydrogen sulfide production may help
explain why a garlic-rich diet appears to protect against various cancers, including
breast, prostate and colon cancer, say the study authors. Higher hydrogen sulfide
might also protect the heart, according to other experts. Although garlic has
not consistently been shown to lower cholesterol levels, researchers at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine earlier this year found that injecting hydrogen
sulfide into mice almost completely prevented the damage to heart muscle caused
by a heart attack.
“People have known garlic was important and has
health benefits for centuries,'’ said Dr. David W. Kraus, associate professor
of environmental science and biology at the University of Alabama. “Even
the Greeks would feed garlic to their athletes before they competed in the Olympic
games.'’
Now, the downside. The concentration of garlic extract
used in the latest study was equivalent to an adult eating about two medium-sized
cloves per day. In such countries as Italy, Korea and China, where a garlic-rich
diet seems to be protective against disease, per capita consumption is as high
as eight to 12 cloves per day.
While that may sound like a lot of garlic, Dr. Kraus
noted that increasing your consumption to five or more cloves a day isn’t
hard if you use it every time you cook. Dr. Kraus also makes a habit of snacking
on garlicky dishes like hummus with vegetables.
Many home chefs mistakenly cook garlic immediately after
crushing or chopping it, added Dr. Kraus. To maximize the health benefits, you
should crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15
minutes. That triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in
garlic.
Garlic can cause indigestion, but for many, the bigger
concern is that it can make your breath and sweat smell like…garlic. While
individual reactions to garlic vary, eating fennel seeds like those served at
Indian restaurants helps to neutralize the smell. Garlic-powder pills claim to
solve the problem, but the data on these supplements has been mixed. It’s
still not clear if the beneficial compounds found in garlic remain potent once
it’s been processed into a pill.
