Subj : GARLIC FAQ
[Excerpts from ChemTao: Synergies In The Life Science v2.0 (c) 1990 LKS]
Foodstuffs --- Garlic
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Active Compounds
----------------
Garlic (and onions, members of the plant genus allium - all of which
are rich in sulfur compounds) contains large amounts of organic sulfides
---extraordinary antibiotics and anti-caarcinogens.
One of the most powerful, diallyl sulfide, was also found to protect
animals from the cancerous transformation of cells with doses just four
hours before they were exposed to a potent carcinogen, dimethyl
hydrazine.
There are more than 30 compounds and elements in garlic (among roughly
400 constituent compounds) which influence body function: minerals such
as selenium and germanium; amino acids such as glutathione, methionine
and cysteine; amino alkyl sulfoxides, allin; disulfide oxides, allicin;
deoxidized sulfide, disulfide and sulfhydryl-bearing compounds such as
diallyldisulfide, S-allyl cysteine and the oxide of trithia-dodecatriene,
ajoene.
[ George Barany, chemist at the U. of Minnesota, reports that ajoene is as
potent as aspirin in preventing sticky red blood platelets from clumping
together. Related factors lengthen clotting time, while others actually
dissolve clots. All three effects can impact on heart attack and stroke
prevention. ]
National Cancer Institute nutritionist Elaine Lanza:
"There is still a big interest in the area of fat and fiber, but right
now, there is more emphasis on the idea of trace compounds, non-nutrients
in vegetables and fruits that work against tumor formation."
"Garlic tops the list as a source of these trace elements or
micronutrients."
Dr. Herbert Pierson, a toxicologist who (until recently) headed the
National Cancer Institute's "designer foods" program:
"Garlic is a veritable pharmacopeia. That's why garlic has been found
in every medical book of every culture ever. For thousands of years,
garlic has been used for the treatment and prevention of disease. So
there has to be something there."
"A huge data base exists documenting health benefits ranging from
cardiovascular effects to cancer inhibition, from the slowing down of aging
to the detoxification of heavy metals and other poisonous chemical
susbstances."
John Laszlo of the American Cancer Society:
"This line of research is legitimate."
Garlic's sulfur compounds structures contain S-S and S-H groups
typical of major enzymes and hormones which regulate body function and
body response to nutrients and drugs. [ see: "The Chemistry of Garlic and
Onions, Dr. Eric Block; Scientific American, vol. 252: pg 114-119, March,
1985 ]
Propyline sulfide, a garlic and onion extract found to be mildly
effective against tumors, acts on the enzyme liposaminase, thought to be
related to cancer development if not properly controlled.
Dr. Benjamin H.S. Lau of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine,
suggested in 1992 that garlic is a "biological response modifier", i.e.,
it increases the body's defenses against cancer.
Lau's research found that garlic's sulfur compounds boost the activity
of macrophages and T-lymphocytes, immune system components that are
summoned to destroy tumors.
Garlic contains a series of natural antioxidants that may help to
explain its strong anticancer and antitumor activity. Antioxidants disarm
reactive body chemicals that can trigger the onset of cancer. By
inhibiting the harmful action of oxygen (impacting on free radical
activity), garlic possibly limits cell membrane damage, which is one
mechanism in the aging process.
Bioflavonoids, the same anticarcinogens found in cruciferae (cabbage,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.) and citrus, are also present in
garlic.
Garlic lowers harmful triglycerides, cholesterol (LDL and VLDL) and
blood pressure.
[ A study of three groups in the Jain religious sect of India found
members who consumed more than a pound of onions and at least 17 garlic
cloves weekly. They all showed low blood levels of triglycerides and
cholesterol. The orthodox members that abstained from allium consumption
all their lives showed the opposite effect: high triglyceride and
cholesterol levels. Values for a group on a moderate diet fell somewhere
in between. ]
[ In 1990, David Kritchevsky of the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
in Philedelphia found that garlic or garlic oil inhibits lab-induced
arteriosclerosis in rabbits. ]
[ In 1992, researchers at the University of Munich in Germany isolated six
garlic compounds that lower blood cholesterol in animals by blocking liver
production. (This is essentially the same way new drugs such as Mevacor
reduce cholesterol in humans.)
The garlic suppressed cholesterol formation by approx. 50% in test
animals. ]
Garlic also shifts the LDL-HDL lipoprotein ratio in a favorable
direction, reduces dangerous blood clotting, aids in the treatment of
diabetes, opens airways and alleviates asthma, and neutralizes many
environmental toxins (mercury and lead among them - garlic's sulfur
molecules are highly reactive and bind with heavy metals).
A common thread among the garlic compounds is that they act upon
prostaglandins, fatty acids in the body that regulate blood pressure,
metabolism, temperature, fertility and cell division.
In conditions such as cancer, asthma and excessive clot formation,
prostaglandin activity becomes rampant. Garlic and onion compounds
interfere with this process.
Dr. Pierson: "It appears from biopsies that the prostaglandins that
stimulate cell division are the bad guys in our bodies. What garlic and
onions do is alter the way that prostaglandins are made so they don't get
out of control, causing runaway cell division."
Allicin
-------
One component of garlic, allicin (less potent than penicillin in its
natural form), attacks (moderate doses hinder; larger doses kill) more
than 23 kinds of bacteria, including staph and salmonella, as well as 60
types of fungi and yeasts, is effective against all of the 17 most
dangerous fungi (Candida albicans included - a frequent cause of
vaginitis), expels tapeworms, and restores sensation in areas affected by
leprosy.
Dr. Byron Murray, prof. of microbiology at Brigham Young University
has seen allicin immobilize 90 percent of a virus in a laboratory dish
within 30 minutes. Allicin is known to destroy viruses that cause herpes
and upper respiratory infection.
Allicin, the main active principle in garlic (and the first compound
formed after a clove is crushed), is produced through the combination of
the amino acid alliin and the enzyme allinase. Thus, garlic cloves that
have been chopped, squeezed or mashed have demonstrably greater health
benefits than extracts from whole, unprocessed cloves. [ The green sprout
in many cloves of garlic is a prime source of allicin,
although it may add a "harsh" flavor to foods. ]
Most odorless, and other preparations of capsuled garlic, retain
digestive and blood health properties, but do not retain antibacterial
and antifungal components.
Research
--------
Studies performed at Anderson Hospital in Houston by biologist Michael
Wargovich disclosed that mice developed 75% fewer tumors when given
diallyl sulfide prior to exposure to a colon-specific carcinogen. When
the study was repeated using a carcinogen that affects the esophagus, the
results were even more dramatic. Dr. Wargovich:
"We were shocked at the end of that experiment. Even though the
garlic-treated animals were exposed to one of the most potent carcinogens
around, NOT ONE GOT CANCER. We believe diallyl sulfide triggers the liver
to detoxify carcinogens."
"This is no longer nutritional-food-store stuff. At our hospital, two
cancer research sections, gastrintestinal and head and neck, have
committed themselves to garlic chemopreventive studies. We realize that
this presents a roadblock to a lot of tumors, and a lot of specialists in
early cancers now consider this the way to go. It's really exciting."
Similar studies by Penn State University, American Health Foundation
in Valhalla, NY, Lee Wattenberg and George Barany at the U. of Minnesota,
and Sidney Belman at the New York University Medical Center, which found
that garlic-derived sulfur compounds inhibited tumors of the stomach and
skin, are supportive of Dr. Wargovich's findings.
C.S. Yang, at the Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rutgers
University's College of Pharmacy (Piscataway, NJ), injected rats with
NNK, a substance found in cigarette smoke. Those animals pretreated with
an oral dose of diallyl sulfide had a greatly reduced incidence of lung
cancer.
The American Chemical Society, at an August, 1992 meeting in
Washington, concluded that, although the anti-cancer potential of garlic
(as well as soy sauce and cruciferae) compounds in humans was not known,
consumption probably had a beneficial effect.
A National Cancer Institute study published in the 01/15/89 issue of
the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that allium
vegetables can significantly reduce the incidence of stomach cancer.
Questionaires handed out in Linqu, China, compared the dietary habits
of 685 patients with stomach cancer and 1,131 other people matched by
age, sex, occupation and education who had no diagnosed cancer. People in
the control, or cancer-free, group consumed from 25 to more than 50
pounds of allium vegetables a year. The cancer patients ate less than 25
lbs of the vegetable.
Conclusion? "Persons in Linqu tended to be exposed to mild doses of
allium vegetables over long periods, likely beginning in childhood. Our
study suggests that all or part of such exposure has resulted in ---
Effective Doses
---------------
An amount as small as 1.8 grams of garlic results in an increase in
natural killer lymphocyte activity---a general immune system enhancer.
A lot of garlic researchers are themselves consuming garlic on a
regular basis, Drs. Belman, Wargowich and Pierson among them.
Dr. Belman says his cholesterol level dropped from a disturbing 296 to
236 after he started watching his fat intake and taking three garlic
pills/day.
In some parts of China, an average of five cooked cloves/day are
consumed as part of the regular diet.
A recent issue of Eating Well magazine quoted a British
endocrinologist who estimated that 7 to 28 cloves/day (or the equivalent)
would be necessary to trigger significant drops in cholesterol and blod
pressure.
Dr. Pierson believes the proper daily intake will be found to be eight
cloves or its equivalent in capsule form.
Researcher Dr. Robert Lin (Nutrition International/Irvine, CA),
expects that eating three fresh cloves of garlic/day will lower
cholesterol an average of 10%, and up to 15% IN SOME PEOPLE.
Dr. Lin believes that as little as one crushed clove/day covers myriad
health benefits, including chemical detoxification.
Raw vs Cooked Garlic
--------------------
Garlic's antibacterial and anti-carcinogenic properties are most
prevalent in its raw state.
Ajoene, one of the most powerful anti-cholesterol compounds, is not
damaged by heat. So cooked as well as raw garlic can lower cholesterol
and act as a blood-thinner.
Ajoene's anticarcinogenic properties may also be retained [in a study
of human cells, ajoene was found to be 3x as toxic to malignant cells as
to normal cells].
Heating garlic in a frying pan of (for example) olive oil releases
potent painkilling compounds.
[Thought by many researchers to be the next
wave of analgesics - "the ibuprofins of the '90s".]
Boiling garlic creates the set of sulfur compounds that can dilate the
brochials in asthmatic individuals, and act as a decongestant, cough
medicine and mucus regulator.
Supplemental Formulations
-------------------------
The odor-free supplements KYOLIC (marketed by the pharmeceutical firm
Wakunaga of America) and Nature's Way GARLICIN, among others, appear to
retain antibacterial and antifungal components, although NYU Medical
Center researcher Sidney Belman feels that "the drying and deodorizing
processes damage active oils".
Microbiologist Benjamin Lau (Loma Linda University/California) has
found Kyolic can prevent tumors in animals and reduce blood cholesterol
in human volunteers.
A Florida physician, Dr. Tariq Abdullah, in an unpublished study gave
three healthy volunteers six Kyolic capsules/day, three others large
amounts of raw garlic, and three others no garlic at all.
Immune system killer cell activity was measured, and after three
weeks, Abdullah reported that "the natural killer cells of those taking
either type of garlic were more 'vicious', killing more than twice the
number of cancer cells in vitro than did the killer cells from the
control group."
Professor John Milner and Dr. J.Z. Liu of Penn State U. reported in a
Jan. 93 issue of Carcinogenesis, that aged garlic extract significantly
inhibited the development of breast cancer induced by chemical
carcinogens.
Studies headed by Dr. John Pinto of Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY,
disclosed that Kyolic inhibited the growth of human breast cancer cells
in vitro.
Dr. Pinto: "S-Allyl cysteine and S-allyl mercaptocysteine in garlic
are chiefly responsible for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells."
Dr. Robert Lin: "Combining all the evidence, it is beyond any doubt
that adequate garlic consumption can help fight against cancers,
including breast cancer. Aged garlic extracts contain more stable
compounds TO WORK WITH than raw garlic."
A Los Alamos National Laboratory polymer scientist, Robert Hermes, by
attaching a plastic molecule to garlic sulfides, has developed a
synthetic garlic supplement free of odor, but retaining antibacterial,
anticarcinogenic and cholesterol-lowering properties.
Historical Notes
----------------
An Egyptian medical papyrus from the 16th Century B.C. lists 22
remedies employing garlic for everything from heart disease and worms, to
tumors, headaches and bites. Cloves of preserved garlic were found in the
tomb of King Tutankhamen.
Ancient Olympic athletes chewed it to heighten stamina.
Aristotle, Hippocrates and Pliny touted garlic for its healing value.
East Indians use garlic for skin ulcers and cleaning wounds.
For centuries, the Chinese have drunk onion tea to relieve fevers,
cholera and dysentery.
Louis Pasteur described the antibacterial properties of garlic.
Albert Schweitzer, deep in the jungle, mainstream pharmeceuticals
depleted, gave his patients garlic for amoebic dysentery.
There are more than 300 types of garlic.
Individual cloves are planted and push up branchless spears ("garlic"
is from Middle English: gar = spear; leac = leek). The spears are kept
moist until mature, then allowed to yellow and dry out. Plants are under-
cut, pulled and "cured" in the field for three weeks.
[ California produces 90% of the US crop ( >250 million pounds); some of
the best is reported to be cultivated around Gilroy, CA. ]
In years when frost strikes garlic crops, the cloves turn out firmer
and smoother.
Caveats
-------
In lab animals, large amounts of garlic can make red blood cells
fragile, raising the risk of anemia.
More than 20 grams of garlic/day (approx. one bulb) can damage red
blood cells.
Because garlic contains irritants, people with hernias and stomach
disorders should avoid consuming large amounts of raw garlic.
There are reported cases of allergic reactions or upset stomachs, and
some volunteers on high doses have experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
Other reported reactions from raw garlic consumption: a burning
sensation when urinating, heartburn, flatulence and belching.
Biochemist Sidney Belman (NY Med. Center): "In people, I haven't heard
of any serious illness---certainly no fatalities."
Chemist Eric Block (State U. of NY/Albany): "There isn't much evidence
that normal amounts of garlic are bad for you."
The side effects of garlic on humans appear to be minimal.
Garlic-and-oil seasoning mixes can pose a risk of botulism if not
refrigerated. Mixes without an acidifying agent, such as citric acid,
should be kept in the refrigerator. Avoid commercial mixes of this type.
Purchase / Storage
------------------
Avoid buying heads or bulbs that are soft, spongy or shriveled; garlic
bulbs should have plump, firm cloves still covered with papery skin.
Keep garlic dry, cool and exposed to the air. Do not refrigerate heads
of garlic or store them in tightly wrapped plastic bags.
[ Outsized heads called "elephant" garlic are not true garlic, and their
chief selling point is their mildness. ]
In a proper environment, garlic heads can last six months.
Notes
-----
The area of naturally-occuring phytochemicals is fascinating. One
should be aware that while elucidation of modes of action, etc. of the
myriad compounds is on-going, specific synergies exist that can be
exploited, now.
For example, it is known that garlic alters prostaglandin production,
preventing runaway cell division. So do omega-3-fatty acids.
Prostaglandin E2, an eicosanoid which is produced in excess by many
forms of cancer, inhibits the immune system, allowing tumors to grow.
Omega-3-fatty acids suppress the production of this substance.
Omega-3's, like garlic and other phytochemicals, also protect arteries,
inhibit blood clots, reduce blood triglycerides, reduce the risk of stroke,
and heart attack, lessen the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and migraine
headache, act as an anti-inflammatory agent, regulate the immune system,
relieve bronchial asthma and combat early kidney disease.
[The use of farm-raised fish, lecithin, canola oil, etc. avoids the
impacts of concentrated environmental toxins that can be found in
fish oil capsules.]
Results from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts
University (Medford, Mass.), the Dept. of Microbiology at Colorado State
U. (Fort Collins), among MANY other studies, indicate that vitamin E is a
powerful immune system stimulator.
Vitamin E also appears to inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins. E,
like garlic and C, also blocks the formation of nitrosamines.
Vitamin E (400 I.U. daily) also prevents low-density lipoprotein from
becoming modified LDL. In other words, the vitamin prevents the
conversion of harmless low-density lipoprotein into the oxidized compound
that is recognized and ingested by macrophages (when they die, the fat-
filled macrophages accumulate into deadly arterial plaque).
[Hermann Esterbauer, Prof. of Biochemistry, U. of Graz, Austria; J.C.
Fruchart, Pasteur Institute, Lille, France; Sai R. Ramasastry, M.D.,
medical director, Dept. of Hyperbaric Medicine, Presbyterian-University
Hospital, Pittsburg.]
Vitamin C greatly enhances the ability of vitamin E to prevent damage to
LDL.
[Dr. Lester Packer, molecular biologist, U. of California/Berkeley
(Journal of Lipid Research)]
Exercise triggers similar protective mechanisms in the body.
Cardiovascular, respiratory and other benefits (some observable three
weeks after starting a comprehensive exercise program) include:
* Lowering of blood pressure among hypertensives.
* Increase in protective, high-density lipoproteins (HDL's) and a
lowering of total cholesterol levels.
* Reduction in the amounts of triglycerides, another artery-damaging
type of blood fat.
Exploitable synergies resulting from consumption of garlic, soybean
products, foods high in C and E plus supplements, and aerobic exercise
_alone_, are obvious.---
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쿌llium sativum - Garlic (Liliaceae)�
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Parts used - bulb. Fresh juice is most effective.
Constituents - contains volatile oil which is composed of allicin
and sulphur related compounds plus citral, geraniol, etc.
Allicin is the major odour principle and taste of garlic, It is
generated by action of the enzyme alliinase on alliin. Under
normal conditions alliinase and alliin are separated from each
other inside the garlic bulb. However when the bulb is cut or
crushed, the two are brought together and alliinase turns alliin
(a non volatile odorless sulfur amino acid) into allicin (a pungent
volatile sulphur compound.)
- also contains enzymes, mucilage, protein and lipids.
- also contains selenium-best known source, has antioxidant
activity.
Properties- alterative, stimulant, diaphoretic, expectorant,
antiseptic, antibiotic, antispasmodic, cholagogue, vulnerary, vermifuge.
Has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The ingredient allicin
inhibits growth of various bacteria, fungi, amoebas.
Inhibits production of harmful bacteria in the colon, for
influenza, common cold and any types of viral infections.
Is natural penicillin - it has only 1% of the impact of
penicillin but it is more effective with gram negative bacteria
than penicillin.
Lowers blood pressure and blood cholesterol- use garlic oil for
earaches.
For prevention and elimination of heavy metal poisoning from
the body on a daily basis-due to sulphur content.
Is rubefacient and use as poultice in acute pectoral and
abdominal inflammation and for drawing pustules and boils to a
head- for canker sores
Overdose- induces blisters, irritations or dermatitis in some people.
Garlic Syrup- 1/2 pound peeled garlic buds
equal amounts vinegar and distilled water(enough to
cover garlic buds)
1/2 pint glycerine
1 1/2 pounds honey
Peel the garlic. Add equal amounts of vinegar and distilled water
to cover the garlic. Use wide mouth jar, close tightly and shake
well. Stand it in a cool place for four days. Shake it once or
twice a day. Add glycerine. Shake the jar and let it stand
another day. Strain the liquid with pressure through a sieve.
Blend in the honey and place liquid in a labeled jar. Store in a
cool place.
Optional: simmer three ounces of fennel seeds and/or caraway
seeds for half an hour and add it to the mixture while it is
steeping and before it is strained. Regular dose is 1 tsp three
times a day.