http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/unlocking-the-benefits-of-garlic/?em&ex=1196312400&en=05c5dba4085c5f5d&ei=5087%0A
October 15, 2007, 5:03 pm
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 likeĀgarlic. 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.
* Link
*
E-mail This
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
