Garlic: Effective against Vampires … and Cancer?

A small pilot study in Analytical Biochemistry — and reported on recently by Science Daily — suggests a possible link between the amount of garlic that a person consumes and a lowered potential risk for cancer.

The researchers (led by Dr. Earl Harrison), Professor of Human Nutrition at Ohio State University) were exploring how some substances found in foods or contaminated water are converted into carcinogens. By testing the presence of in urine of two separate compounds (one related to cancer risk, the other to garlic consumption), they discovered that the more they found the marker for garlic consumption in their subjects, the less there was of the marker for the risk of cancer. Vitamin C had a similar effect.

Ultimately, the scientists hope to find that a nutritional intervention could be a way to stop the process that encourages the development of these carcinogens.