THE MEDICINE CABINET
Drug-Resistant Bugs & Garlic
By Jean Sutherland

     A couple of months ago I watched a movie on TV about two sisters who lived to be well over 100. Their secret was eating a clove of garlic a day and cod liver oil. I decided that garlic needed some research.
Garlic is good for zapping bacteria, keeping your heart healthy, warding off coughs and colds — and don’t worry it needn’t give you bad breath! Garlic is the only antibiotic that can actually kill infecting bacteria and at the same time protect the body from the poisons that are causing the infection.
     Another once common, and apparently returning disease, tuberculosis was treated with garlic very successfully as the invading organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis is sensitive to several of the sulphur components found in garlic. This does not mean you use garlic to treat yourself. Only you and your physician can do this.
     There is now a lot of information published on the role of garlic in cancer. Research is currently underway in most countries to isolate which particular compounds, after allicin, are most active. Recently, researchers in Pennsylvania have shown that by injecting a compound called diallyl disulphide (formed when raw garlic is cut or crushed) tumors can be reduced by half and that a further compound (S-llylcysteine) can stop cancer-causing agents from binding to human breast cells.
     The search for compounds that prevent cancer has intensified with the mounting evidence that many types of cancer are caused or triggered by factors relating to lifestyle and environment. It is well known that garlic can strengthen the immune system which is vitally important for fighting cancer.
     Recent findings support a growing body of evidence that garlic works as an anti-carcinogen in both prevention and treatment, and that garlic and related foods play an important dietary role in the cancer process. For instance, scientists have correlated garlic intake with reduced nitrite levels in people and fewer deaths from stomach cancer are recorded.
     Currently it is unknown specifically how garlic protects but it may relate to blocking formation of cancer causing compounds, stopping their ability to form tumors or even inhibiting the growth of tumor cells. This follows on from work conducted by Professor Michael Wargovich at the University of Texas where his group studied the effects of two major purified components of garlic-ialylsulphide which is soluble in oil and S-allyl cysteine which is water soluble. He tested these compounds on two animal carcinoma models and found that the tumors could be reduced by between 50 and 75%. Then in his controls (used to remove any experimental bias) he gave a prophylactic dose of garlic and then deliberately tried to induce a particularly virulent form of oesophageal cancer. He found that garlic completely prevented his experimental controls from becoming infected. His conclusion was that although the precise mechanism may not be clear his results had shown that the administration of well tolerated garlic products may confer important protection from cancer.
     The bottom line: garlic has interesting medicinal and health benefits but is not a substitute for traditional medicine, but a useful addition to your overall health program.