Garlic, Onions, and the Risk of Cancer
Wed, November 29, 2006 at 03:49AM Twenty years ago garlic was being touted as the cure for atherosclerosis. This has, however, been discounted. But Eastern countries, as well as many in Europe , have long promoted the benefits of onions and garlic in providing good health. Now evidence is accumulating that these vegetables, derived from the Allium species, may have a role in the prevention of some forms of cancer.
Italian investigators have published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the results of a series of case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland . Each study had between one and 4 carefully matched controls; the controls had been admitted to the same hospital as the cancer cases, but had non-cancerous conditions unrelated to known risk factors for the cancer concerned.
Cancer cases and their controls were asked about their consumption of onion and garlic; for onion, the alternatives were low, medium, or large portions per week, and for garlic they were nonuse or low use, intermediate use, or high use.
A high consumption of onions, and, to a lesser extent, a high consumption of garlic was linked to a significantly reduced risk of cancer at 7 sites: oral cavity & pharynx, larynx, esophagus, kidney, colon & rectum, ovary, and prostate.
So, now that you know you should eat more onions (and garlic), why not make the effort? French onion soup, liver and onions, onion stuffing . . . Chinese and Mediterranean cuisine probably lend themselves more readily to incorporating allium compounds, but there’s no reason Western-style cooking shouldn’t adapt a bit. If the whole family eats together, there shouldn’t be any problems about the side effects of too much allium.
Reader Comments (1)
Hi dude i am new to this. Just thought that i would say hello to everyone! dont really know
what else to say. so bye