This Raw Food Can Cut Your Risk Of Cancer
Imagine if there was a food you could eat that would help in the fight against lung cancer. An everyday food that, when eaten raw, could cut the chances of not only lung cancer but bowel cancer and other serious health problems.
Well, imagine no more. A new study from Chinese researchers at Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that the consumption of raw garlic may well have a positive effect on lung cancer and other health issues.
The study was conducted from 2003 to 2010 and included both smokers and non smokers as participants. Researchers looked at data gathered from over 1400 participants with lung cancer and 4500 healthy subjects.
The results from the data are startling.
The results show that there was a cut of over 40% in the risk of lung cancer for those sections of the study group who were non smokers and frequently consumed raw garlic. For the group of smokers that were a part of the trial, the results seem just as promising. Reports from researchers indicate that adding frequent doses of raw garlic to a smoker’s diet could result in a potential drop in the risk of developing lung cancer by 30%.
So what exactly is it about garlic that contributes to these promising figures?
You may have heard that garlic is commonly believed to capture free radicals which move around the body. Free radicals are believed to be harmful to the body’s cells and combating them is believed to be a key factor in decreasing cancer rates. Researchers believe that a chemical called Allicin is responsible for the health benefits of garlic. This chemical is not active in whole cloves of garlic but is released when the raw garlic clove is diced or bruised. Allicin has an extremely short shelf life as short as just a minute or two after the garlic is crushed.
The benefits of garlic/Allicin have been widely reported as reducing inflammation, lowering LDL or “bad” cholesterol, assisting the circulatory system and being a natural antibiotic. It appears to assist with infection due to its antibiotic properties. By lowering cholesterol and enhancing circulation, the risk of stroke and heart attack can be lowered.
The Chinese study has shown that raw garlic consumption may cut the risks of developing some cancers. Garlic is believed to have a positive effect on the immune system and this could be particularly helpful to subjects who do not avoid developing cancer. Keeping the immune system high is a great way to assist in the fight against cancer.The study from China is not the first to identify the benefits of adding raw garlic to your diet. The University of South Australia has previously concluded that consumption of garlic could help to decrease by over 30% the risk of the formation of bowel tumors. Many other studies have released information showing that garlic seems to be an important factor in fighting inflammation and something as simple as the common cold.
So far all of the research points towards raw garlic being preferred over cooked garlic in terms of benefits to general health. The cooking process can destroy the Allicin contained in garlic. As this is thought to be the chemical responsible for the health benefits it makes sense that raw garlic would be more beneficial than cooked garlic.
Researchers stated that a “protective association between intake of raw garlic and lung cancer has been observed with a dose–response pattern, suggesting that garlic may potentially serve as a chemopreventive agent for lung cancer. Effective components in garlic in lung cancer chemoprevention warrant further in-depth investigation”.
As noted by researchers, further investigation is needed to discover exactly what the effective components are in garlic. Is it indeed the Allicin or is there a yet-undiscovered component or combination of components that holds the benefits?
Despite the fact that hundreds of studies related to garlic have been carried out, there is still no real answer to determine whether cooked garlic could demonstrate the same far reaching health benefits as raw garlic.
The most popular way to consume garlic for the majority of the population is by cooking it and adding it to food. If the benefits of cooked garlic are proven to be as effective as eating raw garlic, many people will already be consuming amounts of this vegetable that will be able to benefit them. In the meantime eating raw garlic daily, whether consuming the cloves directly or with food, is an easy step that could offer far-reaching health benefits.
What have you really go to lose by giving it a try?
RELATED NATURAL BLAZE ARTICLE:
10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Garlic
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/09/chinese-study-concludes-eating-raw-garlic-may-help-cut-risk-lung-cancer-almost/
http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/6/7/711.abstract?sid=76e9bf29-2ff6-47eb-a01a-15b356290176
