Food Science: Garlic and Cancer

Dear Doctor

Cancer is the 2^nd leading cause of death globally, and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018.  Globally about 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer.

The most common cause of cancer death are:

• Lung (1.76 million deaths)
• Colorectal (862,000 deaths)
• Stomach (783, 800 deaths)
• Liver (782,000 deaths)
• Breast (627,000 deaths)

(World Health Organization, WHO, 2018, Cancer Statistics)

Boivin et al., (2009) evaluated the inhibitory effects of extracts isolated from 34 vegetables on the proliferation of 8 different tumor cell lines: breast cancer, brain tumors, kidney cancer, lung cancer, childhood brain tumors, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer and stomach cancer.

The best by far were vegetables from the Allium (particularly garlic) and the Cruciferous (particularly broccoli) families—inhibiting these cancers almost 100% in vitro. The researchers concluded, “The inclusion of cruciferous and allium vegetables in the diet is essential for effective dietary based cancer-preventative strategies.”

Kodali and Eslick (2015) conducted a meta-analysis of a total of 8,621 cases and 14,889 controls.  Garlic intake were all associated with reduced risk of gastric cancer.  High intake had the most significant risk reduction.

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium implicated in the etiology of stomach cancer. The incidence of stomach cancer is lower in individuals and populations with high allium vegetable intakes. Sivam et al. (1997) as part of their study of the role of Allium vegetable intake on cancer prevention, investigated its antimicrobial activity against H. pylori.  An aqueous extract of garlic cloves was standardized for its thiosulfinate concentration and tested for its antimicrobial activity on H. pylori grown on chocolate agar plates.  Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 40 micrograms thiosulifinate per milliter.

The sensitivity of H. pylori’s susceptibility to garlic extract at such low concentration make garlic a good candidate for a low-cost intervention, with few side effects in populations at high risk for stomach cancer, particularly where antibiotic resistance and the risk of reinfection are high.

Reference:

• Boivin et al. (2009). Antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of common vegetables: A comparative Study. Food Chemistry; 112(20): 374-380. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814608006419
• Durairaj, S., Srinivasan, S., & Lakshmanaperumalsamy, P. (2009). In vitro antibacterial activity and stability of garlic extract at different pH and temperature. Electronic Journal of Biology, 5(1), 5-10. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.620.9139&rep=rep1&type=pdf
• Kodali, R. T., & Eslick, G. D. (2015). Meta-analysis: Does garlic intake reduce risk of gastric cancer?. Nutrition and cancer, 67(1), 1-11. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01635581.2015.967873)
• Sivam, G. P., Lampe, J. W., Ulness, B., Swanzy, S. R., & Potter, J. D. (1997). Helicobacter pylori—in vitro susceptibility to garlic (Allium sativum) extract. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9121937
• WHO (World Health Organization) Cancer Statistics, Sept. (2018).

Our Organic Garlic is an exceptionally potent supplement boasting four to five whole cloves of organic garlic in every capsule.  Known as the Russian Penicillin, garlic has been used for centuries therapeutically as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial; and over the last thirty years this has been our focus as well.

Each bottle contains 90 capsules of pure organic garlic with antimicrobial high actives.  This QAI Certified garlic is exceptionally potent at 10,000 ppm alliin.  At 400mg garlic per capsule this translates to 2.65 mg of allicin per capsule.

Our Suggestion:  Take one to two capsules and open them up, pouring the powder into a glass of water.  Stir, allowing the whole garlic clove powder to react with the water.  In about 40 seconds you will have freshly produced allicin, garlic’s premier antimicrobial substance.  Swig it around in your mouth, slowly swallowing.  You are treating the whole mucous membrane of the GI tract with this powerful broad spectrum antimicrobial for a lot of pathogens, including the H. pylori in the stomach. You may add a teaspoon of No7 to the water for more system boosting of probiotics, nutriceuticals, and phyto nutrients.

To your health,

Seann

We have developed our products based on scientific research and/or the practical experience of many healthcare practitioners. There is a growing body of literature on food based nutrition and supplements and their application in support of our health. Please use our products under the advisement of your doctor.

Green Facts:

A MIC is generally regarded as the most basic laboratory measurement of the activity of an antimicrobial agent against an organism.  The lower the MIC the more powerful the antimicrobial.  The MIC of allicin, the post powerful of garlic’s thiosulfinates, against Staph aureus is 27, against E. coli is 27, and against H. pylori 40.  We normally don’t consider a substance as a serious antimicrobial with an MIC of 50 and above.  The reason that garlic does not kill Lactobacillus and Bifido genera is that its MIC is over 200.  This is very good news for our friendly probiotics. To see what other pathogens garlic kills click on the Durairaj link above within the References. .

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