- By Henry Stark
- Around Town
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The more I read about the healthy effects of food, the more I get confused. On my television screen an actor, who portrays a doctor in a white coat, tells me as long as I eat grapefruit with every meal I won’t gain weight. The next guy who talks at me, also wearing a white coat, tells me that I can be healthier if only I would eat more chocolate – preferably dark chocolate. Then I read that nuts are loaded with energy and good health even though if I eat more than a handful, I’m going to consume too much fat and gain weight. Resveratrol, found primarily in red wine, might help me live forever but then I learn I’d have to drink about 750 bottles of wine a day to equal the amount rats consume in the tests. I can lower my cholesterol if only I would eat more oats, and on and on it goes.
Which leads me to this week’s column: I’d like to discuss another purported panacea: garlic, and what we know – and don’t know – about it.
Garlic doesn’t have many vitamins or minerals. Neither do its relatives, onions, scallions, leeks and shallots. And even if it did we wouldn’t get much out of it because we consume it in such small quantities.
A sulfur compound, allicin is the major source of garlic’s taste and smell. Allicin forms when raw garlic is cut or crushed. If you cook the whole clove before you cut it, you destroy the allicin which, as you may have noticed, has the effect of minimizing the sharpness of the flavor.
There are no valid studies that show that garlic reduces cholesterol in humans. Many studies have been undertaken with garlic supplements which isn’t the same as raw garlic. Some of those studies show a slight reduction in cholesterol, some show little or no effect.
There are no valid studies that show that garlic prevents heart attacks.
Garlic may lower blood pressure but the studies show that the effect has been minimal and only for a short term.
Garlic may reduce the risk of cancers, particularly stomach, prostate and colon but there have been very few long term studies and these have not studied human use of raw garlic. Two recent studies in China, using garlic pills, came to opposite conclusions. And if garlic is, in fact, the reason for the lowered risk, humans may need to eat a lot more garlic than we normally do.
Garlic supplements are all over the map in terms of the age of the garlic used and how it was processed. There is no accepted standard dose for garlic. ConsumerLab.com indicates that about half the supplements tested had one problem or another including some were contaminated with lead and many didn’t meet label claims.
Supplements and raw garlic may cause heartburn, nausea, stomach upset, and bad breath and body odor.
After garlic has sprouted, some of the compounds responsible for the pungency will enter the sprouts and leave the bulb weaker.
Some garlic supplements may reduce blood clotting which could be a problem for people taking blood thinners, such as warfarin (Coumadin) or are about to have surgery. Garlic supplements may also interact with drugs taken for HIV, cancer, high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension.
Warning: garlic-in-oil can cause food poisoning. Here’s how it works. Garlic may pick up the bacterium which causes botulism, from the soil in which it grows. In oil, the botulism spores may germinate in the oxygen-free environment. If you buy a combination of garlic and oil in a store, make sure it includes an antibacterial or acidifying agent such as citric acid or phosphoric acid. Don’t buy a jar of a mixture that has the label instruction “keep refrigerated”. If you combine garlic with oil or butter at home, keep it refrigerated and don’t use it for more than a couple of weeks.
The safest recommendation is to avoid garlic supplements. Even if they work, i.e., if they do reduce cholesterol or blood pressure, they don’t have much of an effect and they could be harmful. No one knows, at this point in time, what form e.g. powder, oil, “deodorized” extract, or dose of supplements is best. But there’s no harm in increasing your intake of garlic itself. Keep in mind that the less you cook it, the healthier we think it is.
I’ve heard that if you eat garlic three days in a row you won’t smell of garlic, either from your breath or through your pores. Why don’t you try it and let me know what you find out. I’ll print your findings so we can all benefit.
Click here to send comments to me. I will answer each one personally and will print those that are of general interest.
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