Eating raw garlic just twice a week can almost halve the risk of lung cancer, new research shows. A study carried out in China found adults regularly consuming raw garlic as part of their diet were 44 per cent less likely to suffer the disease. Even when researchers allowed for whether people smoked - the biggest single cause of lung cancer - they found garlic still seemed to reduce the dangers by around 30 per cent. In the latest investigation, scientists at Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention compared 1,424 lung cancer patients with 4,500 healthy adults. Each one was quizzed on their dietary and lifestyle habits, including how often they consumed garlic and whether they smoked. The results, published online in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, showed those who ate raw garlic at least twice a week were significantly less likely to get lung cancer, even if they smoked or were exposed to high-temperature cooking oil fumes, thought to be another trigger for the disease. It's not clear whether cooked garlic would have the same effect. Previous research suggests the key ingredient seems to be a chemical called allicin, released when the clove is crushed or chopped. It is thought to dampen down inflammation in the body and act as an anti-oxidant, reducing damage from so-called free radicals to the body's cells. Source: Fresh Plaza
