Does Garlic Support A Healthy Immune System?

Tag : garlic

Garlic is a member of the lily family, related to onions andchives, and offers many health benefits other than deterringvampires. There is now ample scientific evidence and proof of itsbeneficial effect on both a healthy immune system and thecirculatory system.

The active ingredients in garlic are thiosulfinates, of which thepredominant one is allicin, sulfoxides such as alliin and dithiins,of which ajoene is the most widely researched. These compounds arenot only responsible for the pungent odor of garlic, but also forits benefits to your health. Among the other components of garlicare selenium, manganese and vitamins B6 and C.

Before considering the other effects of garlic on your health, weshall first consider how it benefits the immune system. The immunesystem is an essential part of human biology, and protects yourbody from invasion by pathogenic organisms. Without the immunesystem your body would rapidly be overcome by bacteria, viruses,fungi, parasites and other foreign bodies, and your body wouldrapidly fail to function.

The immune system consists of several components that can act inconcert to protect you from these foreign invaders. It is too largea subject to be discusses in this article, although its majorcomponents are the thymus, the spleen, the lymphatic system, bonemarrow, antibodies, and white blood cells of various types. Withoutit your body would rapidly be broken down to nothing, and wouldrevert to a skeleton in a few weeks.

It is your immune system that causes inflammation, fevers, boilsand pus. These are all examples of the immune system at work toprotect your body, and even a fever is the immune system raisingyour body temperature to one that is unfavorable to invaders.Arthritis and hay fever are other examples of how your immunesystem reacts to invaders, in one case mistaking damaged jointtissue as being foreign and responding by causing inflammation toprotect the joint, and in the other a reaction to invading bodiessuch as pollen.

So what does garlic do to help your immune system? Let's first havea look at the inflammatory reaction of the immune system, a primeexample of which is rheumatoid arthritis. The inflammation iscaused by compounds known as prostaglandins and thromboxanes, thebiosynthesis in your body of which requires the enzymeslipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase (LOX and COX). If these enzymes canbe inhibited, then the inflammatory response can be modulated, andLOX and COX inhibition is one of the studies currently beingcarried out into the treatment of some forms of cancers.

However, where garlic comes in here is that two effectivenon-reversible inhibitors of LOX and COX are the chemicalsDi(1-propenyl) sulfide and ajoene, and both of these are componentsof garlic. Garlic can therefore be used, not to stop theinflammatory response altogether since it is an essential part ofthe immune system for certain infections, but to modulate it andprotect you from the more severe effects of conditions such asarthritis - both osteo and rheumatoid - and asthma, which is alsoan immune response.

Allicin has been shown to work with vitamin C to kill certain typesof bacteria and viruses, and can help the immune system to protectyou from colds and flu, Candida and some gastroenteric viruses. Itcan also be effective against some of the more powerful pathogenssuch as tuberculosis. It should be stressed that garlic will notcure these conditions, but help the immune system to deal withthem. In fact with respect to the common cold, a study at MunichUniversity has shown that garlic significantly reduces the activityof kappa-B, which is a nuclear transcription factor that mediatesthe inflammatory response. In other words, the cold symptoms aregreatly reduced.

This is significant, since increased kappa-B levels can betriggered off by any pathogen that causes an inflammatory responseby the immune system (e.g. infection, allergens, physical trauma).The study showed that unfertilized garlic provided a reduction of25% in kappa-B activity, while garlic fertilized with sulfurreduced it by 41%.

There have been other studies carried out that demonstrated thatHelicobacter pylori, the organism responsible for gastritis andpeptic ulcers, was less active in those that took a regular amountof garlic in their diet. This was shown by measuring the antibodyconcentration, and while H.pylori was found in both sets (with andwithout garlic in the diet), the antibody count in thegarlic-eating set was much lower indicating a significantly lowerpopulation of the bacterium.

Another unexpected result was that a group taking both cooked anduncooked garlic had a lower antibody count than those taking eithercooked or uncooked. This appears to indicate that cooking changesthe chemical nature of garlic, so that both forms work together toprovide a more potent effect that cooked and uncooked separately.

What has also been established is that odorless garlic has less ofan effect on the immune system that natural garlic, so while theodorless type is more socially acceptable, it is not so good atsupporting your immune system. The allicin levels in odorlessgarlic are very much lower than in the natural bulb.

Garlic has also been found to be able to help with certain types ofcancer. Two servings weekly have been found effective in protectingfrom colon cancer. Allicin has been found to protect colon cellsfrom the toxic effect of various chemicals, and also reduce thegrowth rate of any cancerous cells that develop. People in SouthernEurope consuming large quantities of garlic have been shown to be39% less liable to contract cancer of the mouth and pharynx, and57% less liable to contract cancer of the esophagus. It also had aneffect on other cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer.However, the effect of onions on such cancers is even greater.

Most people are aware of the cardiovascular benefits of garlic, andit can reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels and serumtriglyceride levels, thus protecting against the harmful conditionof atherosclerosis and also of diabetic heart disease. Reducedatherosclerosis means a reduced chance of heart attacks or strokes.It also appears to possess antioxidant properties.

There is no doubt that garlic helps to promote a healthy immunesystem, although the odorless form appear to be less effective inthis respect as natural garlic, and there is evidence that a dietcontaining uncooked and cooked garlic can be more effective thaneither of these alone.
Article Source : http://www.mycontentbuilder.com

More information on garlic oil extract is available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Store. vitanetonline.com/
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
Not yet Rated