How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Drying. Drying removes moisture from garlic but leaves the oils intact. Powdered garlic and
garlic salt should be stored in a cool, dry place to keep their oils from turning rancid. Garlic
salt is much higher in sodium than either raw garlic, garlic powder, or dried garlic flakes.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against some cancers. The organic sulfur compounds in garlic and onions appear to
reduce the risk of some forms of cancer perhaps by preventing the formation of carcinogens
in your body or by blocking carcinogens from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tis-
sues or by inhibiting the transformation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
Protection against circulatory diseases. In a number of laboratory studies during the 1980s,
adding garlic oil to animal feeds reduced levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), the
fat and protein particles that carry cholesterol into your arteries, and raised levels of high
density lipoproteins (HDLs), the particles that carry cholesterol out of the body. However,
current studies are contradictory. One year-long study at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
showed that daily doses of aged garlic (brand name Kyolic) appeared to reduce the formation
of cholesterol deposits in arteries while lowering blood levels of homocysteine, an amino
acid the American Heart Association calls an independent risk factor for heart disease. But
another study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health, to determine the safety and effec-
tiveness of garlic showed that neither fresh garlic nor powdered garlic nor garlic tablets have
any effect on cholesterol levels.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Body odor, halitosis. Diallyl disulfide is excreted in perspiration and in the air you exhale,
which is why eating garlic makes you smell garlicky.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants (blood thinners). Garlic appears to reduce blood’s ability to clot, thus increas-
ing the effect of anticoagulants, including aspirin. NCCAM recommends using garlic with
caution before surgery, including dental surgery. Patients who have a clotting disorder should
consult their own doctors before using garlic.
Garlic