Is Garlic Good For You Or Does It Just Make Your Breath Smell?

Garlic makes food very tasty in the opinion of many people but if it has the properties of reducing cancer and heart disease, perhaps many of us would eat it raw.

Fortunately for those who live with us, the evidence that garlic does affect the risk of cardiovascular disease is fairly inconclusive. Garlic preparations and extracts do have some short term effects on blood lipids – reducing bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol, but there is  not much evidence that this is a long lasting effect. Garlic doesn't seem to reduce blood pressure or have an effect on glucose or insulin sensitivity in diabetics.

Studies have shown that using a garlic supplement for five years is not associated with decreased risks of breast, lung, gastric, colon, or rectal cancer. However, some case-control studies suggest that high dietary garlic consumption may be associated with decreased risks of laryngeal, gastric, colorectal, and endometrial cancers, and adenomatous colorectal polyps.