At a glance

Source : Analytical Biochemistry

Tags:  garlic, nitrosamines, cancer, vitamin C,

Garlic cuts nitrosamines

11 March 2010

Some nitrosamines cause cancer and they are made when you consume nitrates, commonly from processed meats, high heat processed foods, or water contaminated by industry run-off. About twenty per cent of nitrates are converted to nitrites and these can be converted into nitrosamines. Vegetables also contain nitrates but the vitamin C in vegetables lowers the risk that they will turn into something toxic. Garlic’s anti-cancer reputation led researchers to suspect that it might contain substances with a similar effect. So they gave subjects a dose of sodium nitrate and then garlic capsules, or vitamin C, or nothing for seven days. The unique test here was to measure the subjects urine every second day to see if nitrosamines were forming. The garlic lowered nitrosamine formation as did vitamin C. As far as dose goes it was a case of the more garlic the better; but then we knew that already.