Another Thing That Garlic May Ward Off: Prostate Cancer

Yes, in addition to its folkloric power to deter evil spirits, garlic may slow the spread of some cancers, including prostate, melanoma, and some types of leukemia, all of which weaken the body by over-activating the natural immune system. A University of Copenhagen news release reports that researchers at the school have found that selenium, which is found in garlic and broccoli, slows down the immune over-response, which may improve cancer treatment. How? It’s complicated, but here we go: The immune system is designed to remove things not normally found in the body–things like cells undergoing change, e.g. precursors of cancer cells, are normally recognized and removed by the immune system. Unfortunately, the different cancer cells contain mechanisms that block the immune system’s ability to recognize them, allowing them to freely continue cancer development. The researchers found that certain selenium compounds block the special immunostimulatory molecule that plays a serious role for aggressive cancers such as melanoma, prostate cancer. Read an even more complicated explanation here.