‘Garlic boosts immune’

Garlic has been identified as an immune booster that supports the body’s defences to overcome sicknesses.
Managing Director, Seaduck Nigeria Limited, Mr Sam Ayeni, said it also helps to increase energy level and vigour.
The Aged Garlic Extract (AGE)  has showed more effectiveness than fresh bulbs of garlic in helping protect against diseases and age-related conditions. 
The most popular AGE supplement in the market is Kyolic garlic by Wakunaga of America, Ayeni added.
He said it was made through a long process of extraction and aging at room temperature, the harsh volatile substances found in fresh garlic are converted to beneficial stable compounds, thereby increasing the levels of anti-oxidants above those in the fresh bulb. This gives AGE the power, he added.
He said the aged garlic extract was the only originally grown garlic. “Naturally, it aged up to 20 months to enhance the nutritional value. Kyolic is odourless and gentle on the stomach, unlike other dehydrated powder.
He said it is potent and it reduces blood pressure and lower cholesterol. “But the scientific evidence that garlic can help protect against colon cancer is quickly mounting. Its treatment as a chemopreventive has attracted so much attention that researchers at the University of Australia decided to review several recent studies on the spice. “They wanted to determine whether the studies were valid and exactly what kind of impact garlic has on colon cancer,” he said.
Japanese researchers, he said, were also curious about the impact of AGE on cancers of other organs that belongs to the digestive system, particularly advanced-stage cancer. “They recruited 50 patients with inoperable colorectal, liver or pancreatic cancer for a double-blind randomnised study that was also published in a journal. Most of the patients had liver cancer; seven had pancreatic cancer and only one suffered from colon cancer.
“After six months, scientists discovered that those who were given AGE had significantly higher levels of natural killer cells – white blood cells that play major role in tumour rejection and in natural killer cell activity than patients in the placebo group.”