NEW YORK, Oct 09 (Reuters Health) - While legends have suggested that garlic has the power to protect against evil, scientists have found a more practical reason for keeping the seasoning in stock. Eating a lot of garlic--but not garlic supplements--seems to protect against stomach and colorectal cancer, investigators report.

Dr. Lenore Arab and colleagues from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed 18 studies looking at garlic eaters. Their findings are published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The average intake of the highest consumers of raw or cooked garlic was 18.3 grams per week--approximately six cloves--with a range extending to more than 28.8 grams per week.

Based on six studies, the findings suggest that "high consumption of raw or cooked garlic decreases the risk of colorectal cancer from 10% to nearly 50%," the authors write. Based on four studies, the risk of developing stomach cancer was cut in half for those who consumed the most garlic.

Arab's group notes that the association was not consistent across all of the studies. However, they did find that consumption of garlic supplements did not decease cancer risk.

The researchers caution that such studies are often hampered by problems because they were not performed in a consistent manner and may have been complicated by the consumption of other types of food--such as vegetables--that may have an impact on cancer risk.

(From Reutershealth)