The first cancer mortality survey in the 1970s in China［1］
showed that the very high mortality rate ［35.74 per 10（5）
person-year］ of gastric cancer in Qixia County, Shandong
Province, China was 12 times more than that of very-low
mortality rate ［3.88 per 10（5） person-year］ in Changshan County
in the same province. There was only 300 km between the two
counties,［2］ and the characteristics of geography, weather,
foods, and lifestyle were similar. The mainly dietary difference
between the two counties' residents was consumption of garlic:
the latter county is famous for growing garlic plants in China.
On average, a resident living in Changshan took more than 6 kg
of raw garlic each year, compared with only 0.5 kg for a
resident living in Qixia. We also found the garlic growing in
Changshan contains more selenium than in Qixia from an analysis
of the compounds of garlics. Two case-control studies in the two
counties also showed that taking more raw garlic had a lower
risk associated with gastric cancer.［3］ You et