Researchers from Japan reported today that they discovered a drug composed of chemical compounds found in garlic that treats type 1 and 2 diabetes.

As you probably familiar, Type I diabetes is currently treated by daily injections of insulin, on the other hand type 2 diabetes is treated with drugs and some of them have side effects.

A group of researchers are from the Suzuka University of Medical Science led by Hiromu Sakurai, gave the drug based on vanadium and allaxin, a compound found in garlic orally to a mice with type one diabetes, and they noticed that the drug reduced blood glucose levels. In previous similar work, scientists discovered the vanadium-allaxin compound treated both diabetes types when injected, but what different in this study is that the drug has promise as an oral treatment for the metabolic disease.

Garlic is well known to have great benefits for your heart, it has a mild cholesterol-lowering effect and also keeps LDL from building up in the arteries and contributing to plaque.