​Adequate intake of allium vegetables, such as garlic, onion, Welsh onion, and Chinese Chives, may decrease an individual's predisposition to esophageal and stomach cancers.

This study was carried out to determine whether high dietary ingestion of allium vegetables, such as onion, garlic, Welsh onion, and Chinese Chives, reduce the esophageal and stomach cancer development risk. Using dietary questionnaires, researchers collated and analyzed information on the diets and lifestyle habits of 468 men and women living in the Jiangsu Province of China. The esophageal and stomach cancer odds ratios of each participant in this study were also determined.

Researchers discovered that subjects who ate the most amounts of allium vegetables had lower chances of developing esophageal and stomach cancer than those who consumed the least amounts of these type of foods. Data from this study indicate that the increased intake of allium vegetables may exert a protective effect on esophageal and stomach cancers in both men and women.