1er March 2007 – Whether taken raw or as a supplement, garlic is not believed to help lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood in those with moderate high cholesterol.
This is what a group of researchers concludes1 commissioned by the US Department of Health – National Institutes of Health (NIH) – to shed light on the alleged properties of garlic.
Researchers evaluated the effect of raw garlic and two popular supplements2 on the cholesterol and triglyceride levels of 192 people.
Divided into four groups, the participants consumed, six days a week for six months, the equivalent of 4 g of raw garlic, or one of the two garlic supplements tested (one was made from aged garlic). Both these supplements and raw garlic contained a similar amount of allicin, the active component of garlic. Finally, a placebo was served to subjects in the control group.
Throughout the study, no less than 11 blood samples were taken from each of the subjects, in order to measure any fluctuations in their cholesterolemia. However, there was none.
However, researchers anticipated that raw garlic as a supplement would reduce bad cholesterol levels in the blood. They also expected raw garlic to have a stronger effect than supplements.
According to them, their results would be all the more plausible as the duration of their study greatly exceeds those of previous studies on the subject. In addition, the doses of garlic used are also higher than those tested in previous clinical trials.
Nonetheless, they argue that their results cannot be generalized and that garlic may help reduce bad cholesterol in specific groups.
They also point out that garlic can also have other beneficial properties for health. In this regard, the World Health Organization and other international organizations recognize the use of garlic as a supplement to a diet to counter hyperlipidemia or to prevent atherosclerosis, as well as to restore good circulation. blood.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Gardner CD, Lawson LD, et al, Effect of Raw Garlic vs Commercial Garlic Supplements on Plasma Lipid Concentrations in Adults With Moderate Hypercholesterolemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Archives of Internal Medicine, February 26, 2007, Vol. 167, No 4, 346-53.
2. The trade names of the supplements used in this study are Garlicin, a product made in Utah, and Kyolic-100, made in California.
