Garlic can lower blood pressure by 10%...
but only if you take it in tablet form
- - Those with hypertension, or high blood pressure, could control their condition better
- by adding garlic to conventional medication
- - Eating the real thing would not have the same effect - allicin is produced when raw
- garlic is crushed but much is destroyed during cooking
By JENNY HOPE
|
Garlic: Pill work better than cloves
Garlic could help cut blood pressure by 10 per cent – but only if you take it in the form of tablets, claim scientists.
Twelve weeks of treatment with garlic tablets led to a ‘significant’ cut in blood pressure, slashing the risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to a review of evidence.
Researchers claim those with hypertension, or high blood pressure, could control their condition better by adding garlic to conventional medication.
The review of 21 studies on humans found supplements of dried garlic containing a guaranteed dose of the active ingredient allicin consistently led to reductions in blood pressure.
But eating the real thing would not have the same effect, says the review. Although allicin is produced when raw garlic is crushed or chewed, much of it is destroyed during cooking.
The tablets also have the significant advantage of not producing the bad breath associated with eating fresh garlic.
The review looked at supplements with a guaranteed allicin yield of 1.8mg per dose.
The earliest authoritative clinical trial to be published in 1990 found taking Kwai brand garlic tablets led to a significant fall in blood pressure of 10 per cent within 12 weeks.
More studies conducted since 1990 have demonstrated significant blood pressure lowering effects from dried garlic releasing allicin at 1.8mg per dose.
Not all garlic preparations release allicin in significant, standardised amounts, says the review by nutritionist Dr Pamela Mason in the journal Complete Nutrition.
A trial comparing garlic oil versus standardised dried garlic failed to show a blood pressure lowering effect with the oil, but blood pressure again fell significantly with dried garlic.
Around 16million Britons have high blood pressure, including the third who do not know they have it. It is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
Snails garlic: a cooked meal with garlic may taste better than pills - but allicin produced when raw garlic is crushed or chewed is destroyed during cooking
Garlic is thought to counter high blood pressure because it stimulates production of the chemicals nitric oxide and hydrogen sulphide, which helps relax blood vessels.
Dr Catherine Hood, an independent expert in nutrition and dietetics, said: ‘This review found evidence that garlic, in particular Kwai, can reduce the stickiness of the blood, results in dilatation of the arteries and has antioxidant activity.’
Dr Hood said there was some evidence garlic may also use the same mechanism as drugs called ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure.
The drugs stop the body creating a hormone known as angiotensin II. This has a variety of effects but essentially relaxes blood vessels.
Nutritionist Sarah West said other research suggests allicin helps lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and triglycerides – a common form of fat.
She added: ‘It would be very difficult to get a therapeutic dose from eating raw garlic, it would need 30 cloves at one sitting – and we don’t actually have the evidence that it would work.
‘The allicin content of raw garlic varies enormously and a significant drawback is the odour on the breath – a problem you don’t get with tablets.’
No comments:
Post a Comment