Garlic, a truly ancient herb, helps cardiovascular conditions today

Called shum in the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, garlic is mentioned in Numbers 11:5 as "being one of the vegetables which the Children of Israel missed particularly when they were wandering to the Promised Land," British Bible scholar and horticulturalist, W.E. Shewell-Cooper, explained in his book, Plants, Rowers and Herbs of the Bible.

This truly ancient herb has recently been the subject of some very exciting investigations, indeed.

Alexander Orekhov and colleagues at Moscow's Russian Academy of Medical Sciences reported their findings about garlic's heart-healthy abilities at the recent Garlib Symposium of the 6th Annual Phytotherapy Congress held in Berlin this past October.

Their results were groundbreaking in that they not only proved garlic supplementation's anti-atherosclerotic (anticoronary plaque) effects in cultured human cells, and its anti-atherogenic (coronary-plaque-preventive) abilities, but also its direct cholesterol-lowering action measured in human volunteers.

Garlic `significantly reduces' cholesterol

In the cell-culture studies, after a 24-hour incubation, an extract from garlic significantly reduced' cholesterol levels. The researchers also looked at the cholesterol levels in patients' blood two hours after taking a 300-mg garlic supplement. The scientists noted "substantially less cholesterol accumulation."

Now the head of the University of Moscow's Cardiac Research Centre, Orekhov also presented findings on garlic supplementation and fat deposition (incorporation) inside vessel walls.

His team studied two groups of patients who had arterioscierotic lesions in the coronary veins. One group received 900 mg of a garlic supplement three times a day; the second group received a "dummy" dose (placebo).

After four weeks, blood samples were taken from both groups. The results indicated that the blood serum of patients from the garlic-supplemented group "produced less incorporation than [did] the [blood] serum of patients from the control [placebo] group," leading Orekhov to conclude that "regular intake of [garlic] protects the blood from fat deposits and sclerosis" and that "these direct anti-arterioscierotic effects effectively reduce the risk of suffering myocardial infarction or stroke."

German researcher, Rolf Gebhardt, presented his work which suggested possible mechanisms as to why garlic exerts a cholesterol-lowering effect in animals and humans.

Their animal-model studies show that "different garlic compounds exert multiple effects on hepatic [liver] cholesterol biosynthesis [production]" Gebhardt wrote.

Garlic-derived compounds influence metabolism

"The highly-sensitive interaction of garlic-derived organosulfur compounds with intracellular signalling pathways leads to an effective influence on several metabolic functions in a physiologically compatible way," he continued.

K.R. Melvin, Chief of the Cardiology Division at Toronto's Doctors' Hospital, also introduced his work on cholesterol at the Berlin congress.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, Melvin looked at the effects of a daily supplement of 900 mg/day in 19 patients who ranged in age from 41 to 77 -- 10 of whom were female. The results reported that "a significant reduction in plasma cholesterol averaging 12 percent" can be achieved within four months.

Since high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good" cholesterol) levels were shown to increase, it was also suggested that supplementation could be used in conjunction with conventional lipid-lowering medication.

A daily intake of between 500 to 900 mg of standardized garlic is often recommended for us to reap the cardiovascular benefits of this heartfriendly herb, which is available in naturally formulated stand-alone and combination products.

REFERENCES

Gebhardt, Rolf. "Inhibition of Cholesterol Biosynthesis by Garlic Compounds," Abstract presented at the Garlic Symposium of the 6th Annual Phytotherapy Congress, Berlin, October 7-8, 1995.

Heinerman, John, Ph.D. The Healing Benefits of Garlic. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, 1994.

Melvin, K.R. "Cross-over Study in Patients With Elevated Cholesterol Levels," Abstract presented at the Garlic Symposium of the 6th Annual Phytotherapy Congress, Berlin, October 7-8, 1995.

Orekhov, Alexander N. "Garlic Powder Protects the Blood Vessels Against Fat Incorporation." Abstract presented at the Garlic Symposium of the 6th Annual Phytotherapy Congress, Berlin, October 7-8,1995.

Shewell-Cooper, W.E. Plants, Flowers and Herbs of the Bible. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, 1977.

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