Question: “Does Garlic Lower Cholesterol?”
Answer: While garlic and garlic extracts are often promoted to lower cholesterol, science suggests otherwise.
In a recent well-designed trial conducted by scientists at Stanford University Medical School, 192 adults with high levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol were randomly assigned to one of the following four treatments: raw garlic, powdered garlic supplement, aged garlic extract supplement, or a placebo. The garlic and garlic products (doses were equivalent to an average-sized garlic clove) were consumed six days a week for six months.
After six months, “none of the forms of garlic used in this study, including raw garlic, had statistically or clinically significant effects on LDL-Cholesterol or other plasma lipid concentrations in adults with moderate hypercholesterolemia,” concluded lead author Christopher D. Gardner, PhD, and colleagues. (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007; 167: 346)
Previous studies have yielded similar or conflicting results.
Eat garlic if you and those around you like the taste, but don’t expect it to improve your cholesterol levels.
Lifestyle recommendations that have been proven – repeatedly – to lower total and LDL bad cholesterol levels are the following:
- Eat a diet very rich in soluble fiber (BYOBB) – Beans, Yams, Oats, Barley, and Berries
- Eat fewer refined carbohydrates
- Eat much less saturated and trans fats and cholesterol
- Exercise regularly, and lose excess weight.
For more ideas, check out the 200 Pritikin Recipes in the Pritikin Store.. |
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