Garlic Capsules Lower
Cholesterol Levels in Men
Deodorized garlic capsules
slightly lower high levels
of cholesterol in men,
according to a study in Penn
State's College of Health
and Human Development.
The study shows that blood
cholesterol levels of men
taking garlic capsules
dropped 7 percent over 5
months, but remained
unchanged in men downing
placebos. Further, the level
of "bad" cholesterol in the
blood of the garlic group
was about 12 percent lower
than that of the placebo
group after 5 months. Both
sets of men had the same
levels of "bad" cholesterol
when the study began.
"Despite the mild effect of
the garlic capsules, I think
the supplements have some
usefulness, at least in
men," said Yu-Yan Yeh,
professor of nutrition at
Penn State and study leader.
"I don't want people to
think they can enjoy fatty
foods and then use garlic
capsules to lower their
cholesterol levels," Yeh
said. "It's clear that
garlic supplements alone
would not be sufficient to
reduce cholesterol in the
blood to a desirable level.
Combining a modified diet,
stress reduction and greater
physical activity with
garlic supplements would be
more effective in reducing
cholesterol levels to a
desired value, rather than
depending on garlic
treatments alone."
Every day for five months,
the 34 men in the study,
ages 35 to 55, ingested
either 9 placebos or 9
capsules of deodorized, aged
garlic extract.
Although the men had fairly
healthy diets, were
generally fit, and not
obese, they had cholesterol
levels that averaged above
240 at the beginning of the
study.
"It took 4 months to see an
effect from the treatments,"
Yeh said. This suggests that
daily garlic supplements
work over time to affect
levels of blood cholesterol
in men.
Yeh thinks that fresh garlic
or garlic used as a
condiment has a similar
cholesterol-lowering effect
in men. "Men don't need to
rely on garlic capsules," he
said. "But for those who
don't like garlic's odor,
the study shows that
deodorized capsules would be
an acceptable option."
During the study, there were
no changes in blood levels
of either "good" cholesterol
or triglycerides in the men.
A triglyceride is a fatty
substance that plays a major
role in artery and heart
disease.
Yeh's collaborators in the
study were research
assistants Shelley Evans and
Shaw-Mei Yeh, and Robert I.S.
Lin, of the Nutrition
International Company, which
provided the garlic capsules
and helped fund the work.
(Author: Scott Turner, Penn
State Department of Public
Information)
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