STANFORD, Calif. What good is garlic? And to reap any benefits, should you eat it in its odiferous fresh form or will a stink-free capsule suffice? Christopher Gardner, PhD, a researcher at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, is on a mission to find out.
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Thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health, Gardner is conducting the most rigorous study ever to address a lingering controversy in the nutritional-supplement field: whether fresh garlic and garlic supplements – a widely consumed herbal supplement – lower cholesterol as claimed.
In preparation for the study – which is seeking volunteers and entails eating gourmet sandwiches six days a week – Gardner’s staff spent two weeks peeling, mashing and measuring 150 pounds of fresh garlic. That’s on top of the weeks they spent taste-testing a dozen custom-made sandwiches ranging from Portobello mushroom to chicken quesadilla.
The Stanford study differs greatly from the dozens of garlic studies conducted over the past four decades, Gardner explained. While previous studies tested different garlic preparations with inconsistent and often inadequate potency, the Stanford researchers know the exact chemical composition of the garlic preparations they’re using and will monitor this throughout the study with periodic chemical analyses. And unlike previous studies, which tested just one garlic type, the Stanford study will evaluate the effects of two top-selling garlic supplements along with fresh garlic.
“This study goes far beyond the other trials, because we know exactly what we’re giving participants,” said Gardner, assistant professor of medicine. “These results should help set the record straight.”
For centuries, garlic has been touted for its disease-fighting properties. The most commonly claimed benefit is reduced cholesterol, although garlic is also said to reduce blood pressure, boost antioxidants and reduce the risk of certain cancers. Seeking such benefits without eating (or smelling like) garlic, millions of Americans take garlic supplements – pills containing powdered garlic or aged-garlic extract.
Meanwhile, researchers sought to determine whether garlic deserves its reputation. More than two dozen studies in the s and s claimed to prove that garlic lowers cholesterol, but those studies were later criticized for poor design. They involved too few participants or didn’t include a control group, for example. When more-rigorous studies were conducted in the s, most concluded that garlic offered little to no significant benefit.
Gardner said the question remains unsettled because chemical analyses conducted by Larry Lawson, PhD, a biochemist and co-investigator on Stanford’s study, revealed serious flaws in the formulations of the garlic supplements used in past studies. The key issue is allicin, an enzyme that is garlic’s active ingredient. When a person eats fresh garlic, allicin is released by chewing or mincing the herb. It’s more challenging to get allicin from a garlic pill, however. In some cases, if the pills dissolve in the stomach, the garlic enzyme needed to produce allicin becomes inactivated. Some pills, meanwhile, have an enteric coating, and these pills often pass through the body undissolved. “The problem is, all these studies didn’t really test garlic – they tested garlic supplements,” Gardner said. “That’s not the same as eating garlic.”
To select the fresh garlic for the study, Gardner traveled to Gilroy, Calif., the nation’s “garlic capital.” An eight-person team spent two weeks peeling and mashing the garlic, then scooping it into 5-gram containers. The premeasured garlic portions will be spread onto the gourmet “study sandwiches” that participants in the “fresh garlic group” must eat six days a week. All other participants must eat the sandwiches as well, but minus the garlic. The six types of sandwiches used in the study were chosen in taste tests from a larger sample all custom-prepared by a chef. “This isn’t your typical clinical trial. It’s a lot of fun,” Gardner said.
Participants in the Stanford study – 200 healthy adults with moderately elevated cholesterol – will consume the sandwiches along with study tablets for six months. Random assignment will be used to determine which combination of sandwich and pill will be given to each participant in the trial.
Participants’ cholesterol, blood pressure, blood-clotting ability and antioxidant levels will be monitored periodically. Volunteers must be between ages 30 and 65 and in good health but have moderately elevated cholesterol (LDL of 130-190). And, they must agree to eat their allotted “study sandwiches” six days a week. “We only want people who like our sandwiches,” Gardner said, adding, “We’ve gone to enormous lengths to make sure they’re excellent.” Interested volunteers should call (650) 725-.
Garlic is a notable star in Goodfellas, Dracula, and nearly every Rachael Ray dinner recipe. And for good reason: The aromatic cloves of garlic offer loads of flavor, potent vampire-repelling powers (or so we hear), and &#; whether Rachael Ray knows it or not &#; garlic offers a range of impressive health benefits.
But what if you don&#;t love the taste of garlic?
Well, even if you eat garlic as religiously as the 30-Minute Meals maven, and especially if you don't, you should consider adding a garlic supplement to your daily regimen.
Here&#;s what the herb has to offer and how the benefits of garlic, as a fresh ingredient, measure up against garlic in supplement form.
The Science Behind The Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic has been used for its medicinal properties for centuries, and in more recent years, a wealth of research has illustrated the wisdom of our ancestors&#; ways.
Here are just a handful of garlic&#;s most impressive, science-backed health benefits:
The pungent aroma you notice when you cook with garlic is due to its sulfuric compounds, primarily one called allicin. Allicin from garlic forms when fresh garlic bulbs are chopped or crushed, but it&#;s highly volatile and breaks down rapidly, so the benefits begin to diminish quickly.
Used in recipes, one study reported that garlic can help slow the growth of certain foodborne bacteria (although this is no substitute for proper food safety procedures). The study found that allicin exhibits antimicrobial activity against bacteria like E. coli, fungi like Candida albicans, and parasites like Giardia lamblia.
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Prostate and gastrointestinal cancers are less common among individuals who eat more garlic. For instance, one study of men in Shanghai, China, found that those with the highest intake of allium vegetables &#; which includes garlic, onions, and scallions &#; had a 53% decreased overall risk of prostate cancer compared with those eating the fewest allium veggies.
The mechanisms behind garlic&#;s cancer-preventing powers are many. For one, garlic&#;s antimicrobial properties are effective against bacteria like H. pylori, which is linked to gastric cancer. Compounds in garlic may also stop the increase of cancer cells by disrupting their regular cycle of cell division or even triggering cell death.
In a respected report, it was found that the duration and severity of the common cold might be shortened with increased garlic consumption.
In comparing people taking either a garlic supplement or placebo for 12 weeks, there were 65 incidences of the common cold among placebo takers compared with only 24 among the garlic supplement group. Fewer cold cases occurred in the garlic takers, and the garlic supplement participants recovered from their symptoms a day earlier on average. Why? The researchers pointed to garlic&#;s antimicrobial properties.
Garlic can help ease the inflammation that triggers arthritis symptoms, suggests the Arthritis Foundation, and research backs them up.
One study found that certain sulfur compounds isolated from garlic worked to suppress a protein complex that helps regulate the immune response and controls the expression of pro-inflammatory proteins called cytokines. Based on their findings, the authors concluded that garlic can help address arthritic and other inflammatory diseases.
The same sulfuric compounds in garlic that offer protection against microbes and inflammation may also reduce blood pressure in people with too-high levels.
In one study, people with hypertension who took 300 mg to 1,500 mg of garlic in tablet form daily for 24 weeks experienced a significant drop in blood pressure. The decrease was comparable to that seen in a participant&#;s blood pressure-lowering medication. It was both dose and duration-dependent &#; the larger the garlic supplement and the longer it was taken, the greater the results.
Fresh Garlic or Garlic Supplement: Which is Healthier?
There&#;s no proven limit to how much fresh garlic you can consume, though eating a lot may lead to bad breath (of course), plus heartburn or stomach discomfort, especially when garlic is eaten raw. That&#;s because garlic is naturally acidic, irritating the esophagus and triggering heartburn and reflux.
The real issue in eating fresh garlic to reap the health benefits over a garlic supplement is that you&#;d have to eat a lot of it to rack up the benefits highlighted above &#; about three big, raw cloves of garlic a day.
Now, you might be saying, &#;I&#;ll just cook the garlic,&#; but cooked garlic is less ideal because, as mentioned before, allicin &#; the main sulfur chemical in garlic with therapeutic activity &#; breaks down rapidly, meaning the benefits also diminish quickly. Less than 1% of cooked garlic is absorbed in an active form that the body&#;s system can use to make anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting, and other health benefits of garlic a reality.
The Pros of Taking Garlic Supplements
Garlic supplements can deliver stabilized allicin and the health-promoting compounds in garlic in a form more easily accessed by the body. The allicin in garlic supplements can be used nearly 100% through an exclusive process.
In addition to being easier for the body&#;s systems to access and use, garlic supplements are also less likely to lead to an upset stomach.
The one important caveat to be aware of is garlic&#;s potential to interact with certain medications, particularly blood thinners. Garlic, like many herbs, is a natural blood thinner, so taking it alongside a prescription blood thinner could make it too challenging for your blood to clot.
The Bottom Line: Garlic Supplement vs. Raw Garlic
If you&#;re a garlic lover, enjoy it as often as you like &#; you&#;ll certainly get some of the health benefits of garlic. But if you want to take full advantage of garlic&#;s health-promoting properties, add a garlic supplement with stabilized allicin to your regular regimen. That way, you can both savor the flavor of garlic and reap its robust health benefits.
And if you&#;re looking for a supplement that not only provides the garlic you need per day for a healthy microbiome but also ensures maximum efficacy of your immune system, shoring up your body&#;s defenses against microbes before cold and flu season, try Vital Plan&#;s Advanced Biotic, which brings an impressive spectrum of health advantages to the table with its garlic and other clinical-grade herbs.
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