Garlic and Hearth Health

[Guest guest]

From the Saga website:

 

Healthy living

Healthy eating

Garlic boosts heart health

If you can put up with the smell, eating garlic can do wonders for your health,

say researchers

 

Scientists at the University of Alabama have pinpointed exactly how the pungent

clove works its magic in your body. When garlic is digested, it boosts levels of

a chemical that helps to keep the heart healthy.

 

Garlic has long been thought to bestow health benefits, particularly on the

heart, but until now no one has been able to explain why. This study, published

in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that

eating garlic produces a chemical called hydrogen sulphide.

 

This compound smells of rotten eggs and is actually poisonous in higher

concentrations but small amounts are essential for relaxing blood vessels and

increasing blood flow. A healthy blood flow results in a lower blood pressure,

which in turn, lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.

 

The Alabama team extracted juice from supermarket garlic and added small amounts

to human red blood cells in the laboratory. The cells immediately started

breaking down the sulphur compounds in the garlic to produce heart-health

boosting hydrogen sulphide.

 

" Our results suggest garlic in the diet is a very good thing, " said lead author

of the study, Dr David Kraus, " Certainly in areas where garlic consumption is

high, such as the Mediterranean and the Far East, there is a low incidence of

cardiovascular disease. "

 

The team hope that their research will help standardise dietary garlic

supplements so that those produced contain the correct blend for the body to

most efficiently make the right levels of hydrogen sulphide.

 

Judy O'Sullivan, cardiac care nurse at the British Heart Foundation welcomed the

study but cautioned that, while garlic may provide some heart health benefits,

" there remains insufficient evidence to support the notion of eating garlic as

medicine in order to reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease. "

 

She also warned that large amounts in supplement form may interact with blood

thinning drugs and could increase the risk of bleeding.