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Garlic may Not Aid in Heart Disease and Cholesterol Levels: Research

by Jyothsna on Jan 8 2007 2:40 PM

A research conducted by Dr. Martijn B.A. van Doorn of the Center for Human Drug Research in Leiden, the Netherlands on 90 obese people revealed that garlic has no significance in controlling their cholesterol level or allied heart ailments.

The finding, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition puts forth a theory which is different from the existing hypothesis on garlic and its positive influence on heart diseases.

The group of ninety was divided into three sets and the first one was given 2 gm of garlic supplement everyday, the second one was given 40 mg of Lipitor and the third group was given the placebo pills. After three months it was observed that the Lipitor group had a significant drop in LDL cholesterol and a moderate drop of CRP and TNf-alpha level while the garlic group and placebo group had no marked changes whatsoever.

In this research, C reactive protein (CRP) levels of the participants were calculated besides the blood cholesterol and blood proteins, which are allied with the arterial inflammation. Blood substances, which are associated with the functioning of the walls of the blood vessels, were also observed. Swelling of the arteries and the performance of the blood vessels are very important factors in determining heart risks and garlic did not prove effective in controlling these two vital factors. Thus the researcher concludes that the use of garlic has no advantage on heart diseases.

Source-Medindia
JYT


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