Nerdy Science Blog

Love it or hate it.  Garlic can embellish a dish making it the tastiest dish you ever eat, but it can also gives you a really bad breath that makes everyone cover their nose when you are talking.  Do you know that garlic is not only used for culinary purposes, but also medicinal purposes?

The allicin (sulfur compound) produced by garlic when it is wounded (chopped or chewed) has the anti-bacterial effect.  Garlic can be beneficial to one’s health by enhancing the body’s immune system against common cold.  Garlic is also subject in cancer treatment research.  Garlic is also found to control cholesterol level and preventing heart disease.  There are numerous health benefits of garlic.

Many animal studies suggested that traditional Chinese treatment for cardiovascular disease by using garlic can actually reduce blood pressure (hypertension).  Although there are no strong evidences showing that garlic can reduce blood pressure in human, the research data  showed that the use of garlic has the potential in high blood pressure reduction.  There are also many studies in human showed that garlic does not have any effect on blood pressure.  Raw garlic were consumed in the studies.

Figure. Garlic uses, effects, and consumption advises (modified from Messina, 2006).

There are insufficient evidences showing a strong relation between garlic and hypertension reduction.  Please note that although garlic has a lot of medicinal benefits, garlic (or its supplements) should not be overdose.  It can also cause bad breath, indigestion, nausea, emesis, diarrhoea and other side effects.  You are also being reminded not to feed your dogs with garlic as it can be toxic to them.

References:

Capraz, M., Dilek, M., and Akpolat, T. (2007), Garlic, Hypertension and Patient Education, Int J. Cardiol., 121(1), pp. 130-1.

Duda, G., Suliburska, J., and Pupek-Musialik, D. (2008), Effects of Short-term Garlic Supplementation on Lipid Metabolism and Antioxidant Status in Hypertensive Adults, Pharmacol Rep., 60(2), pp. 163 – 70.

Messina, B.A. (2006), Herbal Supplements: Facts and Myths — Talking to Your Patients About Herbal Supplements, J Perianesth Nurs, 21(4), pp. 268-78.

Pittler, M.H. and Ernst, E. (2007), Clinical Effectiveness of Garlic (Allium sativum), Mol Nutr Food Res, 51(11), pp. 1382 – 5.

Reinhart, K.M., Coleman, C.I., Teevan, C., Vachhani, P., and White C.M. (2008), Effects of Garlic on Blood Pressure in Patients With and Without Systolic Hypertension: A Meta-analysis, Ann Pharmacother, 42(12), pp. 1766 – 71.

Ried,K., Frank, O.R., Stocks, N.P., Fakler, P., and Sullivan, T. (2008), Effect of Garlic on Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, BMC Cardiovasc Disord., 8:13.

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