More than 16 million Britons have high blood pressure – also called hypertension – and an even larger number are thought to suffer from the condition without knowing it. Without effective treatment, either medication or healthy lifestyle changes, such as cutting salt, losing weight and getting fit, the condition can trigger heart attacks and strokes.  New research pubished in the scientific journal BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, shows, however, that a daily dose of garlic can help to lower blood pressure naturally and can be as effective as drugs. In fact, the higher a participent’s blood pressure at the beginning of the study the more it was reduced by garlic.

In this latest research scientists looked at 11 international studies in which patients were given a daily garlic supplement for between three and five months. They found significant blood pressure falls among participants and in some cases, the drop was as much as that seen in patients taking drugs such as betablockers and ACE inhibitors. The 600mg to 900mg dosage used in the studies was equivalent to 3.6mg to 5.4mg of garlic’s active ingredient, allicin. A fresh clove of garlic contains 5mg to 9mg of allicin.  (The Aged Garlic I use in the clinic is made from organically grown garlic and there is 1000mg in just one tablet – see Resources Page X).

Although this research is exciting it is important not to assume that taking garlic supplements is all you need to do to reduce high blood pressure. It is also important to manage your weight, take regular exercise, cut down on hidden salt in processed foods and to eat a healthy diet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 3:50 am and is filed under Heart Disease, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.