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GARLIC
No one argues about the good this herb can do your palate. But there's dispute about the benefits it can provide the rest of your body. There have been some studies to suggest that garlic can fight bacteria, lower high blood pressure, and prevent blood clots. And research comparing large groups of people has indicated that a diet seasoned with garlic can protect against certain cancers. But most studies have focused on garlic's effect on cholesterol.
A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in June 1998 found that garlic oil failed to improve blood lipid levels in patients with mildly elevated cholesterol. But that's not surprising, says Purdue University herb expert Varro Tyler. The active ingredient in distilled garlic oil spoils rapidly, so the concoction was doomed to flop. On the other hand, dried garlic pills (with an enteric coating) are more reliable. Since the late 1980s, according to Tyler, four out of five studies have shown garlic brings some reduction in cholesterol.
Bruce J. Holub, a biochemist at the University of Guelph, outside Toronto, doesn't argue with the evidence, but warns that the concentration in the pills, from product to product, "is all over the map."
The bottom line:
In Holub's own research a daily dose of 900 mg of Kwai dried garlic pills -- roughly equivalent to one raw clove -- lowered total cholesterol more than 11 percent and LDL more than 14 percent among people with cholesterol levels over 200. Unfortunately, these findings weren't the only strong result: Some participants reeked. You can buy deodorized pills, but think twice. Garlic's potency likely stems from its smelly sulfur compounds.
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