Study: Garlic has no effect on 'bad' cholesterol levels

The compound doesn't reach arteries when it is consumed in food or pill form, a researcher said.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Vampires, maybe, but when it comes to warding off high cholesterol, garlic doesn't curtail fat formations in arteries, a new study concludes.
After a six-month trial involving raw garlic and two of the most popular supplements, researchers reported Monday that none had a significant effect on the "bad" cholesterol levels of 192 adults, ages 30 to 65, who had moderately high levels of the artery-clogging material.
"It just doesn't work," said Christopher Gardner, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University. "There's no shortcut. You achieve good health through eating healthy food. There isn't a pill or an herb you can take to counteract an unhealthy diet."
While crushing garlic releases a compound called allicin, which has been shown to prevent formation of cholesterol in lab tests, earlier experiments using the herb as a cholesterol-lowering agent in people have produced mixed results.
But that hasn't stopped garlic and supplements containing more palatable forms of the herb from being widely sold as health aids.
Gardner said it appears that unlike the lab tests, in which allicin was applied directly to cells, the compound doesn't reach the arteries of humans when consumed in food or pill form.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was said to be the first independent, long-term head-to-head assessment of raw garlic and supplements.
"If garlic was going to work, in one form or another, it would have worked in our study," Gardner said. "The lack of effect was compelling and clear. "