Latest research: Garlic can really lower blood lipids and blood sugar, but the premise is...

Recently, a new study has been circulated online, which has been reported by many media outlets. What is the nutritional value of garlic? Can it really lower blood sugar and cholesterol?

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Garlic can lower blood sugar and blood lipids

Is the research true?

The claim that garlic can lower blood sugar and cholesterol is not new . It should have been around in the 1980s and has continued to emerge over the past few decades.

The so-called latest study on the Internet is a study by Southeast University and Tibet University for Nationalities in my country. The researchers analyzed 22 studies that met their criteria, including 29 trials, for a meta-analysis. These trials involved a total of 1,567 participants from different countries and age groups.

Trials needed to use garlic as an intervention for more than 2 weeks and report HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides. In various trials, researchers administered garlic in the following forms: garlic, garlic oil, aged garlic extract, garlic powder pills or tablets, garlic extract capsules, and raw garlic.

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Depending on the trial, some participants took between 300 and 22,400 milligrams (mg) of garlic powder per day, while others took between 800 and 4,200 mg per day. The results found that garlic supplementation reduced fasting blood sugar levels, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol — also known as "bad cholesterol."

Therefore, there are statements on the Internet such as "The latest research finds that garlic can lower blood sugar and cholesterol" and "Garlic may be the secret weapon to lower blood sugar and cholesterol".

What do you think of this research?

So, can garlic really lower blood sugar and cholesterol? How should we view this research?

This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis study. From a research perspective, the level of evidence is still very high, and the results found are still very good . It can be shown that eating garlic is still good for health.

However, this study also has some shortcomings, which makes it of little guiding significance for our daily diet.

First, it is a meta-analysis, but the overall number of people covered is still relatively small , only more than 1,500.

Secondly, this study did not use the method of eating garlic directly, but mainly analyzed garlic supplements. There are different types of garlic supplements, such as garlic powder, garlic oil, aged garlic extract, raw garlic and enteric-coated garlic supplements, etc. The content of the active ingredients in different types of garlic supplements cannot be directly compared because they differ in active ingredients and bioavailability.

In addition, the amount of garlic supplements examined in different trials also varies greatly . For example, the amount of garlic powder used in some studies is 22,400 mg/day, which is equivalent to about 70-90 grams of fresh garlic . In daily life, it is difficult for people to eat so much fresh garlic. After all, most people use garlic as a seasoning, just adding two cloves when cooking to add a little flavor. Moreover, eating too much is not good. Bad breath is a small matter. Eating too much garlic will cause gastric acid secretion and irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa .

Therefore, from this study, we can conclude that eating garlic is still good for health, but we should not expect that the garlic we eat on a daily basis can lower blood sugar or cholesterol . Diabetic patients and people with high blood lipids should not give up the medication they should continue just because they believe its claims.

How to correctly understand

What are the benefits of garlic?

In addition to lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, garlic has many other health-preserving functions in folk culture, including cancer prevention, antibacterial, blood pressure reduction, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The saying that "eating more garlic can improve health" has always been deeply rooted in people's minds. Garlic and "garlic products" and "garlic extracts" are almost a cure-all in many people's minds.

Is garlic really that magical?

In fact, there are many studies analyzing these claims, but some tests have not been passed, some are still controversial, and many experiments are only the results of cell or animal experiments, which cannot be simply applied to humans. Moreover, the experiments used large doses of extracts, and the few cloves of garlic we usually eat will not have any effect at all .

Therefore, you should not expect to prevent diseases or strengthen your body by eating garlic. Garlic is a vegetable that is good for everyone to eat normally, but you should not be superstitious about its health-preserving function, and you should not stop taking medicine or medical treatment because of it .

Garlic is a common vegetable in daily diet, usually used as a seasoning vegetable. From the nutritional analysis, 100 grams of edible garlic contains 26.5 grams of carbohydrates, 0.2 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of protein, and 1.1 grams of dietary fiber, which is considered a seasoning vegetable with good nutritional value.

However, eating too much garlic will promote gastric acid secretion and irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa. It is recommended that you do not eat too much, especially those with gastric ulcers and excessive gastric acid .

References

[1] Chi MS, Koh ET, Stewart TJ. Effects of garlic on lipid metabolism in rats fed cholesterol or lard. J Nutr. 1982 Feb;112(2):241-8. doi: 10.1093/jn/112.2.241. PMID: 7057262. ↑

[2] Gu Yue. Effects of garlic oil on cholesterol and blood sugar: the hypoglycemic effect is statistically significant [J]. Foreign Medical Information, 1982(1). ↑

[3] Zhao, X.; Cheng, T.;

Planning and production

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert

Planning丨He Tong

Editor: He Tong

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin