Garlic and Cholesterol

The first line of defense in lowering blood cholesterol levels and the risk of coronary artery disease is typically to change eating habits and increase exercise. If these are insufficient, then various drugs are prescribed, all of which have some undesirable side effects. So, the idea that something as simple as eating a lot of garlic could lower a person's cholesterol is very appealing indeed.

Researchers at the University of Essex in England re-examined the data on garlic and cholesterol in 13 previous studies, some of which suggested that garlic was effective in reducing cholesterol. In their meta-analysis (a study that combines the findings of multiple studies into a single statistical analysis), the researchers found that on the average garlic was more effective in lowering cholesterol than placebos which looked and tasted the same as garlic but which lacked active ingredients. However, the combined results of the 6 most rigorous studies did not show that garlic worked better than placebos.

In their article in the September 19, 2000 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Clare Stevinson and co-authors state that while garlic seems to be a relatively harmless intervention (there were the expected gastrointestinal symptoms), it is not an efficient way to decrease total serum cholesterol level.

The authors note that the longest treatment period of any of the studies included in their analysis was ten months. Large-scale, longer-term studies are needed to further assess the potential usefulness of garlic in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease other than cholesterol levels.

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.