SUPER FOOD

By Christian Dischler Garlic Garlic

super food

We know garlic is touted as an incredible food with limitless possibilities. It will make you superhuman, turn your woes to wows, and buy you that thing you’ve always wanted. We get it! Garlic is the perfect partner. However, this article is focused on how garlic, historically called “the stinking rose”, impacts heart health specifically. Pinky promise we aren’t wearing our stinking rose-colored glasses for this one, these are proven benefits. Cardiovascular health plays a vital role in ensuring our hearts are pumping blood at a regular rate, to the right places and without error. When our hearts get thrown offbeat or are submitted to unexpected stressors, such as variations in blood pressure, the results can be dangerous.

Garlic has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of high blood pressure by helping lower blood pressure at an active rate. You might be thinking, “wouldn’t I need to eat handfuls of garlic to see these benefits?” You’re not entirely wrong (the number is around 4 cloves a day), but there are options. Garlic supplements have been shown to be just as effective as raw garlic but need to be taken at a high dosage for the best results. Whether you choose to include more raw garlic in your diet, or a supplement, it’s still important to have.

Total cholesterol also plays a role in heart health, in particular, LDL cholesterol. It’s been shown that simply including a garlic supplement can reduce a person’s LDL by anywhere from ten to fifteen percent. That’s great! Even better? It’s not shown to have any effect on HDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels, which at higher levels can become a risk factor. Basically, this powerhouse ingredient doesn’t just level up your pasta sauce, it also upgrades your total heart health without bringing down the good stuff. As if we needed any more reasons to squeeze garlic into every recipe.

If your heart is already ailing (from a medical standpoint, not because your favorite show got canceled) then garlic is here to help. Studies have demonstrated that people with pre-existing heart conditions received a boost in exercise performance when regularly including garlic as a supplement or ingredient. Even simple things like a walk around the neighborhood will cause our heart rates to increase, which means any boost available is worthwhile.

For the adventurous types, we recommend exploring some creative options with garlic to include it in your diet. Garlic-infused honey, roasted garlic oil, garlic elixirs and cold-pressed raw garlic juice are a few ways to take this ubiquitous ingredient and make it into something spectacular for your health and your heart.

Garlic has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of high blood pressure by helping lower blood pressure at an active rate.

MA GAZINE

executive publishers Hal G. Fox & Suzanne Polk Fox

managing editor Suzanne Polk Fox

copy editor Christian Dischler

contributing writers Feltman Brothers Colleen Doyle Bryant Christian Dischler Dr. Aaron Dutruch D. C. Laura Jayne J. Lang Natalie Odom Nellie Palmer Elle Robinson Jean Terrell J. L. Thompson Liza Williams

design Suzanne Polk Fox Claire Thomas

The information contained in Inspire Health is intended for educational purposes only. A reader should never substitute information contained in Inspire Health for the advice of a health care professional. Jumpstart Publishing, LLC and publishers of Inspire Health, do not endorse or promote any of the products or services described in the pages of Inspire Health and the publishers do not verify the accuracy of any claims made in the editorial or advertisements contained in Inspire Health. Readers should not use the information in Inspire Health for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. Readers should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or have or suspect they have a health problem.

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