Effect of Garlic on Blood Pressure
Ried K, Frank OR, Stocks NP, et al. Effect of garlic on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2008 Jun 16;8:13. Review. PMID: 18554422
Researchers at the University of Adelaide reviewed 25 studies investigating the effect of garlic preparations on blood pressure dating from 1994. The data showed that garlic preparations are superior to placebo in reducing blood pressure in people with hypertension.
From the discussion:
"Our findings of the effect of garlic preparations on SBP/DBP [systolic/diastolic blood pressure] are comparable to the hypotensive effects of commonly-prescribed blood pressure drugs, e.g. beta-blockers of 5 mm Hg for SBP, angiotension converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) of 8 mm Hg for SBP, and angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists of 10.3 mm Hg for DBP. Our findings may have implications at a population level, where a reduction of 4 to 5 mm Hg in SBP and 2 to 3 mm Hg in DBP has been estimated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by 8–20%. While our study focuses on the short-term effects of garlic on blood pressure, larger scale long-term trials are needed to test the effectiveness of garlic on cardiovascular outcomes."
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