Alpine wild garlic & blood pressure
We all know about the healthy properties of garlic.
That it is an immune booster, that it may help lower
cholesterol and blood
pressure.
High
blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease,
and some 20 percent of the population suffers from it. Alpine wild garlic—Allium
ursinum—may be a natural way to help you “relieve the pressure.”
According to author and nutritional researcher
Dallas Clouatre, Ph.D., garlic is generally recognized as effective
in cases of mild hypertension (high
blood pressure), and alpine wild garlic may be the top garlic in
this respect. Clouatre notes that “apline wild garlic reduces blood
pressure through three different mechanisms. It contains twice the content
of ajoenes and gamma-glutamyl peptides—two sets of blood pressure-lowering
compounds—as regular garlic.”
Alpine wild garlic’s blood pressure lowering properties
are born out in animal studies. Harry Pruess, M.D., who does research
at George Washington University, has looked at garlic and blood pressure.
Speaking of alpine wild garlic,
Pruess comments, “The wild garlic had a dramatic response on the blood
pressure. In rat studies, we saw a 20- to 30-millimeter drop in blood
pressure, which is very significant. It is comparable to what we would
see by using standard pharmaceuticals.”
How does this stack up to other garlic on the market?
Pruess has also conducted studies comparing different concentrations
of alpine wild garlic with regular garlic that are either high or low
in allicin content. Allicin is thought by many to be the major “health-giving”
substance found in garlic.
He says, “All types of garlic lowered blood pressure,
but on a weight basis, the alpine wild garlic did a better job—it was
definitely better than the two other garlic that we examined.”
Other alpine wild garlic benefits
Blood sugar
According to Clouatre, both garlic and onion have
long been known to lower elevated blood sugar levels while improving
insulin levels and increasing liver glycogen levels. This effect in
regular garlic is usually attributed to the allicin content. However,
it has been shown that S-methylcysteine sulphoxide—which is three times
as common in alpine wild garlic as in regular garlic—is one of the active
hypoglycemics found in onions.
Cholesterol
Much has been made of the ability of garlic to
lower elevated serum
cholesterol levels.
Contemporary studies have indicated that the effects of allicin in lowering
cholesterol are highly dependent on the availability of adenosine to
the system (Nutrition 13 [1997]). Alpine wild garlic is quite
high in biologically active adenosine, containing 20 times as much as
regular garlic. Does this mean anything? Again according to Pruess,
“There was also evidence that the alpine wild garlic raised the HDL
cholesterol, the ‘good cholesterol,’ and on a weight basis.”
Odorless
When you take regular garlic, the oil-soluble principles
cause an accumulation of odorous elements within the body, and eventually
the body is saturated and the odors seep out through the pores and breath.
According to Clouatre, alpine wild garlic is naturally odorless when
taken by mouth. This is partially because it contains natural chlorophyll,
while regular garlic contains none. This chlorophyll helps eliminate
breath odor.
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