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The Science of Reducing Cardiovascular Risk: New Research Confirms Aged Garlic Extract’s Multiple Benefits

Despite advances in medicine, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in America. In fact, one person in the U.S. dies of cardiovascular disease every 40 seconds.1 But an array of clinical studies recently published in The Journal of Nutrition report that Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) works on a number of fronts to reduce common risk factors and prevent the progression of cardiovascular disease.2 This includes the ability to lower blood pressure, regulate cholesterol levels, slow the progression of coronary arterial calcification, reduce low-attenuation plaque, and inhibit platelet aggregation.

One of the biggest threats to cardiovascular health is the development of atherosclerosis—the narrowing and stiffening of arteries that can lead to reduced blood flow and eventually a heart attack or stroke. One of the published study reviews conducted by researchers at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, found that AGE supplementation had a strong potential to lower many of the cardiovascular risk factors that contribute to atherosclerosis.3 Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, which involved 55 patients with metabolic syndrome, found that AGE slowed the progression of total plaque by 80 percent, reduced the accumulation of soft plaque, and demonstrated a regression of low-attenuation plaque.4 Low-attenuation plaque is the most vulnerable component of atherosclerosis.

Another study in the Journal, which was performed by British researchers at Liverpool John Moores University, analyzed the effect of AGE on platelets. Supplementation inhibited the aggregation of platelets from 14 participants by preventing chemical changes in the endothelium. When platelets clump together, they can form blood clots that may play a role in a future cardiovascular event. However, this study found that AGE effectively reduces the risk of platelet aggregation and the associated threat.5

Adding more evidence to the growing body of data that AGE reduces common cardiac risk factors, an updated meta-analysis and research review conducted at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, suggests that AGE supplementation has the potential to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol levels in hypertensive individuals.6 It was found that AGE significantly lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to placebo. AGE also reduced total and LDL cholesterol by as much as 10 percent in those with slightly elevated levels after just two months of supplementation. As a bonus, AGE enhanced immunity, boosting macrophage activity, as well as natural killer cells and the production of T and B cells.

Along with more than 750 published scientific papers on the efficacy of Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract, these clinical results provide more concrete evidence that AGE can play a key role in slowing the progression of atherosclerosis. This research also confirms that AGE lowers other risk factors such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels, making it an effective multi-pronged approach to preventing and potentially treating cardiovascular disease.

References:

1 Mozaffarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al. A, on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics— 2015 update: a report from the American Heart Association [published online ahead of print December 17, 2014]. Circulation. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000152.

2 Supplement—2014 International Garlic Symposium: Role of Garlic in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Metabolic Syndrome, and Immunology. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016 Feb. 146(2).

3 Varshney R, Budoff M. Garlic and Heart Disease. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016 Feb. 146(2):416S-21S.

4 Matsumoto S, Nakanishi R, Li D, et al. Aged garlic extract reduces low attenuation plaque in coronary arteries of patients with metabolic syndrome in a prospective randomized double-blind study. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016 Feb. 146(2):427S-32S.

5 Rahman K, Lowe GM, Smith S. Aged garlic extract inhibits human platelet aggregation by altering intracellular signaling and platelet shape change. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016 Feb. 146(2):410S-15S.

6 Ried K. Garlic lowers blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, regulates serum cholesterol, and stimulates immunity: An updated meta-analysis and review. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016 Feb. 146(2):389S-96S.