Regularly adding garlic to your diet, whether it’s freshly diced, scattered, or infused in oil, has been shown to help keep both blood sugar and cholesterol in check.
A meta-analysis of 22 previous studies, including 29 randomized controlled trials, conducted by researchers from Southeast University and Tibet University for Nationalities in China, confirmed that garlic consumption is associated with lower levels of blood sugar and certain fat molecules.
Glucose and fat are important nutrients for the body, providing energy and building blocks for many other nutrients. In our modern diet, we often eat too much of a good thing, putting us at risk for health problems. Other lifestyle choices, from alcohol consumption to exercise habits, can also affect the levels of sugar and fat in our bodies.
“In healthy individuals, glucose and lipid metabolism are precisely regulated.” write The researchers stated in their published paper:
“Dysfunction of glucose and lipid metabolism can lead to a variety of chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.”
On the other hand, garlic has long been known to be good for your health. Previously linked Lipid Regulation Similarly Blood glucose levels in individual studies.
Taking the studies together, the team found that the effects remained positive: people who added garlic to their diet had lower blood sugar levels – an indicator of better long-term blood sugar control – more so-called “good” cholesterol in the form of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), less so-called “bad” cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and lower cholesterol overall.
Interestingly, triglyceride levels did not appear to be affected.
While the data is not strong enough to prove a direct cause and effect relationship (such as chewing more garlic directly reducing the risk of heart disease), the association strongly suggests that this common herb may be a tasty way to manage blood sugar and lipid levels.
Further and more focused research may help shed light on exactly what’s going on here. The trials covered in the meta-analysis ranged in duration from three weeks to a year and included studies using several different forms of garlic, including raw garlic, aged garlic extracts, and garlic powder tablets.
“The results showed that garlic had beneficial effects on blood glucose and blood lipids in humans, and the associations were statistically significant.” write The researchers:
Why this association exists? Garlic contains various active compounds that are thought to help in different ways: Reduces oxidative stress – A type of cellular wasting that can lead to problems such as cardiovascular disease.
Garlic also contains an antioxidant called alliin. Previously linked It helps manage blood sugar levels, blood lipids, and gut flora, and it’s likely that a combination of these effects is responsible for the results we see here.
It’s clear that what we eat has a huge impact on our overall health, for better or worse, and now there’s even more reason to add garlic to the list of foods we should include in our diet.
“[The study] This will provide new ideas for the development of natural products for diseases related to glycolipid metabolism.” write The researchers:
This study Nutrients.
