One of these beneficial herbs is garlic. Among its many powers, this plant has been shown to help us to keep our cholesterol levels where we want them.
Cholesterol and Your Health
You may have heard of good and bad cholesterol, but cholesterol is neither good or bad. Cholesterol is simply a chemical that helps to compose the structure of microscopic blobs in our bodies called lipoproteins. There are several different kinds of lipoproteins, but they’re collectively called “cholesterol.” These blobs carry fat throughout our body.
On another note, fat is neither good or bad – some of us just get too much of it or too much of the wrong kind in our diets. Fat is an integral portion of every cell in our bodies and some vital chemical reactions that happen in our bodies require fat. We can run into trouble when our bodies store too much fat. That’s where cholesterol comes in.
Some cholesterol, called “good cholesterol,” moves fat to places in your body where it is burned for energy or excreted as waste. Other kinds of cholesterol, called “bad cholesterol,” moves fat to places in your body where it is stored. That’s why doctors talk about volumes of “good cholesterol” versus volumes of “bad cholesterol.”
Both kinds can be bad for you if you have too much in your blood, especially if the cholesterol becomes damaged or altered. That’s where garlic comes in.
When Good Cholesterol Goes Bad
Chemicals and structures in our bodies can become damaged or altered on the atomic level when they gain or lose electrons – the outermost part of an atom or molecule. When an atom or molecule loses an electron, this is called oxidation. It’s an almost unimaginably small process but it can cause big problems.
When cholesterol in the body oxidizes it is more likely to end up where it doesn’t belong, including hanging out in the blood. When too much cholesterol is in the blood it can get caught in the blood vessels.
When the blood vessels narrow it raises your blood pressure, which makes your heart have to work harder. If blood vessels completely close it can lead to heart attacks or strokes, as well as other complications.
Where Garlic Comes In
According to a 2006 study published by the National Institute of Health, garlic contains high levels of anti-oxidants that prevent cholesterol from being damaged thus potentially saving you from preventable diseases related to cholesterol gone wrong.
According to the article, only one half of one clove of garlic can lower blood cholesterol levels by nearly ten percent. The study also found that while many herbs need to be eaten fresh in order to reap their maximum benefits, the anti-oxidant properties of fresh garlic are also present in dried garlic like the flakes and powders commonly used in sauce recipes.
As little as 7 grams of dried garlic is required to lower blood cholesterol, prevent blood clotting, and lower blood pressure by as much as five percent.
Cooking with Garlic
If you’re unfamiliar with garlic, it is commonly included in Italian food as an ingredient in sauce. It can be chopped or minced and included in sauces or soup stocks, but it can also be roasted in the oven and served with vegetables.
Dehydrated garlic that’s less fuss to cook with and won’t go bad quickly can also be purchased from most grocery stores in the form of flakes or finer powders. In this form garlic can be mixed in with other spice mixes, especially to make soups and stews.
