How Does Garlic Lower Blood Cholesterol?

Lower Cholesterol - Garlic

For over 3,000 years, people have used garlic to cure what ails them. From skin diseases to tumors, from arthritis to the Black Plague, the "stinking rose" has been touted for its healing powers.

In recent years, medical science has caught up with popular wisdom. Epidemiological studies suggest that garlic consumption may reduce the risk of various cancers, as well as enhance immune function and suppress infectious disease. However, much of garlic's recent claim to fame has come from its reputed ability to decrease blood pressure and lower blood cholesterol levels.

Yu-Yan Yeh, Penn State professor of nutrition, has been tracking the cholesterol connection for over a decade, all the way to what looks like the exact mechanism behind garlic's cholesterol-busting effect. At a recent University Park colloquium, he summarized the chain of experiments that have led to this discovery.

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Yeh's first step, "to establish the rationale for the subsequent studies," he explains,