Black garlic has long been known to fight infection and increase immunity due to its high level of antioxidants. What’s not so well known is how black garlic can help with a healthy heart. Keep reading to learn why it’s time to add black garlic to your heart-healthy routine.
Why boosting heart health is important
Keeping your heart healthy is all about prevention. According to an article by Pritikin, in decades past, physicians were trained in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease after it occurred. However, the present epidemic of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and their complications of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and sudden death have necessitated a change of focus to prevention.
Why black garlic can be good for a healthy heart
A study on the subject of heart health stated the beneficial effect of black garlic on coronary heart disease patients. The focus was on antioxidants, a well-known attribute of black garlic. Black garlic possesses an abundant amount of antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, tetrahydro-β-carboline derivatives, and organosulfur compounds, including S-allyl-cysteine and S-allyl-mercaptocysteine, as compared with fresh garlic. In addition to powerful antioxidants, growing research demonstrates the therapeutic effects of black garlic, including anticancer, anti-obesity, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective effects. A hypolipidemic reduces the level of lipids and lipoproteins (lipid-protein complexes) in the blood, which can be beneficial for a healthy heart. Black garlic also was noted to decreased blood clotting effects caused by platelet aggregation in both human and animal studies. Black garlic improved the cholesterol of patients with mildly high cholesterol levels in various studies, and its high levels of organosulfur compounds also relax blood vessels, which leads to lower blood pressure.
Getting more black garlic into your diet
If you’re a garlic lover, adding black garlic won’t be a challenge at all! It can be used in sauces, dips, infused in oil for cooking, sliced thinly on salads, and so much more! However, some people simply can’t stand the taste of black garlic. Luckily, there are high-quality supplements that contain black garlic to help you get the heart healthy benefits you’re looking for. Combined with other ingredients such as black cumin, black peppercorn, and black radish root can offer high levels of body ready healing botanicals, like the Black 4 Health supplement by Future Pharm LLC. If you choose to use a supplement for your black garlic intake, be sure to look for indicators that the supplement has liposomes for better absorption, and the product is manufactured to cGMP standards for the highest quality possible.
If you’re looking to help keep your heart healthy, you may want to consider adding black garlic to your diet, either through cooking or through a supplement. Of course, it’s always best to consult your physician first!