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Rita F. Redberg, MD Responds:
Rita F. Redberg, MD, professor of medicine and director of Women's Cardiovascular Services at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, responds: Some population studies suggest that people who have a higher intake of garlic in their diet have a lower incidence of heart disease. However, there have been no strict clinical trials testing this cause-and-effect relationship. That kind of rigorous study would be difficult to do as it would require large numbers of people and long follow-up. It's also hard to focus in on something that is treated like a spice in our diet, as garlic is.
You can minimize salt and add garlic to your food for extra zing; this simple replacement can help your heart. It is possible that people who eat more garlic have healthier diets in general, meaning they tend to eat a more Mediterranean-style diet with more fruits and vegetables and olive oil and less trans and saturated fats. They also may be less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise. This would be called the "healthy user" hypothesis. Therefore, while I certainly think that a healthy (and yummy) diet can and should include garlic, it shouldn't replace known healthy lifestyle measures such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in trans and saturated fats. In addition, the track record for dietary supplements offering the same benefit as dietary intake is not good (vitamins B and E, for instance). So I would stick with garlic in the diet and not take the supplements.
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Rita F. Redberg
MD
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