The Numerous Benefits of Aged Garlic – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 239
Garlic has many well-studied cardiovascular benefits, but it goes well beyond that. Aged Garlic has many benefits, including immune health.
Tag: cholesterol
How Red Yeast Rice Supports Healthy Cholesterol – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 223
Red Yeast Rice has been used in Asia for centuries. Now, it is being used as a powerful cholesterol health supplement.
The Importance of Plant Sterols for Healthy Cholesterol – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 191
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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We’ve all heard the impact that high cholesterol can have on our overall health and how it can put us at a greater risk for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death within the United States. We have to understand what high cholesterol is, when it becomes problematic, and the difference between elevated levels of VLDL, LDL, and HDL. When we look at American society as a whole, we know that well over 30% of the population has high cholesterol. We also recognize that it has been directly linked to being a major indication for cardiovascular events later on in life.
A recent study released by the University of Maryland School of Medicine discusses how having high cholesterol levels early in life can lead to heart problems by middle age. Having high cholesterol in your teen years or in your early 20s increases your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiac event during the middle ages.
The Benefits of Taurine On Your Heart – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 189. Listen Now >>
Good vs. bad cholesterol
We need to have cholesterol in our bodies. We need it as part of our brain chemistry. The absence of good cholesterol can lead to cognitive decline, as well as an increase in risk for a cardiovascular event. We want to take care of and maintain our good cholesterol because it is actually cardioprotective. LDL, which is your low-density lipoproteins, is the so-called “bad” cholesterol. An LDL level of over 100mg/dL is generally considered elevated. When someone has elevated LDL, this can really be an indication of extensive damage that is occurring that can’t even be seen or recognized. That’s why lowering your cholesterol can really reduce your risk of having a heart attack.
Why Food and Supplementation Matters
Oftentimes, people turn to pharmacotherapies to treat cholesterol issues. This includes statin drugs and other medications that are used to try to regulate someone’s cholesterol. Certainly, there are times where statin drugs are warranted in certain situations, and certain types of statins may be better for some patients than other types of statins. A lot of our problem when it comes to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk comes down to our diet.
A single-blind trial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tested the impacts of an improved diet on people with elevated cholesterol. These patients also had elevations in different markers for inflammation, so they kind of fell into the category of metabolic syndrome. The subjects followed a Mediterranean diet and received detailed advice from the researchers as to how to increase their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables and how to include olive oil into their routines. This helped them reduce their intake of bad carbohydrates and bad fats. The researchers found that after 2 years, patients who followed the Mediterranean-style diet did significantly better in terms of their overall levels when it came to blood sugar, total cholesterol, and inflammation markers. This is why foods do matter.
You can also help your body in terms of supplementation. We know that high-antioxidant nutrients, like Vitamin C and Vitamin E, are helpful. But we can also look at sterols. Plant sterols have been around for a really long time and really can promote a significant amount of support when it comes to the way that the body manages cholesterol transport. This is why having a diet that is high in plant sterols really yields a significant amount of advantageous benefits to the way that your body is reacting to those elevations or fluctuations. Taking plant sterols as a supplement can also really yield you that benefit. InVite® Health Sterols is a really wonderful product to have as part of your cholesterol-targeting arsenal. Tune into the full podcast episode for studies looking at the impacts of plant sterols on cholesterol levels. There’s a lot of things that people can be doing on their own to optimize their overall cardiovascular health, but it starts with the choices that you make. Always keep that in mind.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
Questions about how plant sterols can benefit your heart health? Leave us a comment below to discuss!
Why Apple Cider Vinegar Is Nature’s Gift – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 163
We can go all the way back to Hypocrites when it comes to Apple Cider Vinegar and its history. Vinegar was considered a medicinal discovery that have numerous purposes. Today, it is studied for its support in weight management and cardiovascular health.
How Sterols Support Your Heart & Healthy Cholesterol – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 107
Sterols are a supplement that come from plants that have been used for cholesterol for years. New data from major academic institutions show that sterols have many more benefits for heart health.
Aged Garlic for Heart and Overall Health – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 54
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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On today’s episode, I am going to be discussing one of the world’s longest used medicinal foods available. This particular food has so many different therapeutic uses and, when you look at the clinical research and the science behind this nutrient, it is really quite impressive. Throughout history there are so many different ways that different cultures have recognized potential utilizations of certain nutrients that are derived from foods, or the whole food itself and how when we are consuming these different foods, we are helping to optimize different aspects of our health. So today, I am going to focus on Garlic; oftentimes people consider garlic one of those foods that is very beneficial for heart health and we know that is true. But I am going to go into more detail as to what other areas in the body Garlic can be beneficial for you.
Benefits of Garlic as a Food
Garlic, for so very long, has been researched for its role in human health. As science has evolved, there have been more and more research studies looking at the possibility of Garlic’s therapeutic value in different disease states. What the primary focus is, is looking at the different compounds in Garlic and how these specific compounds are really working at the cellular level and enzymatic level to potentiate these different systemic health benefits.
Across the board, we can recognize why adhering to something like a Mediterranean diet would be so incredibly advantageous. When you look at a Mediterranean diet and you see the foods that are incorporated into that diet, including things such as Garlic, you can understand why. For example, if you just had one clove of Garlic, you are exposing your body to so many different nutrients by incorporating Garlic into your foods. This includes different vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin C, B-Vitamins, Selenium and Magnesium. Garlic also contains Omega-3 fatty acids.
Benefits of Aged Garlic Extract seen in Clinical Studies
Research surrounding Garlic extract focuses on Allicin, which plays a really important role in dietary and medicinal properties. When it comes to cardiovascular health, Garlic certainly packs a huge punch. But research has also shown it can benefit your overall health.
Published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2016, researchers were looking at the different heart benefits seen with Aged Garlic. Through a population of data and numerous studies, they determined that a reduction in systolic blood pressure – upwards of 15 points – in participants who consumed Aged Garlic. In diastolic blood pressure, a 10-15% drop was found. Researchers also noted anywhere from a 10-30 point drop in cholesterol levels. But the researchers did not stop there. They also studied how Garlic impacted inflammation. They found that a lowering in systemic inflammation (c-reactive protein levels) were reduced with Garlic. C-reactive protein is a marker that you can assess in your blood that determines how much inflammation is actually occurring.
Aged Garlic extract has been shown in clinical research trials to have a finite ability to impede or inhibit inflammation. In the Journal of Molecular Nutrition in 2017, researchers discussed just that; they studied how Aged Garlic was not only targeting C-reactive protein, but also other markers for inflammation. In animal studies, researchers found that a specific type of inflammation was lowered by 35% with Aged Garlic. This is incredibly powerful.
We know that plaque build up can lead to a greater risk for a cardiovascular event. A study that was performed in 2018 that was published in the Clinical Nutrition Journal, reported in their double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, found that Aged garlic impacted different markers in clinically obese patients. The trial was broken into two groups – one was given Aged Garlic extract every day, the other group was given a placebo. After six weeks, a reduction in bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) in the group that was given Aged Garlic extract.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
