Garlic and Blood Pressure

The power of garlic on blood pressure has long been known in places like China and it's widely used today in Germany as a blood pressure medication.

One of the antioxidants in garlic is allicin and many animal studies have found that it can reduce blood pressure as effectively as the ACE inhibitor enalapril does. It can make blood vessels more elastic so they can dilate more easily.

Garlic also contains other components helpful in lowering blood pressure, such as potassium, vitamin C, calcium and magnesium.

Human studies evaluating the benefits of garlic on blood pressure, whether using aged garlic extract, garlic powder or fresh garlic, found average reductions in systolic blood pressure of 7.7 mmHg and in diastolic pressure of 5 mmHg.

You don't need much - just one or two cloves of raw garlic a day should do it.

Evidence of the Legendary Power of Garlic on Blood Pressure

The blood pressure in the garlic group sank from an average 171/102 to 152/89 after three months, while the blood pressure of the placebo group stayed the same.

Interestingly, garlic's impact grew stronger throughout the test, suggesting that daily infusions of garlic have a cumulative effect.

How does garlic work on blood pressure?

Garlic probably lowers blood pressure at least partly by relaxing the smooth muscles of the blood vessels, allowing them to dilate.

That happens in animals fed garlic juice. Also, both garlic and onions contain a great deal of a compound, adenosine, that is a smooth-muscle relaxant, according to George Washington University researchers. That means eating onions also will help reduce blood pressure.

FURTHER READING: Health Benefits of Garlic

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