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Garlic May Help Heart Surgery Patients

Herb Found To Protect From Tissue Damage

Posted: 3:15 p.m. EDT September 9, 2002

It might give you bad breath, but garlic could save your heart.


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Eating raw garlic may protect your heart from damage after surgery, according to a new study published in BMC Pharmacology.

After a heart attack, it is important to restore the flow of blood to the heart so that damage to the heart muscle can be minimized. But the return of blood flow can also cause further damage by releasing free radicals, which may result in tissue damage, according to the researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Antioxidants, which can "mop up" free radicals before they do any harm, have been found to reduce the severity of damage to the heart. Previous studies found that garlic can limit the depletion of natural heart antioxidants.

The team of researchers studied the effect of garlic in protecting rats' hearts. Rats that were given a consistent diet of garlic were found to have much higher levels of antioxidants, and their heart damage was significantly lower than rats who were not fed garlic. They found that regular consumption of raw garlic prevented heart tissue damage.

Researchers said further studies in humans are needed on the protective effects of garlic, but they said garlic has important potential to save the lives of patients undergoing heart surgery.

BMC Pharmacology is a journal published by BioMed Central, which is an independent publishing house that provides free access to peer-reviewed biomedical research, according to its Web site.

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