Garlic has been used as a food and medicine for thousands of years, dating back to the time when the Egyptian pyramids were being built. Today, garlic has a wide range of uses including treating cancer, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Garlic is also used to help prevent cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis, which can occur in the carotid artery. As with any herb, consult with your doctor before using garlic to improve your health.
About Carotid Arteries
Carotid arteries go up each side of your neck and supply blood to your brain. Both carotid arteries are a common place for atherosclerosis to occur. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of cholesterol and other material in your arteries that causes the arteries to become narrow. If you have a blood clot that sticks in the narrowed arteries, blood cannot get to your brain and you may have a stroke.
Function
One of the important components of garlic is an odorless substance called alliin, which comes from the amino acid cysteine. When you chew or crush garlic, the alliin is changed to a chemical called allicin, which is the main active substance that gives garlic its aroma and medicinal effects. Allicin is not absorbed well in the gastrointestinal tract, so garlic is fermented, or aged, which enhances the absorption of allicin.
Effectiveness
Human studies have shown garlic to prevent atherosclerosis in carotid arteries. One study that was published in the journal "Atherosclerosis" in 1999, tested the effects of taking 900 mg of garlic powder, standardized for 0.6 percent allicin content, on atherosclerosis plaque in carotid and femoral arteries. Results showed that garlic prevented and possibly slowed the progression of arteriosclerosis in people between 50 and 80 years of age after four years of treatment.
Preparations and Dosing
Garlic is available as a supplement in dried, freeze-dried, oil, and aged extract forms. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that whole garlic is usually taken in daily doses of 2 to 4 grams, which is about two to four cloves. You can also take 600 to 1,200 mg of aged garlic extract daily in divided doses, or freeze-dried garlic tablets, standardized to 1.3 percent alliin or 0.6 percent allicin in doses of 400 mg, three times daily.
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