Garlic, hawthorn and folic acid form a health-boosting triad representing the categories of culinary, herbal and vitamin support. As a group, these three natural substances may offer particular benefits for heart health and prevention of cardiovascular risk factors in some people. Always take these and other supplements with your doctor's supervision.
Garlic
Garlic is a versatile food and herbal medicine that offers a multitude of benefits for heart health, according to author Anna Arnoldi in "Functional Foods, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes." Garlic may decrease atherosclerosis and high blood pressure and prevent strokes and heart attacks. Garlic intercedes on your behalf to inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol, prevents oxidation of existing cholesterol, keeps blood flowing smoothly by inhibiting platelets from clumping together and improves the structure of cells that line your arteries.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn contains flavonoid and procyanthin antioxidants that offer many heart-healthy benefits, writes author M. Gabriel Khan in "Encyclopedia of Heart Diseases." Hawthorn has been used to treat heart failure, decrease cholesterol levels, dilate blood vessels and increase the ability of the liver to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. This herb improves heart strength and pumping ability and decrease abnormal heart rhythm. As a precaution, hawthorn has been known to increase irregular heart rate in some people. Consult your doctor about using hawthorn.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is a B-complex vitamin that may improve cardiovascular disease risk by lowering levels of homocysteine -- a metabolic byproduct associated with inflammation and oxidative damage to blood vessels, according to Mitchell Bebel Stargrove, author of the book, "Herb, Nutrient, and Drug Interactions: Clinical Implications and Therapeutic Strategies." Folic acid has not been shown to decrease risk in patients with previous history of cardiovascular disease. However, in ways other than its effects on homocysteine, high doses of folic acid can reverse blood vessel damage and restore normal function of the linings of arteries.
Considerations
Herbal and nutritional remedies are not without adverse effects and it is important to use any remedy with your doctor's consent and supervision. Garlic can cause digestive upset in some people and colic in breast-fed babies. Garlic's blood-thinning effects may interfere with certain medications, such as aspirin or Coumadin. Hawthorn increases the effects of the drug digitalis and your doctor may need to lower your dose, if you are taking hawthorn together with that drug. Folic acid is not associated with side effects or toxicity unless you take very high levels or have a deficiency of vitamin B-12, in which case it may result in nerve damage.
References
- "Functional Foods, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes"; Anna Arnoldi; 2004
- "Encyclopedia of Heart Diseases"; M. I. Gabriel Khan; 2005
- "Herb, Nutrient, and Drug Interactions: Clinical Implications and Therapeutic ... "; Mitchell Bebel Stargrove; 2008
- "The Natural Physician's Healing Therapies"; Mark Stengler; 2010
- "The Side Effects Bible: The Dietary Solution to Unwanted Side Effects of ..."; Frederic J. Vagnini; 2005
- "Encyclopedia of Heart Diseases"; M. I. Gabriel Khan; 2005
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