Kyolic Garlic capsules - Vitamins & Supplements Message Board

RageOfAngels · 04-22-2003, 01:24 PM

First off, I am wondering what people think of the benefits of taking garlic capsules. Is it going to produce a similar benefit to eating garlic?

Also, recently I noticed that Vitamin Shoppe produces a line of garlic capsules, but if you read the bottle, the stuff they are selling is produced by the very same manufacturer who produces the Kyolic garlic capsules....it is apparently the same product, but cheaper! Does that make sense? The only thing I can think of is that in the Vitamin Shoppe brand you are not paying for the name or the advertising of Kyolic. But if the product is indeed the same, I'll go with the Vitamin Shoppe brand, because you get 50% more for the same price.

Any thoughts?

ramsemonius · 04-22-2003, 03:54 PM

Seems logical, if you are sure its made by Kyolic. You should know, however, that Kyolic is aged garlic extract, so the chemical composition is different than fresh garlic. There is debate on which is better, aged or fresh, but as I understand it the aged method goes back hundreds of years in asia, and I know Kyolic is a pretty good company and has demonstrated some of the benefits through testing. Those are my thoughts. Good luck!

Ramsemonius.

RageOfAngels · 04-23-2003, 10:00 PM

Yes, thanks for the responce. That would be my next question, whether or not there is much of a benefit to taking garlic capsules as opposed to eating garlic either cooked or raw. I have heard differing opinions on the subject....reason I am so interested now is that money is tight and I am trying to limit the amount of supplements I buy. If garlic capsules are not that effective for the benefits that garlic is suppoed to have, I will consider just trying to eat more "real" garlic.

If anyone has any further insight, please step in here....

ramsemonius · 04-24-2003, 11:05 AM

Raw garlic burns the hell out of my mouth and stomach if taken on empty. However, as I understand it, the most well-studied beneficial compounds in galic are only present when the garlic is fresh and it has been crushed or pulverized, which activates it. When you cook garlic, those particular compounds are destroyed, but I know that there are lots of other sulfur compounds, selenium and other nutrients that cooked garlic still provides. I beleive that cooked or partially cooked garlic still has health benefits. For example one study showed that adding minced garlic to hamburgers prior to cooking help reduce the formation of cancer-causing polyamines from cooking (1). Another study found extensive correlations between cooked garlic consumption and reduced risks of various cancers (2,3) These same studies showed no apparent benefit from garlic supplements. Yet another study showed that people who consume more garlic in food have lower blood pressure (4). There are a few studies that showed when garlic is boiled, it loses much of its anti-blood clotting/ blood thinning effects. So overall, it looks like cooked garlic is still quite beneficial!

-Ramsemonius

References:

1. Shin IS, Rodgers WJ, Gomaa EA, Strasburg GM, Gray JI. Inhibition of heterocyclic aromatic amine formation in fried ground beef patties by garlic and selected garlic-related sulfur compounds. J Food Prot. 2002 Nov;65(11):1766-70.

2. Kim HJ, Chang WK, Kim MK, Lee SS, Choi BY. Dietary factors and gastric cancer in Korea: a case-control study. Int J Cancer. 2002 Feb 1;97(4):531-5.

3. Fleischauer AT, Arab L. Garlic and cancer: a critical review of the epidemiologic literature.
J Nutr. 2001 Mar;131(3s):1032S-40S.

4. Qidwai W, Qureshi R, Hasan SN, Azam SI. Effect of dietary garlic (Allium Sativum) on the blood pressure in humans--a pilot study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2000 Jun;50(6):204-7.

Audrey-B · 04-25-2003, 01:18 AM

I think most people avoid the raw garlic due to what it can do to your breath later.

My mother, years and years ago, cut up a clove of garlic three times a day and mixed it with water and drank it to recover from high blood pressure. When she went back to the doctor he couldn't believe her blood pressure was normal. He asked her if she had taken all the prescription medication and she lied that she had.
A friend of our family who is a nurse said that once you go on blood pressure tablets for slight high blood pressure that you will be on the tablets for life and treating it naturally is best if you don't have a severe case of high blood pressure.