Nutritional Advice El MondoObjectives:
Garlic is a common spicy flavouring agent also used for certain therapeutic purposes. Garlic's effects on blood glucose have been the subject of many clinical and animal studies. However, studies reporting hypoglycemic effects of garlic in humans are conflicting. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.
Has garlic supplementation lowering effects on glycemic control measurements such as fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial glucose (PPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c)?
Study design:
This review article included a total of 7 RCTs (parallel design) that involved 9 comparisons with 513 subjects. The trials varied in size from 33 to 180 subjects. The study duration varied from 4 to 24 week (median: 12 week). The trials enrolled male and female subjects, both healthy and with diabetes.
Doses of garlic in the treatment group ranged from 600 to 1500 mg/d.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found pooled analyses showed that garlic supplementation resulted in a statistically significant lowering in fasting blood glucose [SMD = -1.67, 95% CI = -2.80 to -0.55, p = 0.004].
The investigators could not perform a pooled analyse for postprandial glucose (PPG) control and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) outcomes, because only 1 study included in the meta-analysis reported PPG variables and only 2 studies reported HbA1c variables.
The investigators concluded that garlic supplementation (600 to 1500 mg/d) during 12 weeks results in a lowering in fasting blood glucose. More trials are needed to investigate the effectiveness of garlic on HbA1c and PPG.
Original title:
Garlic intake lowers fasting blood glucose: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials by Hou LQ, Liu YH and Zhang YY.
Link:
http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/24/4/575.pdf
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on diabetes and garlic right here.