Many people, including this author, find garlic to be very tasty when added to certain foods. Garlic, taken by mouth, is available as powdered extracts, in pill form, garlic oils or garlic cloves. Three of four studies examined showed no benefit of garlic on lowering blood cholesterol levels. The one study that concluded garlic was beneficial in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure showed very modest results that were not likely to be statistically significant. 1 Several studies have suggested that garlic may reversibly inhibit platelet activity.
Platelets are a specialized type of blood cell that clump together to prevent bleeding.
Aspirin is an irreversible platelet inhibitor. It has been speculated, but not scientifically demonstrated, that this property may help prevent heart attacks and strokes due to the development of blood clots in cholesterol narrowed arteries of the heart and brain. If you are scheduled to have surgery, remember to tell your surgeon and anesthesia specialist that you are taking garlic. In some cases they may want you to discontinue taking the garlic supplement prior to the surgery. Even if garlic does not lower cholesterol or blood pressure there is no harm in taking it for a vast majority of people.