Garlic extract can reduce inflammation, cholesterol
Q: I have read that people who eat garlic live longer, in part because it helps lower blood pressure and triglycerides. I hate the smell of garlic. Would a garlic supplement offer the same protection?
A: There are many types of garlic supplements, and they may act somewhat differently in the body. However, researchers have found that garlic extract can improve blood vessel flexibility and reduce inflammation and cholesterol more than placebo (Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, June 2018).
Another randomized, placebocontrolled trial found that aged garlic extract lowered markers of inflammation and immune excitation (Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, April 2018). Garlic extract appears to offer at least some of the benefits of fresh garlic in lowering blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar (Neurological Research, June 2018).
An intriguing study published in the journal Preventive Nutrition and Food Science (online, June 30, 2019) suggests that aged garlic extract also may help protect the brain.
Q: You have written in the past about bee or hornet stings easing pain. I have been battling plantar fasciitis for over a year. Two days ago, I stepped on a hornets’ nest and got more than 15 stings. Amazingly, the next day I woke up with no plantar fasciitis pain.
A: Most of the research on stings has been focused on preventing or treating dangerous allergic responses to bee stings. However, hornet venom is similar in many ways.
Surprisingly, animal research suggests that some insect venom can have anti-inflammatory activity and ease pain (Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, April 2015). This may explain why bee venom has been used for arthritis for thousands of years in ayurvedic medicine.
Some people are allergic to bee, hornet or wasp stings. For them, such an accident could be lifethreatening. Q: I was bitten by a tick in July 2007. Though that led to infection with Lyme disease, the doctor misdiagnosed me and prescribed prednisone. After three months, I was much worse.
The next doctor I saw made the correct diagnosis and treated me with 30 days of doxycycline. The Western blot test was still positive after my antibiotic course, although my doctor said I was cured because I had had the dose of antibiotics recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over the next decade, I struggled with worsening symptoms. Eventually an infectious disease doctor agreed that I had chronic Lyme disease. I was treated for a year with doxycycline and azithromycin (doxycycline for the active form bacteria, and azithromycin for the dormant cyst form). I have been mostly pain-free since then. Have there been any changes in the way Lyme disease is diagnosed and treated, so others won’t have to suffer as I did?
A: Lyme disease remains one of the most controversial and challenging infections that patients experience. According to the CDC, as many as 300,000 Americans contract this tick-borne disease annually.
Early symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache and sometimes rash. Treatment with an antibiotic is most effective in the early stages of Lyme infection, but the standard diagnostic tests are not very accurate during the first several weeks. As a result, some doctors in areas where Lyme disease is common begin antibiotic treatment even before the test results are available.
Physicians have been baffled by people who continue to suffer arthritis, brain fog, fatigue and other symptoms long after they have completed treatment. A recent estimate predicts that this total might soon reach almost 2 million people (BMC Public Health, April 24, 2019). New diagnostic approaches will use genomic techniques to identify the infection early, when it can be treated most successfully.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www.peoplespharmacy.com.