BLOOD PRESSURE 7 • AGE appears to be more beneficial than raw garlic. A 2006 study showed a decrease in systolic blood pressure with the use of both raw garlic and AGE. However, AGE appeared to improve arterial flexibility, while raw garlic did not. • Garlic products that promise to deliver allicin—a key health-promoting agent—are also suspect. Allicin is a highly reactive compound that, when taken orally, disappears quickly in the body. In one study, researchers evaluated the allicin content of eight different garlic products from health food stores. Not even trace amounts of allicin were detected. AGE, on the other hand, is made from only organically grown garlic bulbs that have not been exposed to pesticides, herbicides, or heavy metals. Organically grown foods are not only less toxic, research suggests that they provide higher levels of antioxidants. This unique form of garlic is aged at room temperature for 20 months. Through a proprietary aging process, the beneficial antioxidants in garlic are extracted and stabilized. One of these key antioxidants, S-allylcysteine, has a 98 percent absorption rate into the bloodstream. This is a remarkably high percentage of bioavailability. The compound allicin, responsible for garlic’s distinctive odor, “fades out” during the aging process. This creates an odor-free garlic often referred to as “social garlic”. In one study, researchers at Brown University School of Medicine investigated the impact of AGE on 41 men between the ages of 32 to 68. Participants were given either nine 800-mg Aged Garlic Extract capsules or a placebo daily. After six months, the groups switched, so the former placebo group took AGE for four months. Although this study focused on cholesterol levels, researchers also found a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure associated with taking AGE. No adverse effects were reported. Nattokinase Derived from natto, a fermented soybean product popular in Japan, nattokinase is a potent dietary enzyme. At the University of Chicago in 1980, researcher Hiroyuki Sumi discovered the blood clot- busting activity of nattokinase. Like aspirin, nattokinase helps thin the blood. In addition, it appears to dissolve the tiny fibers (fibrin) that hold blood clots together. In fact, nattokinase’s properties have been compared to plasmin, a clot-busting enzyme naturally present in the bloodstream. Natto also provides compounds called “angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors” (ACE). These compounds prevent angiotensin, a polypeptide hormone, from increasing water and salt retention in the body. In this way, natto protects against hypertension. Moreover, natto has been shown to lower systolic blood pressure by up to 10.9 percent and diastolic blood pressure by 9.7 percent. Human studies have found similar results. During one trial of 73 individuals with borderline hypertension, South Korean researchers confirmed that nattokinase reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure–and it did so in just eight weeks. Note: Nattokinase is not recommended for anyone taking warfarin, aspirin, or any other blood- thinning agent unless under a doctor’s supervision. Its safety in children and pregnant or nursing women is not known.