Garlic

[POTSparent]

Somewhere in my readings, I made a mental note that a POTS patient should avoid Garlic. It didn't come from the "avoid" list on DINET, but somewhere else. I'm not a garlic fan or advocate. However, the reason behind the "avoid" is less obvious to me than something like caffeine. Does anyone have a clue why a POTS patient should avoid garlic other than chasing away your potential "catchers" if you were to faint?

[blackwolf]

Dear POTSparent, I also read that. I believe the statement was that garlic and nitrates can lower your blood pressure. Although I never saw it in a study. Your guess is as good as mine. I do know that food preserved with nitrites make my heart pound and race. My mother has the same problem. Hers is getting better. I tolerate it because sometimes I just want to have it.

Mabey do an open search on the web and see what you find.

Good Luck

Blackwolf

[Merrill]

I just did a quick google search for garlic and "blood pressure" and got a gazillion hits. This quote is from the first link: Clinical bottom line: Based on trials of generally moderate to poor quality, garlic supplement of 600-900 mg/day for one to three months is associated with a modest reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This reduction is likely to be clinically relevant. Not all patients studied were hypertensive, and more information is required to assess the effect of garlic specifically in hypertensives, and to establish a dose-response relationship and the duration of benefit.

You can read a lot more on this topic ... I don't know whether we're talkin' major garlic supplements or using a clove in your spaghetti sauce ... I suppose it would depend on how sensitive your system is. Interesting topic!

[opus88]

Garlic is known as a helpful supplement for those with high blood pressure. But it also makes my blood sugar drop, creating even more trouble.