Garlic oil for cholesterol problems?

You've seen it on the vitamin shelves. You've heard people talk about it. And yes, you've probably smelled it. Garlic oil for lowering cholesterol levels and reducing coronary heart disease risk is not a new idea. Because populations whose diets include large amounts of garlic (among other differences) tend to have lower rates of coronary artery disease and death, garlic oil has been used to treat high cholesterol. However, there hasn't been much research on actual efficacy.

A recent double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of garlic oil on 25 patients with moderately high cholesterol levels. Patients were given five milligrams of garlic oil or a placebo twice a day for 12 weeks. While other studies have shown reductions in total cholesterol with garlic oil supplementation, in this study total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, and triglyceride levels were virtually unchanged following 12 weeks of either garlic oil or placebo. While it is possible that different doses, longer trial periods, cold processing of the garlic, or other variables might affect efficacy this study did not establish garlic oil as a good cholesterol-lowering tool. And then, there is that awful smell.

(Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998, Vol. 279, No. 23, pp. 1900-1902)