Garlic Oil May Slash Cardiovascular Risks Among Diabetics

People with diabetes have at least twice the risk of death from heart disease as non-diabetics, and cardiomyopathy is a type of heart disease that causes inflammation and weakening of the heart muscle tissue – increasing the risk of cardiovascular-related death among diabetics.  Wei-Wen Kuo, from China Medical University (Taiwan), and colleagues conducted a test among laboratory animals modeling the diabetes condition, giving them either garlic oil or corn oil.  Animals given garlic oil experienced beneficial changes associated with protection against heart damage. The changes appeared to be associated with the potent antioxidant properties of garlic oil, with researchers positing the effect as a result of over twenty substances in garlic oil that may be responsible for it.  The team concludes that: “Garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy.”