Garlic powder intake and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although preclinical studies suggest that garlic has potential preventive effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, clinical trials and reports from systematic reviews or meta-analyses present inconsistent results. The contradiction might be attributed to variations in the manufacturing process that can markedly influence the composition of garlic products. To investigate this issue further, we performed a meta-analysis of the effects of garlic powder on CVD risk factors. MATERIALS/METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct and EMBASE through May 2014. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on 22 trials reporting total cholesterol (TC), 17 trials reporting LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), 18 trials reporting HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), 4 trials reporting fasting blood glucose (FBG), 9 trials reporting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 10 trials reporting diastolic blood pressure (DBP). RESULTS: The overall garlic powder intake significantly reduced blood TC and LDL-C by -0.41 mmol/L (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.69, -0.12) (-15.83 mg/dL [95% CI, -26.64, -4.63]) and -0.21 mmol/L (95% CI, -0.40, -0.03) (-8.11 mg/dL [95% CI, -15.44, -1.16]), respectively. The mean difference in the reduction of FBG levels was -0.96 mmol/L (95% CI, -1.91, -0.01) (-17.30 mg/dL [95% CI, -34.41, -0.18]). Evidence for SBP and DBP reduction in the garlic supplementation group was also demonstrated by decreases of -4.34 mmHg (95% CI, -8.38, -0.29) and -2.36 mmHg (95% CI, -4.56, -0.15), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides consistent evidence that garlic powder intake reduces the CVD risk factors of TC, LDL-C, FBG and BP.

Evaluation of Traditional Aspects of School Lunch Menus in Korea by Analyzing Dish Group Composition / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to analyze traditional aspects of school lunch menus in Korea. We conducted a content analysis of menu-related contents included in guidelines for school lunch programs provided by 16 city and provincial education offices. In addition, the data of 10,495 menus for the third week of December 2010 and March, July, October 2011 from 557 elementary, middle, and high school were analyzed by school grade, area, and province. The results showed that there were no specific and detailed guidelines for menu planning in terms of traditional food culture in most of the guidelines for school lunch programs. However, the basic traditional menu composition was maintained in school lunch menus. The percentage of menus including rice and Kimchi was 97% and 95%, respectively, and that including Korean soup was about 72%. However, the frequency of serving Namul, Korean seasoned vegetable dish, accounted for only about 52% of the menus. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern including such five food groups as rice, Korean soup, Kimchi, Namul, and optional Korean side dish was only about 35%. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern excluding Namul from the five food groups accounted for about 30%. The traditional food group score, calculated by allocating 1 point to each of the five food groups was 4.06 out of 5 points on average. Elementary schools and schools in rural area and in Jeolla-do province served traditional menus more frequently. In conclusion, school lunch programs need to consider establishing traditional foods-based standards and relevant guidelines for school lunch, particularly for high schools and schools in urban areas and in some provinces.