Jim LaValle is a nationally recognized clinical pharmacist, board-certified clinical nutritionist, naturopathic doctorate and founder of LaValle Metabolic Institute, a highly respected interdisciplinary healthcare facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. An author of more than 17 books on health including Cracking the Metabolic Code, he is a favorite interviewee for natural-healthrelated media, having done more than 500 television and radio appearances.
When a patient goes to the LaValle Metabolic Institute (LMI), he or she is evaluated and advised by a team of board-certified physicians who work in the field of integrative care to address the full spectrum of health care. Nutritional supplements are always part of the protocol for an individual’s health plan. Jim Lavalle knows nutritional supplements like the back of his hand—he has written three databases about them. Along with quality multivitamin, probiotic and omega-3 supplements, he believes that pretty much everyone could benefit from taking a daily dose of Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract (AGE). Having read more than 700 clinical studies exploring the health benefits of AGE and from his own personal experience with patients showing marked improvement supplementing with AGE, he’s convinced of the viable health support AGE provides. This month, Jim shares the important and varied health-promoting benefits of AGE.
Healthy Living: In terms of health benefits, how
is Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract different from dietary
garlic or regular garlic pills?
Jim LaValle: The difference between ordinary garlic
and AGE is similar to the difference between
eating cabbage and eating sauerkraut. When you
make sauerkraut, you are fermenting the cabbage.
And when you do that, new chemicals come
to light. Byproducts of that fermentation process
happen. When you age garlic, a whole different
life starts to occur with chemical compounds that
are in the garlic. The fermentation/aging process
neutralizes many of the volatile compounds in the
garlic—its scent, for example. Furthermore, the aging
process synthesizes new compounds that are
incredibly beneficial to people’s health. And that’s
where the magic is. It enhances the nutrient and
clinical value you are getting because of the new
compounds that are formed. That’s the real key.
There are 700 published studies on AGE. There’s an extensive amount of science behind a nutritional
supplement—it’s unheard of, really. The overwhelming
majority of them are showing benefits in a lot of
different areas. That’s the other reason I like it. I recommend
it to our patients because they get a lot of
benefit out of taking a single compound.
It’s important to note that with ordinary garlic or
even other non-aged garlic compounds, there’s no
way to standardize the potency or purity. The fact
that you can make AGE and it can be consistently
standardized for an elegant finished dosage form
is extremely important from a purity as well as an
efficacy standpoint.
What about calcification of the arteries? Can
AGE help support arterial health?
Absolutely. Interestingly, another study published
recently showed that when people take AGE, bone
mineral density improves—and calcification of the
arteries is directly linked to bone mineral density
loss. AGE actually has been reported to inhibit arterial
plaque formation. There’s even some evidence
that shows AGE might reverse calcification.
In some of the studies Dr. Matthew Budoff at the
University of California, Los Angeles, conducted,
the coronary scores of subjects who were treated
medically with statins and aspirin showed that their
rate of plaque buildup dropped almost 70 percent
after taking AGE. To me, that’s fantastic! That’s
huge. When you look at the forces that AGE is acting
on—keeping capillaries pliable and inhibiting
bone mineral density loss, which is directly linked to the calcification of your arteries—it’s powerful.
Studies also show that AGE neutralizes the oxidation
of LDL cholesterol. Oxidized LDL cholesterol
contributes to plaque buildup. That’s another really
big deal. AGE is acting like an antioxidant. AGE
has also been shown to lower homocysteine levels.
Elevated homocysteine is associated with heart
disease. When homocysteine goes up, it’s bad for
capillaries—as well as the kidneys and the brain.
It’s associated with memory loss. AGE also helps
reduce C-reactive protein in the body, a marker for
inflammation. You can see how AGE is important to
heart health in a myriad of ways. For people who
are on blood-thinning medication like Coumadin,
it’s important to note that AGE does not react with
it like regular garlic does. AGE is safe to take with
blood-thinning medication.
Have you personally witnessed improvement
in patients who supplement with AGE?
We typically take a look at our patients’ blood under
the microscope as part of our initial workup. In
some cases, we see red blood cells sticking together
and that are forming fibrin. We call it “stickiness”
or adhesion, and it is a risk factor for heart
disease. We have patients like these take at least
1,000 mg of AGE daily for month. And when we look
at their blood again— lo and behold, their blood
cells are freely moving around—no more stickiness
or adhesion!
How does AGE support immune health?
We know that people who take AGE on a regular
basis get fewer colds and flu—and recover from
colds and flu more quickly. AGE helps improve the
surveillance abilities of the immune system. It does
this by enhancing the effect of gamma delta T cells in the gut as well as natural killer (NK) cells. AGE
is a great supplement to take as we head into the
colder months because it keeps the immune system
sharp. Also, AGE does a great job inhibiting
yeast growth or Candida albicans. With poor diet
and the use of antibiotics and other medications,
these unfriendly microflora in the gut can get out
of control. And since 70 percent of your immune
system is in your gut, it makes sense that you might
want to try to keep your immune system intact and
vigilant. Some evidence shows that AGE helps inhibit
the proliferation of H. pylori, an unfriendly bacteria
of the gut that thrives in an overly acidic environment
and can cause gastritis and ulcers. This is
significant because so many people are taking antacids.
The number-two prescribed drug in the United
States is a proton-pump inhibitor. Some people
with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and
acid reflux issues are on these drugs for years—
drugs that were intended for only short-term use.
Because of that, these people are much more likely
to have a bug like H. pylori, which has been associated
with increased gastric cancer risk.
What other surprising health benefits might
one get from AGE?
There’s not a lot of talk about this, but AGE may lower
the body’s stress response. Research is indicating
that AGE acts as a kind of adaptogen, regulating
the fight-or-flight stress hormones epinephrine
and norepinephrine. And this makes sense with its
heart-healthy properties. If you lower the hormonal
stress response, blood vessels relax.
During the aging process, S-allyl cysteine
(SAC) is formed, which enhances the body’s ability
to make glutathione. Glutathione is the principle
antioxidant the body makes and is critical to kidney
function, red blood cell integrity, liver health and the
health of just about every tissue in the body. It supports
detoxification, which is very important with the
amount of environmental pollution we encounter.
Do you recommend Kyolic’s AGE as part of a
daily supplement regimen?
Yes, I do. I think the majority of people can benefit
by taking AGE on a regular basis. It’s one of the
things we recommend to virtually all of our patients
at LMI. Along with an omega-3 supplement, a probiotic
and a multivitamin, it’s a first line of dietary
supplement. AGE addresses the health challenges
people are facing today. Heart disease, gastrointestinal
problems, stress, immune health, detoxification—
it has it all.
Resources
Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract is
available at natural food and
product supermarkets nationwide.
Customers can choose from 20
different Kyolic formulas to match
any number of health needs. For
more information, visit
www.kyolic.com or call
800-421-2998.