The Effect of Regular Aerobic Exercise and Garlic Supplementation on Lipid Profile and Blood Pressure in Inactive Subjects

Regular exercise and consuming garlic can independently improve blood pressure and lipid profile. However, combining these lifestyle modifications may be more effective than either intervention alone. We examined the combined effect of garlic supplementation and regular exercise on lipid profile and blood pressure in inactive young men. Patients and In this semi-experimental study, 36 young inactive men (20 - 30 years old) were randomly assigned to one of the following interventions: Garlic (G), Training and Garlic (TG), Placebo (P), and Training and Placebo (TP). Subjects consumed 2 capsules per day which contained 500 mg of garlic powder or placebo. The training groups performed aerobic training including 30 - 45 minutes running at 60 - 75% of maximum heart rate. The exercise training program consisted of running on treadmill 4 times/week. Prior to and after 4 weeks of interventions blood pressure was recorded and blood samples were taken in order to assess lipid profile. Two-way repeated measures analysis and Bonferroni post-hoc test were used to analyze the data. Garlic consumption simultaneous with regular exercise lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure and there was significant difference between TG and P groups (P > 0.05). We observed no significant difference among groups in triglyceride, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels (P > 0.05). Yet, HDL-C levels significantly increased in TG group compared to pre-test levels (P > 0.05). We conclude that the combination of regular aerobic exercise and garlic supplementation might be more effective on blood pressure than either intervention alone.