Alternative Health Blog

The artichoke’s reputation precedes itself. Most people consider the veggie to be more trouble than it’s worth in whole form. A new study says, think again, artichoke avoiders, because the plant’s leaves have cholesterol-busting properties.

But artichokes are a hassle to prepare, right? That’s why you pick up organic artichokes heart flash-sealed in a can or perhaps on the progressive salad bar in your neighborhood.

And, OK, maybe some folks grew up to love steamed artichoke leaves as an appetizer with dip or discovered the same as adults. But let’s just say that artichokes only come before, oh, broccoli, carrots and spinach in the alphabet.

Until now. Researchers at the University of Reading in England reported in the July issue of the journal Phytomedicine that over-the-counter artichoke leaf extract can lower cholesterol in individuals with moderately raised levels of the substance widely associated with plaque buildup and cardiovascular disease. With Americans spending millions on cholesterol drugs, this study offers a natural and money-saving upside.

Not bad for a vegetable maligned on the classic, old-time television show, “The Little Rascals,” when during one episode a character was urged to try the veggie: “It might have choked Arty, but it’s not gonna choke me,” replied one of the Rascals.

The British study is no joke. Seventy-five volunteers were give four 320-milligram capsules daily for 12 weeks. Compared to a control taking a placebo, the artichoke leaf extract group enjoyed a favorable reduction in total cholesterol.

Researchers used an extract made from globe artichokes that are what we all recognize as an artichoke. The dietary supplement is widely available here in the U.S., costing about $14 to $18 for 180 500-milligram capsules.

Glove artichokes have been used in European folk medicine for centuries to improve digestion and urinary tract health. Preparations of the extract are marketed in Germany and Switzerland as potential healing agents for irritable bowel syndrome.

The study’s researchers were moved to point out that volunteers in the study were otherwise healthy individuals who had raised cholesterol. They are not suggesting that artichoke leaf extract be substituted for prescribed cholesterol drugs about that the dietary supplemenrt “may provide another option which people could try over and above a healthy diet in order to help lower cholesterol.”

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.