The Garlic Hotline hasn't even connected its toll-free number yet and already the calls are coming in at a rate of almost 50 a day.
Many of these are not true garlic emergencies. A lot of the calls so far, in fact, are from people who just want to share a garlic memory or two, thrilled that at last the medical community is paying attention to what garlic devotees have long believed: that the bulbous herb can keep you healthy.The Garlic Hotline, a clearinghouse for the latest garlic research, is operated out of the Cornell University Medical Center in New York City, which knows a hot health trend when its sees one (the center also has a calcium hotline and a Mediterranean diet hotline). What Americans are into in 1995, apparently, is medicinal garlic.
But that's not all. They're also into pine bark and grape seed extract and ginseng and flax seed oil and herbal formulas made from rare Russian vines and roots.
At the cutting edge of do-it-yourself health, vitamins are old news. The folks who are aggressively trying to stay well are into phyto-chemicals, designer antioxidants and "adaptogens."
But are these the magic potions their proponents claim? The definitive answer is not likely anytime soon. Double-blind studies take big money, the kind of money that only drug companies can come up with. And most drug companies don't want to spend a dime to research vegetables and herbs they can't patent.
In the meantime, though, increasing numbers of Americans seem unwilling to wait for hard science. They are enticed by info-mercials and slick mutlilevel marketing brochures and the testimonials of their next-door neighbors.
And they are lured by the age-old hope that somewhere out there, preferably in a little pill or a drink, preferably made from something that sounds "natural," there is a magic concoction that will stave off old age and sickness and even heavy thighs.
Of course in reality it's usually not that easy. As Martha Archuleta, professor of foods and nutrition at the Unviersity of Utah, says, "We wish we could give you the magic formula. But in health, it's more complicated than that."
Some of the big sellers:
Pine bark and grape seed extracts. These products top the list of best-sellers at several local health-food stores. Both pine bark (Pycnogenol is the most commonly known brand) and grape seed extract are antioxidants.
The theory of antioxidants starts with the generally accepted theory of free radicals - those sometimes plundering molecules that are present in our bodies in the tens of thousands. Free radicals can be caused by pollution, rancid oil, even breathing. And their effect, over time, can be devastating - on DNA, on cell membranes and on the proteins in our bodies.
"It's still a hypothesis, but there is lots of evidence that free radicals are an important player in pathogenesis and the aging process," says Jeffrey Blumberg, chief of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University.
There is "an enormous amount of scientific information regarding the benefit of a generous intake of Vitamin C, E and betacarotene," adds Blumberg. All three are antioxidants - chemicals that can fight free radicals either by mopping them up or helping to flush them away.
Beyond that, though, the details get a little murky. How much we should take of any particular antioxidant is still unproven.
The promoters of both pine bark and grape seed extract operate under the theory that if antioxidants are good for you, more is even better.
Both extracts contain an antioxidant called proanthocyanadin. A Utah-based multilevel marketing company called Pronog claims its grape seed extract (actually an extract of the seed's protective membrane) is 50 times more powerful than vitamin E and 20 times more powerful than vitamin C. "Almost a Miracle!" shouts the cover of the company's brochure.
Russ Toronto, a Salt Lake sports medicine doctor, says he has read the scientific literature about proanthocyandin and is impressed by its ability to cut down on cell mutation. Toronto believes that people need some form of antioxidant (and has noticed a decrease in joint and muscle aches since taking grape seed extract himself), but cautions, "No one can put their finger on what dosage is right."
Also unanswered is whether the solvents used to produce the extracts may, in the long-run, be harmful.
Garlic, broccoli and other wonder foods. Epidemiological studies are proving what you always feared: You really do need to eat your fruits and vegetables. "Fruit and vegetable consumption, especially vegetable, is linked across the board with reduced rates of cancer," says Clare M. Hasler, director of the Functional Foods for Health program at the University of Illinois.
But it has only been in the past few years that scientists have tried to determine exactly what the mechanism is in broccoli, for example, that appears to keep humans healthy.
Scientists like Brigham Young University's Byron Murray and Bronwyn Hughes are looking beyond vitamins and minerals to phytochemicals like dithiolthiones, isothiocyanates and allium. Although the chemicals have no nutritional value in the traditional sense (their absence would not leave you deficient), they may promote production of anticancer enzymes or have antiviral properties.
Lignan, a phytochemical in flaxseed, is touted by its supporters as helpful in the prevention and cure of cancer, heart disease and arthritis. Sales of flaxseed have been pretty steady locally, mostly among "the older crowd," says Asha Jensen of Scheibner's Health Store. As with most phyto-chem-i-cals, there have been no major clinical trials, but there have been some animals studies, says Hasler. "There is a fair amount of evidence that there are things in flaxseed that may be a cancer preventative."
Jumping on the phytochemical bandwagon, a few companies are introducing broccoli tablets and other pill forms of the vegetables that grownups often avoid.
But scientists are just starting to skim the surface in understanding how fruits and vegetables protect against disease, says Hasler. Once people start pulling out isolated chemicals and putting them in a pill, they may be overlooking some other key ingredient.
Even garlic - a legendary vampire repellant and, more recently, linked in scientific studies with lowered cholesterol, blood pressure, cancer risk and even as an effective weapon against the common cold - is something of a mystery. Much of the garlic research is done in test tubes and in rodents. No one is sure how much you should take, or in what form.
"All the facts aren't in yet about whether garlic is (more beneficial) cooked or fresh," says BYU's Hughes, or whether pills work as well as the pungent cloves themselves.
If you want the latest garlic information, you can try Cornell Medical Center's Garlic Hotline. The toll-free number (1-800-330-5922) will be up and running after Monday, Feb. 20. If you can't wait until then, the number is 1-212-746-1617.
Barbara Levine, director of Cornell's Nutrition Information Center, cautions that garlic should not be taken "in place of traditional medical care." But for possible preventive effects, she says that "one to two cloves a day is thought to be prudent."
Adaptogens. This is a word coined by the Russians as a term for herbs they say protect against stress by balancing all the body's systems.
Ginseng is an adaptogen (and one of Utah's best-selling herbs). So are a half-dozen exotic herbs - including Manchurian thorn tree and Ural licorice root - formulated by a multilevel marketing company called PrimeQuest (from the same folks that brought you the Cambridge Diet a decade ago).
"Adaptogens work at the cellular level - to improve the function of every cell in the body all at the same time," says the PrimeQuest brochure.
The brochure cites the work of Soviet scientist Israel Brekhman who, with a team of 1,200 biologists and physicians over a 45-year span, analyzed herbs from the far reaches of eastern Russia. According to PrimeQuest founder Vaughn Feather, the herbs have been used for decades on cosmonauts and Russian athletes to improve performance, endurance and recovery.
Utah County grandmother Mary Louise Zeller credits adaptogens with giving her the stamina to win state and national tae kwon do championships. A video distributed by the company contains testimonials by people who cite the product's beneficial effects - calmness, better grades, younger skin, weight loss, more energy.
Varro Tyler, professor of pharmacognesy (the study of drugs from natural sources) at Purdue University, cautions that "there is no sound proof that (the herbs) are effective" and there have been no long-term studies. "I'd be very careful of those that require daily consumption."
Weight-loss herbs and minerals. It's not hard to see why these are best-sellers. They are, after all, the answer to every dieter's prayer: a "natural" product that helps you lose weight. At least that's what the promotional literature says.
The two hottest items are "thermogenic" herbs and chromium picolinate.
Thermogenic herbs, according to the ads, control craving, increase energy and help the body burn fat.
Purdue's Tyler disagrees. "There might be a slight dulling of the appetite for a day or two," he says, "but the body adjusts quickly."
But there may be worse dangers than wasting one's money. Some of the thermogenics contain the herb ma huang (also known as ephedra) that can raise blood pressure and cause heart palpitations. Ma huang has been banned from the Olympics and in some states but is available in many herbal formulas sold in Utah. Check the list of ingredients of any product you might be tempted to buy.
Chromium picolinate is more benign, but may also be a waste of money, says Tyler.
A brochure for one company's product explains that chromium is needed in the efficient function of insulin. People who are poorly responsive to insulin, the brochure says, have increased appetites, sluggish metabolisms and poor muscle retention. It claims that nine out of 10 American diets are deficient in chromium, a fact that Tyler disputes.
Other big sellers.
- Ginko biloba: People are buying this as a brain oxidizer to improve memory and mental function, says Schiebner's Jensen.
- Echinacea: An herbal cold remedy that sells well at Kathy's and other local health food stores, especially during the winter.
- Shark cartilage: Promoted for its alleged anti-cancer and anti-arthritis properties.
- Saw palmetto: Bought by men with prostrate problems.
- Homeopathic remedies: Not exactly a new development but worth mentioning because it is now a $100 million industry, increasing at a rate of 25 percent a year, according to the National Center for Homeopathy. The remedies - extracts of plants, animal tissue or minerals - are substances that in larger doses and in healthy people would produce symptoms but taken in minute doses are said to stimulate the immune system so that the body can heal itself.