Artichokes for Lowering Cholesterol and Digestive Health

The globe artichoke is one of the oldest known cultivated vegetables, originating from Ethiopia, with Italy currently being the world’s largest producer.

It was valued in ancient Greece and Rome as a digestive aid, available only to the wealthy due to its scarcity.

It was the French and Spanish explorers who fist brought artichokes to the shores of the United States, and today virtually all of the globe artichokes grown in the US are produced in Castroville, California.

Health Benefits of Artichokes

Nutrients
Globe artichokes are an excellent source of dietary fiber, magnesium, and the trace mineral chromium. They are a very good source of vitamin C, folic acid, biotin, and the trace mineral manganese. They are a good source of niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, and potassium.

Cholesterol
There have been numerous studies on artichoke extract ever since European scientists first discovered cynarin's ability to lower cholesterol in the 1970's. Caffeoylquinic acids, such as cynarin are the active ingredients in artichokes that lower cholesterol, with higher concentrations in the leaves. A 6 week double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of 143 patients has demonstrated without a doubt to the effectiveness of artichoke leaf extract for lowering cholesterol. The decrease of total cholesterol in the group that received the extract was 18.5% compared to 8.6% in for the placebo group. LDL-cholesterol decrease in the AE group was 22.9% and 6.3% for placebo. LDL/HDL ratio showed a decrease of 20.2% in the AE group and 7.2% in the placebo group.. A compound found in artichoke called luteolinis is also believed to assist with reducing cholesterol.
Artichoke extract is available here..

Irritable bowel syndrome
In a trial involving 208 adults, results provide support for the notion that artichoke leaf extract has potential value in relieving IBS symptoms.

Indigestion
In a double-blind trial, 247 patients with dyspepsia (digestive problems) were treated with artichoke leaf extract, and the results demonstrated an improvement in their dyspeptic symptoms. Dyspepsia is often attributed to insufficient flow of bile from the gallbladder, and there is evidence that artichoke leaf has the ability to stimulate this flow.

Diabetes
The carbohydrate in artichokes is in the form of inulin, which has been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels in diabetics. The artichokes must be fresh, as the inulin will eventually convert to other sugars as the artichoke ages.

Hangovers
Contrary to what some would like to believe, a study demonstrated the ineffectiveness of artichoke extract in the cure of alcohol-induced hangovers.

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