Garlic's Healing Power: Nutrition, Uses, and Who Should Be Careful

In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about garlic: how to reduce its strong smell, the differences between fresh and dried garlic, important considerations for consumption, the best complementary foods to pair with garlic, who can benefit the most from it, and practical tips on how to include it in your diet.

Active Compounds in Garlic

In every 100 grams of fresh, raw garlic, there are 149 kilocalories of energy, along with various nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugars, fiber, fats, and protein. Garlic also contains a range of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, manganese, and selenium.
Garlic is rich in sulfur compounds, which give it disinfectant and antimicrobial properties. Additionally, garlic contains substances like allicin and allisatin, which are effective in eliminating bacteria responsible for typhoid and paratyphoid.
The nutrient content per 100 grams of raw garlic is as follows:

• Water
• Energy: 6 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 29 grams
• Fat: 0.2 mg
• Calcium: 30 mg
• Phosphorus: 200 mg
• Potassium: 530 mg
• Iron: 1.5 mg
• Sodium: 20 mg
• Vitamin A: 20 IU
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 0.25 mg
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 0.8 mg
• Vitamin C: 15 mg

Who Should Eat Garlic?

Garlic consumption can be beneficial for the following groups:
✓ Individuals with a cold temperament
✓ Those with a melancholic or phlegmatic temperament
✓ People with a low level of daily activity who experience obesity or overweight
✓ Middle-aged and elderly individuals
✓ Adolescents
✓ People sensitive to cold weather

Who Should Avoid Eating Garlic?

In certain cases, garlic consumption can have adverse effects, especially when consumed in its immature form, which may cause breathing difficulties and unexpected reactions. Here are the groups of individuals who should avoid garlic:
1. People Taking Anticoagulant Medications:
Garlic is a natural anticoagulant and is beneficial for blood circulation, but it can increase the risk of excessive bleeding when combined with anticoagulant drugs.
2. Individuals with Heart Palpitations:
If garlic consumption triggers heart palpitations, it is advisable to avoid it or consume it with caution.
3. People with Skin Sensitivities:
Garlic can be harmful for those with skin allergies or sensitivities, potentially aggravating their condition.
4. Individuals with Low Blood Pressure:
Garlic may cause a further drop in blood pressure, so it is best for people with naturally low or borderline blood pressure to avoid it.
5. People with Liver Conditions:
Garlic can interfere with the effectiveness of certain medications, particularly liver medications and contraceptives, and may reduce their efficacy.
6. Individuals with Digestive Issues:
Garlic can be heavy on the digestive system, so those with sensitive or compromised digestion should avoid it.
7. Pregnancy:
Garlic is not recommended as a treatment during pregnancy and should only be consumed under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Differences Between Fresh and Dried Garlic

Fresh garlic is generally considered more beneficial than dried garlic, offering a higher range of health properties. According to traditional Iranian medicine, garlic has a very warm and dry temperament, which can cause heart palpitations in some individuals after consumption. Cooking does not neutralize garlic’s warm nature, so people who experience this reaction should also exercise caution with cooked garlic. To cook garlic, steam it for three minutes after peeling.
Additionally, hanging or spreading a bundle of garlic in a grain storage area can help repel mice.

Reducing Garlic's Strong Smell

One of the main issues with consuming garlic is its strong, unpleasant odor, which causes bad breath and can spread through the air, discomforting those around you. In many cultures and religions, eating garlic and attending social gatherings is discouraged for this reason. When you consume garlic, especially raw garlic, its odor tends to linger in your mouth.
Keep in mind that these antibiotic compounds, which boost the immune system and support the circulatory system, are the reason for garlic's pungent smell. This smell is a byproduct of the protective effects garlic has against various infections.

To reduce garlic's strong odor, try the following tips:

• Get used to the smell: Encourage everyone in the household to eat garlic so that everyone can enjoy better health together.
• Opt for cooked garlic: Cooking garlic helps reduce its strong odor.
• Using mouthwash, or chewing parsley, parsley seeds, or cardamom can help alleviate the pungency of garlic.
• Eat vegetables and lettuce: The chlorophyll in these greens can help neutralize garlic's smell.
• The best solution: Chop garlic and swallow it with honey syrup to minimize the odor.

Ingredients to Balance Garlic’s Properties

Garlic naturally has a warming effect, so it’s often paired with balancing ingredients to offset this heat. Given garlic’s strong warming properties, combining it with these balancing ingredients is recommended for a more balanced effect.
The balancing ingredients for garlic include:
Organic Vinegar: for example, consuming garlic in the form of pickled garlic.
Pomegranate juice or honey vinegar syrup.
Saltwater or Almond oil: cooking garlic in saltwater or with almond oil helps to moderate its heat.

How to Consume Garlic?

Garlic can be consumed both raw and cooked. Due to its strong flavor, many people may not prefer to eat it raw. It can be chopped and eaten raw, or mashed or grated and added to various dishes. The highest health benefits of garlic are achieved when it is consumed raw and chopped.
Sautéing garlic in olive oil is also a good option. Garlic can be used fresh, dried, or in oil form. However, since some beneficial compounds in garlic lose their potency when exposed to heat, cooked garlic has reduced medicinal effectiveness.
Garlic powder can also be a good alternative.
However, one of the best ways to consume garlic is by using Black Garlic.

Usage Considerations for Garlic

• According to research, excessive garlic consumption can lead to headaches and vision impairment.
• If garlic is consumed in excess, particularly in its raw form, without considering the individual's age, temperament, and season, it can be harmful to the respiratory system and worsen hemorrhoid conditions.
• Patients taking anticoagulant medications should exercise caution with garlic consumption. It is also recommended that individuals scheduled for surgery avoid garlic for seven to ten days prior, as it can increase bleeding time.
• Excessive garlic consumption can cause dizziness, low blood pressure, allergies, and, in rare cases, bleeding.
• Applying concentrated garlic ointment may cause skin irritation and even mild burns.
• It is recommended to consume half or one clove of raw garlic daily.
• Garlic thins the blood, so it is recommended that individuals taking blood thinning medications like warfarin, clopidogrel, and aspirin reduce their garlic consumption or consult their doctor before using it.
• Garlic can cause allergic reactions in some individuals, with symptoms including irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, mouth and throat sores, nausea, and breathing difficulties. People who are allergic to garlic may also be sensitive to other plants like onions, leeks, shallots, ginger, and bananas, so it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional before consuming garlic.
• Garlic and garlic-containing supplements can thin the blood, and pregnant women, particularly during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as individuals who have had surgery, should avoid consuming garlic in large amounts to prevent bleeding risks.
• Numerous reports of garlic burns have been published, so special care should be taken when giving garlic to young children. A traditional method to check for garlic sensitivity is to rub half a garlic clove on the skin of the hand. If swelling and redness occur, it may indicate a sensitivity.
• People with constipation should avoid consuming garlic. To reduce its adverse effects, garlic should be cooked with water and salt, and a bit of almond oil or butter should be added to make it less harmful.
• Those with weak stomachs or generally poor digestive systems should not overconsume garlic.
• According to the Iranian physician Avicenna, individuals with a hot temperament should cook the garlic or use pickled garlics if they want to consume it.
• People with low blood pressure should avoid garlic.
• Those with allergies should refrain from using garlic.

✓ Important Note:
Garlic should be consumed based on age, temperament, and season.
Despite its many benefits, garlic should be consumed in moderation. Overconsumption, without considering factors like age, season, and temperament, can lead to headaches, blood heat, damage to the eyes, lungs, and sexual issues, and may be harmful for hemorrhoids.

Garlic Consumption in Modern Medicine

The root of the garlic plant is medically significant. Patients with a history of thrombosis (blood clot formation in blood vessels or the heart) should be aware that garlic can have a slight but important effect on platelet aggregation.

Additionally, patients should be informed that garlic has properties that reduce the risk of cancer, particularly stomach and colon cancers.

Garlic, due to its sulfur content, increases glutathione levels in the blood. This increase in glutathione within the body’s cells enhances antioxidant activity in all cells, helping to prevent the onset of cancer. Garlic prevents the growth of cancerous cells in the early stages and boosts the immune system, acting as a potent antidote against cancer cells.

In China, people consume at least six cloves of garlic daily, and one reason for the low rate of stomach cancer in China is garlic consumption. Due to its antibiotic properties, garlic also helps cleanse the blood.

The allicin in garlic naturally increases antioxidant enzymes and glutathione peroxidase levels in the blood. This process can reduce the toxic effects of nicotine in the body and prevent liver disease and damage by inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

Consuming one clove of garlic a day strengthens overall health, while eating two to three cloves daily can help prevent colds. Garlic's antibacterial properties make it highly effective in treating coughs, sore throats, and voice strain. It also cleanses the respiratory and circulatory systems, reducing the severity and difficulty of breathing problems and alleviating upper respiratory tract infections.

Garlic is also beneficial in regulating blood sugar levels by increasing insulin secretion in diabetic patients. It effectively lowers homocysteine levels in the blood and helps in treating diabetes symptoms and some of its complications.

By consuming garlic, you can prevent blood clotting or thrombosis in the heart's arteries. Garlic produces nitric oxide in the blood, which causes blood vessels to dilate and reduces the formation of blood clots in the vessels.

Studies show that garlic can control high cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular diseases. It helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, making it beneficial for heart diseases.

Garlic is also used to treat infections, particularly those affecting the chest, digestive disorders, and fungal infections like candidiasis. Due to its bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties, garlic serves as a natural disinfectant.
Garlic increases the absorption of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the body and helps prevent beriberi disease. The breath we experience from garlic is due to the conversion of the sulfur compound alliin to allicin within the body. Garlic is also a rich source of selenium, which has strong antibacterial properties and helps prevent blood clots in the arteries.

Laboratory studies have shown that allicin and its related compounds inhibit the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a key role in cholesterol production in the liver.

Several medical studies have demonstrated that garlic reduces blood fat levels. It prevents arterial blockage, shows antioxidant activity, and reduces LDL cholesterol levels both in humans and laboratory settings. In patients with artery blockages, garlic reduces the formation of cholesterol esters in the cells of the aorta.

Rubbing garlic on a stye or eyelid pimple can help treat these conditions.
Throughout history, garlic has been used worldwide to treat various ailments, including high blood pressure, infections, and even snake bites. In some cultures, it was also believed to ward off evil spirits.
Studies have shown that garlic can reduce high blood pressure by 1 to 5%. While this may seem like a small reduction, it can lead to a 30–40% decrease in the risk of stroke and a 20–25% reduction in the risk of heart disease.

Today, garlic is available in various forms, such as pills and oils, offering its benefits in different therapeutic products.

Recently, one of the hospitals in the United States has started using garlic to disinfect hospital spaces.

Related Articles

The Ultimate Guide to Black Garlic: Benefits, Uses, and Precautions

External Sources

• 11 Proven Health Benefits of Garlic
• Healthy Uses for Garlic
• Garlic - Uses, Side Effects, and More

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