{"id":42023,"date":"2024-05-09T09:40:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T16:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=42023"},"modified":"2025-12-17T08:57:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:57:23","slug":"health-benefits-of-garlic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/health-benefits-of-garlic\/","title":{"rendered":"Enhance Your Food &amp; Health With Garlic"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Enhance Your Food &amp; Health With Garlic<\/h1>\t\t<time>May 9, 2024<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_580b8f20814c98948726ccf41265e715\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>It\u2019s a humble little bulb vegetable, but capable of making a sauce sparkle with flavor to fighting bacteria and disease. Garlic has been a food-superhero for centuries for many cultures around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long before the advent of antibiotics and other pharmaceutical products, garlic was widely recognized for its ability to stave off bacteria, virus, fungi and parasites. It was even used to fight disease during epidemics for typhus, dysentery, cholera and influenza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-garlic-s-benefits\">Garlic\u2019s Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn more recent years, garlic has been shown to offer protections to the heart and can play a role in reducing some cancers. Garlic also can serve as a boost to the immune system,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/gleason-robert-bob-1841944238\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Robert \u201cBob\u201d Gleason, PA-C<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-family-medicine-main-st\/\">Samaritan Family Medicine &#8211; Main St.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Studies have found that garlic can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduce blood pressure by minimizing the constriction of blood vessels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relieve inflammation in muscles and joints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce the itch and swelling of certain fungi like athlete\u2019s foot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fight intestinal parasites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Minimize some cold symptoms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prevent or lessen skin conditions like acne, cold sores, psoriasis, rashes and blisters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ways-to-use-garlic\">Ways To Use Garlic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Garlic\u2019s antimicrobial properties stem from a component called allicin, which is released when the garlic bulb is crushed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research found that consuming raw garlic as close to the moment it is crushed is best, because the beneficial allicin compound can lose effectiveness the longer it is cooked. While raw garlic can be added to foods, the cloves can also be eaten like other raw vegetables or crushed and lightly steeped in hot water for tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAn easy approach to begin adding more garlic to your diet would be to cook with it,\u201d Gleason said. \u201cConsider adding fresh garlic at the end of a recipe rather than at the beginning. This will help the garlic retain its more essential health benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the taste of raw garlic is too strong for you, you may find garlic supplements to be a better option. Supplements like aged garlic extract have similar health benefits to the actual garlic clove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amount of garlic per day a person needs to experience its benefits depends on the individual and their specific health conditions. One or two cloves per day (or the supplement equivalent) seems to be an effective dose for most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-problems-with-garlic\">Problems With Garlic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are drawbacks though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGarlic serves as a blood thinner, so those already taking anticoagulants or blood thinning medications should avoid quantities of garlic. And garlic can cause gas and acid reflux. Eating too much can upset the intestinal tract and cause painful flare-ups for those with digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD),\u201d Gleason explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Garlic can also react negatively to some medications and can cause allergic reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs with adding anything to one\u2019s diet, moderation is key,\u201d Gleason added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, garlic causes bad breath and bad body odor, especially when eaten raw, but even cooked garlic and some supplements can affect breath and body odor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause everyone is different, I suggest talking with your health care provider about how best to add garlic to your diet,\u201d said Gleason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-try-cooking-with-garlic-more-often\">Try Cooking With Garlic More Often<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If cooking with fresh garlic is new to you, consider adding finely chopped garlic to a meal or two a week to see how you like it. The addition of minced fresh garlic to soups, sauces, meat dishes and casseroles can add a complexity of flavor to meals and can make eating healthier ingredients like vegetables and legumes more appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might also try recipes that call for raw garlic. For best benefits, chop garlic, let sit for a few minutes and then add it to your meals each day. Marinades and salad dressings commonly call for raw garlic as do dips like hummus, salsa, guacamole or tapenade. Add it to buttered toast, or mashed potatoes, or toss it into pasta sauce just before serving to add extra flavor and nutrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen adding garlic and other herbs to your meals, you may find you can reduce the amount of salt you need, which is also a healthier option,\u201d noted Gleason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Robert \u201cBob\u201d Gleason, PA-C, sees patients at <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/samaritan-family-medicine-main-st\/\">Samaritan Family Medicine &#8211; Main St.<\/a> He can be reached by calling (541) 451-7940.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/garlic-cloves-in-dish-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bowl of peeled garlic surrounded by garlic cloves.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/garlic-cloves-in-dish-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/garlic-cloves-in-dish-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/garlic-cloves-in-dish-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"block_06ecbc20ed0e98bc43a833101c5c1bda\" class=\"shs-block block-section grid-container has-blue-light-background-color\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-content\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-experimenting-with-flavor\">Experimenting With Flavor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A little garlic can go a long way, but there are ways you can adjust the flavor level of garlic in a recipe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Raw garlic will always have a much more pungent flavor than cooked. Chopping or smashing a clove into larger pieces before adding it to a recipe will result in a milder flavor than adding finely minced garlic to a recipe.  If you\u2019re making a homemade salad dressing but find the flavor overpowering, add a few slices of a clove rather than mincing it. You can also microwave a clove for just a few seconds to take the edge off the pungency. Keep in mind though that cooking garlic reduces the amount of beneficial allicin.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Garlic has been appreciated for its medicinal value throughout the ages. Learn about its health benefits, drawbacks and ways to include more garlic to your diet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":42037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[293],"news-types":[270],"services":[251],"specialty":[47],"class_list":["post-42023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-wellness","news-types-feature-article","services-nutrition-services","specialty-nutrition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42023"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=42023"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=42023"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=42023"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=42023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}