During flu season, should you eat garlic every day to prevent illness?

When the weather changes erratically, the risk of infections such as flu or colds is unavoidable. Many people tell each other that they should eat garlic regularly to prevent disease. What is the truth?

1. Health benefits of eating garlic regularly

Garlic not only adds flavor to dishes but also helps supplement nutrition. According to the USDA, about 3 cloves of raw garlic contain: 13 calories; 3 grams of carbohydrates; 0.5 grams of protein; 1.5 mg sodium; 36 mg potassium; 2.8 mg of vitamin C with 0 grams of fiber, sugar, and fat. Because the amount of garlic we usually eat is quite small, the amount of nutrients we eat is also low. That said, garlic contains health-promoting nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium and vitamin K. If you eat garlic regularly, you'll get more important vitamins and minerals.

According to Eating Well, below are the effects that eating garlic regularly brings to your health:

- Helps support the immune system

Chronic inflammation can harm your immunity by reducing your white blood cell count. According to a 2021 review in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research , studies addressing the effects of garlic extract found that it helps reduce systemic inflammation and restore white blood cell levels,

This is largely thanks to allicin, a sulfur-containing compound found in allium-containing foods such as onions, chives and garlic.

Furthermore, a 2020 review in Trends in Food Science & Technology found that, thanks to its organic sulfur compounds, garlic may have antiviral activity, such as those that cause the common cold or flu. . Researchers believe that garlic helps prevent viruses from entering and multiplying in our cells.

So does eating garlic regularly help prevent colds and flu?

According to Healthline, studies have shown that garlic can help reduce the risk of getting sick in the first place as well as reduce the duration of illness and reduce the severity of colds or flu.

A study on 146 healthy volunteers who supplemented with garlic or took a placebo for 3 months showed that the group that ate garlic had a 63% lower risk of getting a cold than the other group. However, there were no significant differences between groups in recovery time after a cold.

If you often get colds or flu, eating garlic may help reduce symptoms or prevent more serious illness. But in general, the studies are quite fragmentary.

Some remedies to treat colds from garlic

+ Lesson 1: Prepare a few garlic bulbs, mash them, squeeze out the juice, then mix with water at a ratio of 1:10. At night before going to bed, you can put a few drops of this into your nose, but be careful to avoid burning.

+ Lesson 2: Prepare 15 grams of each fresh garlic and ginger with a moderate amount of red sugar. Bring everything together with a small bowl of water until half the bowl remains, then add brown sugar, stir well and drink once a day before going to bed. This remedy is effective in treating colds and wind.

- Reduce cholesterol

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , managing your cholesterol levels is important because high cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. According to a 2020 review in the Journal of Antioxidants , garlic may also improve cholesterol levels, especially in people with high cholesterol or diabetes,

However, these findings are limited because most of the studies in this review showed benefits coming from aged garlic extracts or supplemented forms of garlic rather than the types of garlic used in conventional cooking. day.

- Lower blood pressure

Garlic's impact on immune health along with its ability to lower cholesterol levels may also provide benefits for lowering blood pressure.

According to the American Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, one study in a review found that garlic may reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with metabolic syndrome — a group of health conditions that increase the risk of have heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

These benefits were found when participants consumed 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg) of fresh crushed garlic twice a day for four weeks.

- Better blood sugar control

Garlic may also help regulate blood sugar levels, especially in people with diabetes.

A 2019 meta-analysis on diabetes found that garlic was more effective than placebo in reducing fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C levels in people with diabetes. Fasting blood sugar levels decreased by nearly 11 mg/dL and A1C decreased by approximately 0.6 mg/dL - both significant improvements.

- Better intestinal health

Prebiotics nourish healthy bacteria in your gut, and garlic is a good source of prebiotics. In fact, after three months of supplementing with aged garlic extract, participants in a 2020 review and meta-analysis in the Journal of Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine had a diverse and healthy gut microbiome. stronger.

However, because garlic is high in fructans, it can cause digestive symptoms such as gas and bloating in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

- Other potential benefits

Garlic is also a healthy source of antioxidants. In fact, the antioxidants in aged garlic extract may help reduce neuroinflammation to support healthy brain function with age, according to a 2020 study in the Journal of Experimental and Therapy.

Additionally, a 2019 study in the Journal of Nutrients found that among Chinese elderly people, those who ate more garlic lived longer than those who rarely added this spice to their regular diets. And this study is observational, so we can't say for sure that garlic helps you live longer, but there may be some connection that needs to be further proven by scientists.

2. How to maximize the benefits of garlic

According to Healthline, the way you prepare garlic can change the health benefits of this spice. The enzyme alliinase that converts to beneficial allicin is only active under certain conditions and can also be inactivated by heat.

An old study shows that just 60 seconds in the microwave or 45 minutes in the oven can deactivate the compound alliinase.

However, crushing garlic and letting it stand for 10 minutes at room temperature before cooking can help prevent this "loss" of medicinal properties. And the researchers added that housewives can compensate for the loss of some of the benefits of garlic by increasing the amount of garlic used in meals.

Therefore, below are ways to maximize the benefits of garlic that you can refer to:

- Crush or slice all the garlic cloves before cooking to increase the allicin content in them;

- Before cooking with garlic, crush it and let it stand in the air for 10 minutes;

- Use more garlic in meals if possible.

3. How much garlic should you eat per day?

Although there is no exact recommendation for how much garlic to consume per day, some studies on raw garlic show that using 100 mg of crushed raw garlic per kilogram of body weight twice daily is reasonable. . This is equivalent to eating about 3 - 4 cloves of garlic per day.

Cooking garlic before eating can also help with "garlic breath" as well as digestive problems like acid reflux caused by eating garlic.

With dietary supplements containing perennial garlic extract, you should consult your doctor before use.

Side effects of eating a lot of garlic

Although it is healthy and a healthy addition to a balanced diet, eating too much garlic can also cause some side effects, such as:

- Increased risk of bleeding: This is the most serious side effect of eating too much garlic, especially for people who are taking anticoagulants or have just undergone surgery. The reason is because garlic has antithrombotic properties, meaning eating garlic helps prevent blood clots.

- Bad breath: Because garlic contains many sulfur compounds, eating too much can cause bad breath.

- Digestive problems: Bloating, bloating, stomach pain because garlic is high in fructan - a type of carb also found in onions, leeks and asparagus.

- Heartburn: Common in people with gastroesophageal reflux disease because eating garlic reduces the tone of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), leading to acid reflux and heartburn.

Who should not eat garlic?

According to Oriental Medicine, garlic is hot, toxic, and produces phlegm. If you eat a lot of garlic, it will consume energy and damage your blood.

Eating too much garlic can also cause poisoning, so don't overuse garlic. People with digestive diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) should be cautious when eating garlic because garlic can promote increased flatulence, bloating and gas. acid reflux.

You should also be careful when using garlic in large amounts, especially with garlic extract supplements if you are taking medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood clots because garlic has a blood pressure-lowering effect. , controlling blood sugar and lowering cholesterol can affect the effectiveness of the drug. It is best to consult your doctor before adding garlic to your diet if you are being treated with prescription medication.