Garlic can help flavor your food, but it also might help prevent or treat a number of health conditions, including cancer, the common cold, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hardening of the arteries. However, the type of garlic you use and how you use it may influence how much of an effect it has on your health.
Active Ingredients
Garlic contains a component called allicin, which is formed from the amino acid alliin when garlic is crushed, chewed or chopped. This is one of the components that may be responsible for the possible health benefits of garlic. Garlic also contains other beneficial components, including arginine, flavonoids, selenium and oligosaccharides.
Effect of Cooking
Cooking makes garlic less potent, because cooking deactivates the allicin it contains. This reduces the potential health benefits from consuming garlic. Just 45 minutes of oven roasting or one minute in the microwave destroys all of the allicin in garlic, according to a study presented at the 1998 conference on "Recent Advances on the Nutritional Benefits Accompanying the Use of Garlic as a Supplement."
Retaining Garlic Benefits
You don't have to consume garlic supplements or raw garlic to get the potential health benefits, however. The 1998 study also found that if you let garlic sit for at least 10 minutes after you chop it but before you cook it or if you cut off the top of the garlic head before you roast it, the garlic will retain some of its health benefits. Aged garlic supplements may be easier to absorb, but you may want to avoid odorless garlic supplements, because eliminating the odor also eliminates much of the allicin.
Considerations
Different types of garlic, even different heads of garlic, may contain different amounts of the active ingredients in garlic, regardless of how you prepare it. Using garlic supplements that have standardized amounts of the active ingredients in garlic may provide the most health benefits, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If you use fresh garlic, one to four cloves of chopped garlic per day is a common dose. For garlic supplements, two capsules taken three times per day is common. However, do not take supplemental garlic without first discussing it with your doctor, as it can cause side effects and can interfere with certain medications.
References
- National Cancer Institute: Garlic and Cancer Prevention: Questions and Answers
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Garlic
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Garlic; July 2010
- MedlinePlus: Garlic
- American Family Physician: "Health Effects of Garlic"; Ellen Tattelman, M.D.; July 2005
- Science Daily: Chopping and Cooking Affect Garlic's Anti-Cancer Activity; November 1998
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