While researchers haven’t identified all of garlic’s antioxidant compounds, the pungent bulb appears to deserve its legendary status as a healthy botanical. The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that people eating raw garlic for medicinal reasons use it in quantities of at least 2 to 4 g each day. Depending on the size of the clove, this recommendation amounts to one to four cloves. If you’re one of those hardy souls who consumes raw garlic in quantity, you’ll add significant nutrients to your diet with about 1/2 cup.
General Information
Garlic adds flavor to foods without piling on any unhealthy elements to a meal. Three grams of garlic, or one large chopped clove, has 4 calories and virtually no fat, sodium or cholesterol. Eating 1/2 cup of chopped cloves over the course of the day will add 100 calories, 10 mg of sodium and 20 g of carbohydrates. It also contributes 1.5 g of fiber and 4 g of protein to your daily intake.
Vitamin C
A large clove of garlic provides you with about 2 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamin C. A 1/2-cup serving provides 35 percent. Vitamin C possesses antioxidant qualities that help you fight off illness and disease. It also builds collagen, which can positively affect joints and support better wound healing.
B Vitamins
A raw clove of garlic delivers 2 percent of the vitamin B-6 you need for the day, while 1/2 cup of chopped raw garlic provides about 42 percent of your daily B-6 requirement. The vitamin lowers your risk of heart disease by controlling the amount of homocysteine, an amino acid that, in high amounts, may pose cardiac risks. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, getting enough of the nutrient may improve depression, morning sickness and premenstrual syndrome. The larger 1/2-cup serving also provides at least 2 percent of other B vitamins, but one clove only contains trace amounts.
Minerals
As with most of the B vitamins, one clove of chopped raw garlic does not translate into a significant mineral intake. You get 1 percent each of the daily values for calcium and selenium and 3 percent of the DV for manganese. In a 1/2-cup serving, however, raw garlic delivers 12 percent of the DV for calcium, as well as 6 percent of the iron, 4 percent of the magnesium, 10 percent of the phosphorus, 8 percent of the potassium, 5 percent of the zinc, 10 percent of the copper, 60 percent of the manganese and 15 percent of the selenium you need each day.
Considerations
While the health-giving properties of vitamins and minerals are well understood, some components of garlic have yet to be identified or fully understood, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes. One compound thought to be especially beneficial is allicin. In raw garlic, allicin appears in a form that can’t be absorbed. For that reason, your doctor may suggest you consume a mixture of fresh garlic and extracts containing fermented garlic, which contain the form of allicin most easily absorbed.
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