How to Consume Garlic for Health: 9 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

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Co-authored byClaudia Carberry, RD, MS

Last Updated: April 26, 2024Fact Checked

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   Eat raw garlic. Include at least one serving—or a ½ clove—in your meal plan every day. Many people like to cook garlic in their dishes, but raw garlic is just as tasty. Having a mixture of raw and cooked garlic is the best way to get the health benefits of this vegetable. Crushing, chopping, or mincing garlic can best release the compounds that benefit for your health. Eating raw garlic can also have additional benefits to cooked garlic. This includes relaxing smooth muscles in your blood vessels, which in turn dilates them and may lower your blood pressure. Some ways to enjoy raw garlic include:

   • Mixing chopped or minced garlic with fresh tomatoes and basil. Use this delightful mixture on top of pasta, bread, or a salad.
   • Adding garlic to salsa or guacamole.
   • Making pesto.
   • Slicing garlic onto a salad.
   • Spreading minced or crushed garlic on toast and topping it with a slice of tomato.
   • Blending a tomato, lemon, and garlic juice.
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   Cook with garlic. Raw garlic is the optimal way to get its benefits. However, you can still boost your health by cooking with garlic. If you’re using garlic in a recipe, use at least 1-2 cloves per dish. As with raw garlic, make sure to crush, chop or mince it to release the compounds that boost health. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes to get maximum benefits from your garlic. Some ways to cook garlic in your meals include:

   • Marinating meat or tofu in a garlic rub.
   • Simmering a garlic soup.
   • Whipping up a pasta dish with greens and garlic.^[4]
   • Throwing garlic into a vegetable dish.
   • Mashing garlic into potatoes.

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   See Also

   Amazing Health Benefits of Garlic Pickle - News18Why is Garlic Pickle good for you, 5 Incredible Reasons!What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Garlic RegularlyWhy you should eat garlic empty stomach? - Times of India

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   Try garlic oil. Garlic is a great flavoring for any dish. You can bring more garlic and its flavor into your food by using garlic-infused oil to prepare dishes. Garlic oil can also have the added health benefit of reducing a pimple or relieving psoriasis when rubbed on the affected area.^[5]

   • Get garlic oil in a food or health store. Consider infusing your own, which can ensure you get a high dose of garlic in the oil. Use whole cloves of garlic and cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) for 20-30 minutes. Then cook in the oil for 5 minutes before funneling the infused oil into a container. For maximum health benefits, lower the cooking temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius).
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   Brew a garlic tea. Warm tea is a comforting way to get through a cold. Brewing a tea of garlic can comfort you and may help boost your immune system. Steep a clove of chopped or minced garlic in hot water for a few minutes. Then strain the garlic bits out and enjoy your tea.

   • Add a bit of honey or ginger to make the tea taste better.^[6]
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   Add garlic powder to food.^[7] In some cases, using a garlic powder may be a more convenient way to get your garlic. Just like with other garlic products, this may not have the same health benefits as fresh garlic. Consider using garlic powder to boost your efforts.

   • Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to pasta sauces, soups, and other recipes that you think might benefit from some garlicky flavor.
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   Minimize garlic breath. Garlic is great for your health, but can also repel vampires as well as your friends, family, and colleagues from you. Garlic breath may be a concern if you are eating it daily for your health. You can minimize the effect of garlic on your breath by:^[8]

   • Eating it with an apple.
   • Mixing it with apple cider vinegar and water.
   • Mixing it with water and honey.
   • Eating a lemon with it.

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   Swallow dried garlic capsules. It’s best to boost your health with fresh garlic. However, you can also boost your health by using dried garlic capsules. You can get these at most health food stores and vitamin or wellness retailers.

   • Read product labeling to ensure that your chosen capsule has allium in it, which is important for reaping its health benefits. Following dosing instructions to ensure you get maximum health-boosting benefits.
   • Avoid purchasing dried garlic tablets. The process used to make these destroy the health compounds in garlic.
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   Take a garlic supplement. Using a supplement is a good way to enhance your consumption of garlic.^[9]

   • Speak with your doctor before taking garlic supplements. You may have a condition or take other medications that shouldn’t be mixed with garlic. Ask your doctor to recommend a high-quality garlic supplement if you want to try one.^[10]
   • Consider consulting a natural health professional about choosing the best quality supplement for your health.
   • Follow the instructions on the bottle and any instructions your doctor has given you as well.^[11]
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   Look for a United States Pharmacopeia (USP) verified product. While supplements are not regulated by the FDA, you can choose a product that has a USP seal to ensure that what is in the bottle matches what the label says. This can also help you to choose the safest product possible. Some other types of seals that may indicate the product is trustworthy include:^[12]

   • NSF International
   • UL
   • Consumer Lab

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