Lindy Valdez
Should you eat garlic raw? Is this healthy or even harmful? All garlic lovers should know this!
Admittedly, eating garlic raw doesn’t make us the most pleasant of people to talk to. But how does raw garlic affect the body? Is it healthy and how much of it can you eat daily?
Can you eat garlic raw?
You can eat garlic raw and if you like the taste, you should eat it regularly. Garlic promotes health in many ways – and it owes this to a certain substance: the so-called allicin. This ingredient can develop its healing powers best in raw garlic; every type of preparation weakens its effect.
Incidentally, the sulfur compounds allicin are also to blame for the strong smell that usually accompanies the consumption of the tuber.
What can raw garlic do for health?
Garlic has many health-promoting talents:
- Fights pathogens: Garlic can help relieve bacterial skin problems like acne (even when used externally), colds, and fungal infections.
- Protects the blood vessels: Some studies indicate that high garlic consumption leads to a reduction in harmful LDL cholesterol and thus helps to prevent diseases such as heart attacks or strokes – but the data is not yet entirely reliable in this case.
- Lowers blood pressure: Allicin has a relaxing effect on the arteries and a vasodilating effect. This mechanism can counteract high blood pressure.
How Much Raw Garlic Should You Eat?
To permanently benefit from the health-promoting properties of the tuber, you should eat about a large clove of garlic daily (about 5 grams of garlic) – everyone has to decide for themselves whether this is acceptable to others. Under no circumstances should it be more than four cloves of garlic per day.
Eating garlic raw: Stomach pain as a side effect
Some people react to eating large amounts of garlic, especially when it is raw, with stomach pain or intestinal problems such as bloating or diarrhea. These symptoms can be more frequent when the digestive system is not yet used to the large amounts of garlic; in this case, it will get better after a period of getting used to it.
However, if you have persistent complaints after every garlic meal, you should not ignore them and limit your garlic consumption accordingly.
Eating garlic raw without smell – is that possible?
The biggest side effect, however, is felt by all garlic connoisseurs: Enjoying the raw bulb is accompanied by a strong smell. The reason for this is that the sulfur compounds in the plant are released through the air we breathe and through the pores of the skin.
Unfortunately, this effect cannot be completely avoided. However, there are a few home remedies for the smell of garlic that can be used to reduce it somewhat.
Eating garlic raw is therefore healthy – if you want to do something good for your health and do not develop any severe symptoms from eating the raw bulb, you should do it regularly.
