Is garlic really good for your health?

Presented as a miracle food with a thousand virtues, garlic is far from being the natural remedy that protects us from all ills.

By Boris Hansel, with Guillaume Paret (video)

Published on 02/10/2023 at 6:30 p.m.

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Every Friday, find on Le Point.fr the nutrition chronicle of P^r Boris Hansel, endocrinologist and nutritionist at Bichat Hospital in Paris. He is also the host of the PuMS health channel on YouTube.

Garlic would be an incredibly good condiment for our health! This is what emerges from a multitude of publications, especially in scientific journals! The practical question is simple: should we systematically add it to our meals to stay healthy? Regarding its composition, it hardly provides any fats and contains very few carbohydrates, proteins and fibers. But several thousand chemical substances, some of which would be beneficial, have been identified in the garlic clove!

The best known is alliin. This substance is transformed into allicin when the garlic is cut or crushed or when it ages. It is the allicin which gives the aroma of fresh garlic and the persistent odor so characteristic. A large part of the supposed beneficial effects of garlic are linked to this molecule. It is attributed antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihypertensive properties but also favorable effects on glucose and blood cholesterol. This is why garlic has the reputation of protecting us against colds, cardiovascular diseases and cancers!

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But there are two caveats to all of this:

• The first is that the effects demonstrated in particular on cholesterol and blood pressure vary greatly from one study to another and from one person to another. And most of the supposed benefits, in particular anti-cancer, remain hypothetical without evidence in humans.

• The second concerns the amount of garlic to consume for the mentioned properties to be significant. Effects on blood pressure and blood cholesterol have been shown with garlic extracts most often containing at least 10 mg of alliin. This corresponds to a consumption of 1 to 2 cloves of garlic per day. And for the alliin to keep its properties, the garlic must be eaten raw. At these amounts, digestive symptoms are common and the resulting breath may be a problem. To consume a sufficient quantity of active product every day, we are therefore practically obliged to use food supplements, to be taken daily and over the long term. And there, it is better to talk about it with your doctor because there are interactions between garlic and certain drugs, in particular anticoagulants.

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In practice, it is wrong to consider garlic as the miracle condiment to cure us or protect us against chronic diseases and infections! But, like onions, shallots and many spices, garlic is on the other hand recommended to enhance our daily diet. In combination with the other condiments, it simply helps to provide our body with everything it needs to stay healthy for a long time!