11 Surprising Health Benefits of Black Garlic
Black garlic is a clove of fresh, raw garlic (Allium sativum) that changes over time through the use of low heat and around 70% humidity in a process called the Maillard reaction.
During this process, the cloves turn a distinctive black color. The texture and flavor of garlic also change. It tastes soft, chewie, and sweet compared to regular raw garlic.
Regular garlic has many health benefits that are too long to explain, but what about black garlic? What is it and what are its benefits and uses? All the details are in the following:
What is black garlic?
Black garlic is a clove of ordinary garlic that has been exposed to moisture and heat to certain degrees and for extended periods of time, up to 40 continuous days.
Over time, some of the compounds in garlic begin to break down, and the garlic loses its usual pungent flavor and begins to develop a kind of sweet taste.
When regular garlic is turned into black garlic, the nutritional value of the resulting garlic is somewhat different from that of regular garlic.
It is worth noting that the process of preparing and making is a bit complicated and not easy, which makes finding this type of garlic in the regular market difficult.
During this fermentation process, the color of garlic turns from white to a distinctive black color, which changes its texture and flavor as well, to become softer and sweeter than regular garlic, in addition to the disappearance of its sharp smell of it.
While this type of garlic appears to be a recent phenomenon, it has been around for centuries, as people in many Asian countries such as Thailand, South Korea, and Japan have been producing and using black garlic as a traditional food for centuries.
5 Best Black Garlic to Buy
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Nutritional value
Black garlic contains concentrated amounts of important antioxidants, and it has even been found that contains more antioxidants than regular white garlic!
Every 100 grams of black garlic contains the following nutritional value:
|
Nutritional Elements |
Nutritional Value |
| Calories | 143 calories |
| Protein | 3.57 g |
| Sodium | 571 mg |
| Calcium | 71 mg |
| Iron | 1.29 mg |
| Vitamin C | 4.3 mg |
| Fats | 0.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33.1 grams |
| Fiber | 2.1 g |
| Magnesium | 25 milligrams |
| Phosphorous | 153 milligrams |
| Potassium | 401 milligrams |
| Zinc | 1.16 milligrams |
| Vitamin K | 1.7 mcg |
It is worth noting that black garlic contains more calories and fiber than white garlic.
Health Benefits of Black Garlic
It has many important benefits, here are the most important:
1. Prevents the risk of cancer
High levels of antioxidants in it help prevent some chronic and dangerous diseases, such as cancer (1)
The antioxidants present help prevent the growth and spread of cancer cells.
It was also found that taking black garlic extract may actually help reduce the growth of cancer cells in people with colon cancer and leukemia in particular.
There are many different factors involved in the development and prevention of different types of cancer, and diet is only one component.
Some research indicates that it has some anti-inflammatory properties, and one study of 21 people revealed the effect of black garlic extract on the lung, breast, stomach, and liver cancer cells, and found that the solution was toxic to those cancer cells within days. (2)
It also outperformed a regular garlic extract solution in that study. A larger systematic review of 25 studies found black garlic to have beneficial effects against cancer in humans, animals, and lab studies across a series of research.
2. Good for your heart
The natural and black types of garlic are characterized by their ability to help protect the heart and promote its health.
However, it has some additional properties that contribute to reducing the risk of heart disease.
It contributes to lowering triglycerides and cholesterol, which was confirmed in a clinical study published in 2018 in the Journal of Frontiers in Physiology (4), which was conducted on 120 people with coronary heart disease,
The results showed an improvement in heart function in these people after taking black garlic for 6 months in conjunction with the use of drug treatment recommended by the doctor, and the improvement of heart function may be attributed to the high level of antioxidants in the blood.
3. Contributes to regulating blood sugar level
Black garlic is more effective than regular garlic in preventing diabetes and regulating blood sugar levels. This is due to the high concentration of allicin in it.
The aforementioned substance helps to slow down the release of insulin in the body, which is especially important for diabetics, to keep their condition under control
4. Promotes a healthy circulatory system
Black garlic helps lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid whose high levels in the body can cause significant damage to blood vessels.
So keeping this acid under control is important to maintaining a healthy circulatory system.
Eating this garlic regularly also helps in promoting and improving blood flow in the circulatory system, and controlling blood pressure within healthy levels.
5. Strengthens immunity
Just as regular garlic benefits the immune system in the body, black garlic is beneficial for the immune system, and even outperforms its white counterpart in this regard.
It’s antioxidant content helps fight free radicals responsible for cell damage and inflammation.
6. Promotes brain health
Eating black garlic regularly has a positive effect on brain health, as it helps reduce the risk of mental and neurological diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.
It is also possible to take this to improve memory and prevent pathological and unsatisfactory forgetfulness.
A study in mice published in the journal Drug and Chemical Toxicology suggests that black garlic can reduce oxidative stress in the brain that causes aging. (3)
7. Increases se*xual desire
Although this matter is still under research, some ancient civilizations believed that black garlic had the ability to enhance the desire and se*xual performance of men in particular.
8. Contributes to the treatment of damaged liver
It was found that black garlic contains substances that help heal damaged liver tissue, especially resulting from excessive alcohol consumption, which is hope for liver patients.
9. Reduces hair loss
They may have potential benefits in reversing hair loss and re-growth of hair, especially when black garlic oil is used in conjunction with a shampoo containing black garlic extract.
10. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Eating black garlic can help you improve memory and combat pathological and unsatisfactory forgetfulness.
11. Helps with insulin resistance
Insulin resistance refers to the failure of muscle, fat, and liver cells to respond well to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps glucose (i.e. sugar) in the blood enter cells, where it is used for energy, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
When you have insulin resistance, a factor in prediabetes and diabetes, your cells cannot easily take glucose from the blood. Animal studies have confirmed that black garlic can help with insulin resistance
Why did the popularity of black garlic begin to rise?
One of the reasons black garlic has gained so much popularity recently is that, like fresh garlic, it contains antioxidants and other key nutrients that help improve the health of the body and prevent serious problems, all without the smell, unlike white garlic.
From a nutritional point of view, black garlic has a similar content of allicin – which causes the odor – and this element contains twice the number of antioxidants compared to white garlic.
But that’s not the whole story, as black garlic also contains a very specific additional compound called S-Allycysteine (SAC) in very high concentrations compared to white garlic.
It is also soluble in water, so this compound is easily absorbed by the body.
S-Allylcysteine has been shown to aid in the absorption of allicin, which makes black garlic more effective than white garlic for all the benefits mentioned above in addition to being well-tolerated by the digestive system, thus reducing the chance of stomach upsets.
Shelf life and Storage
If black garlic is kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container, the garlic can remain usable for up to 30 days.
If the goal is to store it for a longer time, a kind of absorbent fabric is placed around it to absorb moisture and reduce it as much as possible.
Benefits of black garlic on an empty stomach
The healthy components that black garlic contains are highly effective against chronic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, circulatory diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. If you do not like the taste of garlic, we are sure that you will be amazed by the taste of black garlic and you will love it because black garlic tastes like dried fruits due to the high sugar content in it.
Garlic is full of vitamins. Its content is very rich and has been used as a medicine since ancient times. Contains vitamins A, B, and C, sulfur essential oil, and allyl sulfur. The smell and taste of garlic are due to the allyl sulfide. The oil in garlic is called ” Oleum allicin”. 1 milligram of garlic oil is equivalent to 15 penicillin OE, which shows us how important garlic is.
How to Use Black garlic- Benefits of black garlic for hair
Spread evenly over vegetables, mix with sauces and pickles, or rub on chicken or fish before cooking.
1. Black garlic shampoo
A 2012 review made a vague indication that Aged garlic prevents hair loss. In a study conducted on mice. It enriches the hair more than regular garlic. There are many types of shampoos that use black garlic as their main ingredient.
2. Fine hair
Bottles of black garlic shampoo and other hair oils that are available in the market, work to help get the shine, elasticity, and strands of hair softer than before.
3. Hair loss prevention
Researchers studied the effectiveness of regular garlic and onion juice, as a treatment for different types of hair loss, both from the perspective of hair loss prevention and hair regrowth.
Garlic showed some encouraging results. In a small 2007 study, 95% of participants who received topical garlic gel As part of their hair loss regimen they have achieved good to moderate results in just a few months.
But this study included only 44 participants, and garlic gel was used in combination with a steroid cream, which may affect the results.
Benefits of black garlic for the skin
Garlic has been used in natural topical treatments for skin problems for ages. Black garlic benefits for the skin include :
- Alleviation of eczema symptoms. Acne, psoriasis, and warts
- Defense against skin infections
- Wound healing support
- Reduced signs of aging and UV damage
- Increase in tissue regeneration
Cautions and Risks
Although black garlic is generally considered safe, it can cause some harm, especially if eaten in excess.
The most prominent side effects of black garlic are as follows:
- It irritates the digestive system, which may cause bloating, diarrhea, and heartburn.
- An unpleasant odor comes out of the body, and the smell of sweat becomes unpleasant and very pungent.
- It causes allergic reactions in some people.
- Increases the chances of bleeding; Therefore, it is not recommended to take black garlic with blood-thinning medications.
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