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Garlic

Allium sativum

Also known as garlic, garlic clove, lasun, ail

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The bulb of Allium sativum, used raw, crushed or cooked as a seasoning in most cuisines. The USDA reference entry is per 100 g of raw garlic — roughly thirty cloves — while a normal culinary portion is one or two.

Heart HealthImmune Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Strong

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Healthy blood pressure

Heart Health
Strong evidence

Multiple meta-analyses of randomised trials report modest reductions in systolic blood pressure, concentrated in people who start with elevated readings. The important caveat is dose and form: nearly all of these trials used standardised garlic powder tablets or aged garlic extract, not cooking garlic, at daily amounts above what most people eat.

What may be going on: Sulphur compounds derived from allicin appear to increase hydrogen sulphide and nitric oxide signalling in the vessel wall, promoting vasodilation.

Strong evidence. Consistent findings across multiple good-quality human studies.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Moderate evidence

Reviews of garlic preparation trials report small average reductions in total and LDL cholesterol, on the order of a few percent. Reviews disagree with one another more than they do on blood pressure, the trials are short, and again the material tested is concentrated powder or aged extract rather than food.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Immune function

Immune Health
Limited evidence

Evidence is limited for garlic and the common cold: a very small number of trials have looked at cold frequency and duration with garlic supplements, and reviews describe the pool as too small and too poorly reported to draw a conclusion from.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Garlic

Ask about Garlic

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories149 kcal7%
Protein6.36 g13%
Total fat0.5 g1%
Carbohydrate33.1 g12%
Fibre2.1 g8%
Total sugars1 g—
Water58.6 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.089 g0%
Monounsaturated fat0.011 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.249 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.229 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C31.2 mg35%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E0.08 mg1%
Vitamin K1.7 µg1%
Thiamin (B1)0.2 mg17%
Riboflavin (B2)0.11 mg8%
Niacin (B3)0.7 mg4%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.596 mg12%
Vitamin B61.24 mg73%
Folate3 µg1%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline23.2 mg4%
Minerals
Calcium181 mg14%
Iron1.7 mg9%
Magnesium25 mg6%
Phosphorus153 mg12%
Potassium401 mg9%
Sodium17 mg1%
Zinc1.16 mg11%
Copper0.299 mg33%
Manganese1.67 mg73%
Selenium14.2 µg26%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene5 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin16 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash1.5 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Garlic, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169230).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • crushedIncreases allicin yield

    Crushing or chopping ruptures cells and lets the enzyme alliinase convert alliin into allicin. The conversion takes several minutes, so letting crushed garlic stand for around ten minutes before it meets a hot pan leaves more allicin formed and less destroyed.

  • cookedReduces allicin yield

    Heating whole or freshly crushed cloves rapidly deactivates alliinase, so little allicin is ever formed. Microwaving whole cloves has the same effect.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Interaction

    Antiplatelet effect around surgery and with anticoagulants

    Garlic reduces platelet aggregation, and the effect is largest with concentrated powders and aged extracts rather than a clove in a pan. Surgical and dental teams commonly ask patients to stop garlic supplements about a week before a procedure, and anyone taking warfarin, clopidogrel, aspirin or a direct oral anticoagulant should raise regular high-dose use with their clinician.

  • Interaction

    Reduces blood levels of some HIV medicines

    Garlic supplements have been shown to lower plasma concentrations of saquinavir and to affect some other drugs handled by the same pathways. This is a supplement-dose finding, not a seasoning-dose one, but it is worth flagging to a pharmacist alongside any antiretroviral regimen.

  • Too much

    Raw garlic irritates the gut and the mouth

    Large amounts of raw garlic commonly cause heartburn, burning in the mouth, nausea and lingering breath and body odour. Applying crushed raw garlic to skin, a popular home remedy, causes chemical burns.

  • Worth knowing

    High in fructans, a common IBS trigger

    Garlic is one of the densest dietary sources of fructans and is restricted on a low-FODMAP diet. Garlic-infused oil carries the flavour without the fructans, which are water-soluble rather than oil-soluble.