What Happens When You Eat Garlic Every Day?
From pasta sauces to marinades, garlic is one ingredient most easy dinner recipes are reluctant to leave out. But did you also know it’s been used in traditional medicine for centuries? Garlic is undeniably good for you in most cases, but the extent varies.
While eating garlic isn’t actually a cure-all, the allium contains several impressive plant compounds that have attracted the attention of researchers and nutrition experts alike. We asked a registered dietitian to break down garlic’s nutritional benefits, and explain what can happen—both positively and negatively—when you make it a daily part of your diet.
Garlic Nutrition: Not many people are chomping on garlic like they do apples, so you’re unlikely to get a meaningful dose of any one nutrient. Those small quantities of vitamins and minerals do add up, but they are only one part of why garlic is so impressive nutritionally. “The majority of what makes garlic useful doesn’t actually show up on a standard nutrition label,” says Olivia Hamilton, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian and nutrition team supervisor at Factor75. “While it does contain some essential vitamins, like C and B-complex, and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, and selenium, its true power lies in its bioactive phytochemicals.”
Excerpted from Real Simple
