Did you know that If you consume raw garlic daily…See more

This pungent vegetable is packed with bioactive compounds that may benefit your heart and immune health.

If a recipe calls for one clove of garlic and you add three, or if there’s a garlicky pasta on the menu and you order it every time, you’re in the right place.

Many of us love garlic. And if you count yourself in that group, you’re in luck—because this member of the allium genus of plants provides some pretty impressive health benefits when eaten regularly. We dove into the research to find out exactly what you can expect for your heart, digestion and immune system function. Learn the nutrition facts and health benefits of garlic, plus check out some ideas for how to add more garlic to your diet.

Health Benefits of Regularly Eating Garlic

Garlic has many health benefits. Here are a few evidence-backed ones you may experience when you regularly eat garlic.

Immune System Support

Chronic inflammation can harm your immunity by reducing your white blood cell count. Studies investigating the effects of garlic extract have found that it helps reduce systemic inflammation and restore white blood cell levels, per a 2021 review in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research. This is largely thanks to allicin, a sulfur-containing compound in alliums like onions, chives and garlic.

A 2020 review in Trends in Food Science & Technology found that garlic may have antiviral effects, thanks to compounds called organosulfurs. The researchers believe garlic helps prevent viruses from entering and replicating in our cells.

May Lower Cholesterol Levels

Managing your cholesterol levels is important because high cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But statins, the class of drugs often prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, can have some nasty side effects. For this reason, many people turn to more natural remedies—and garlic is one of them.

For example, a 2024 review in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition suggests that there is plenty of evidence supporting the idea that garlic improves cholesterol levels, particularly in adults over 50. And another 2024 review in Nutrients suggests that garlic may improve total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

Blood Pressure Support

Garlic’s impact on immune health, along with its potential to reduce cholesterol levels, may also reduce blood pressure, per another 2024 review in Nutrients. These researchers credit garlic’s rich antioxidant profile for exerting antihypertensive effects through multiple pathways at the cellular level.

A 2024 review in Prostaglandins & Other Lipid Mediators found that people with high blood pressure who took more than 1200 mg of aged garlic extract daily significantly lowered both their systolic (top number in blood pressure reading) and diastolic (lower number) blood pressure.

May Improve Blood Sugar Levels

The aforementioned review in Nutrients found evidence to support garlic improving not only cholesterol levels but fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels as well. A 2023 review in Chinese Medicine also indicated that garlic can lower fasting blood glucose.

A promising 2024 study in Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome found that aged garlic extract helped stabilize blood sugar by directly influencing beta cells in the pancreas. Beta cells are responsible for making insulin, and insulin is the hormone that controls the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood.

Might Improve Gut Health 

Your gut microbiome is made up of a plethora of microorganisms, including beneficial bacteria—often referred to as probiotics—and unhealthy bacteria. You want a healthy balance of good to bad bacteria in your gut, and one way to ensure this is to eat fermented foods regularly. But even bacteria need to eat, and that’s where garlic comes in. Garlic is a prebiotic—food for your healthy gut bacteria.

Evidence suggests that garlic may play a role in helping your gut microbiome thrive. For example, according to a 2020 review and meta-analysis in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, three months of Kyolic aged garlic extract supplementation led to more diverse and healthy gut microbiomes.

A 2024 study in Microorganisms introduced garlic to human feces in the lab (sounds gross, but stick with me). The stool samples that had garlic added to them had more microbial diversity compared to the samples without garlic. In addition, the garlic stool increased in beneficial probiotics—specifically Bifidobacterium adolescentis, the probiotic often found in yogurt.

Unfortunately, garlic isn’t friendly to everyone’s gastrointestinal system. Garlic is high in fructans, one of the FODMAPs, so it may trigger digestive symptoms like gas and bloating for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Other Potential Benefits

Garlic is also a source of antioxidants, which reduce inflammation in the body. For example, there is evidence suggesting that antioxidants in aged garlic extract may lessen neuroinflammation to support healthy brain function with age, per a 2020 study in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. And a 2024 review in Frontiers in Immunology suggests that garlic’s bioactive compounds—including antioxidants—may be responsible for its health benefits. These benefits include protection against cancer, diabetes, inflammation, heart disease and infections.

Garlic Nutrition

Garlic not only adds flavor to dishes, it also adds nutrition. Here are the nutrition facts for three cloves of raw garlic, per the USDA:

• Calories: 13
• Total Carbohydrates: 3g
• Dietary Fiber: 0g
• Total Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 0.5g
• Total Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0g
• Sodium: 1.5mg

Since the volume of garlic we typically eat is rather small, the amount of nutrients we ingest is also low. That said, garlic contains health-promoting nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium and vitamin K. If you eat garlic regularly, the vitamins and minerals will add up.

How to Incorporate Garlic into Your Diet

Garlic is a kitchen staple. You can keep garlic powder in your pantry, purchase minced garlic in a jar, freeze garlic puree in an ice cube tray or buy fresh heads of garlic to crush, slice or squeeze in a garlic press. Here are some ways to incorporate more garlic in your diet:

• Use it to season veggies. Cook minced garlic in a pan with oil to infuse the oil with a yummy garlic flavor. Then add your favorite veggies. Alternatively, if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, you can use powdered garlic later in the cooking process. If you have IBS, use garlic-infused oil, which includes plenty of garlic flavor without the garlic gut issues.
• Add it to rice. Adding garlic to rice dishes, like fried rice, gives it so much flavor. Plus, it goes well with most proteins and veggies. Our easy, step-by-step guide for making fried rice is a great place to start.
• Mix it into stews or curries. Garlic is often used in curries in parts of Asia and stews in parts of Latin America. Again, it’s all about adding flavor and nutrition. Try our Chickpea & Potato Curry for a flavorful, vegetarian curry with garlic.
• Make a homemade salsa. Salsa is one of the most underrated ways to get more veggies. You can purchase jarred salsa, but why not try making it at home?
• Flavor proteins with it. Garlic goes well with almost every type of protein, such as fish, chicken, pork and beef. It also goes great with plant-based proteins like beans and tofu. Try the Garlic-Herb Chicken Cutlets & Garlic-Herb Tuna recipe for inspiration. You can also use a similar seasoning blend with other proteins.
• Add it to pasta. Whether you’re having pasta with a red sauce, creamy sauce or oil, garlic goes great in just about every pasta dish. If you need ideas, try our One-Pot Garlicky Shrimp & Spinach or Simple, Delicious Pasta Aglio e Olio (with Garlic and Oil).

The Bottom Line

Garlic is a common vegetable in many cultural cuisines and has been used as an herbal remedy for centuries. Not only does it add a whole lot of flavor, but it also adds a little nutrition.

It is important to note that many studies use garlic supplements—garlic powder or oil in capsules—which are more concentrated forms of garlic. Because of this, it can be difficult to know if study results apply to garlic used in cooking. With that said, one mini-review in Frontiers in Nutrition only reviewed studies using raw white garlic and found plenty of evidence supporting garlic as beneficial for improving blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol; reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes; and improving liver function.

Adding more garlic to your diet may provide health benefits, and it doesn’t hurt—except for those with digestive illnesses like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), since garlic may increase gas, bloating and acid reflux.

You’ll also want to be careful about consuming high doses of garlic if you’re taking medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood clots. Since garlic has antihypertensive, antidiabetic and cholesterol-lowering effects, you might lower these parameters too much. Talk to your healthcare provider before adding any supplement to your routine or dramatically increasing the amount of a certain food—including garlic.